UNICEF Consultancy - Communication for Development Specialist Kenya Jobs

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Purpose of Assignment

Communication for development (C4D) plays a crucial role in the national outbreak response including in improving child immunization, by fostering understanding of childhood diseases, creating demand for services and acceptance of the vaccines.

Kenya in the recent past has been involved in several polio campaigns as part of a Horn of Africa outbreak response, in addition to the outbreak response Kenya has also been experiencing resurgence of traditional, vaccine-preventable childhood diseases such as measles and pertussis.

Many of these outbreaks are affecting the high risk and hard to reach groups i.e. nomadic populations, people living in high density urban areas, refugee and migrant populations etc. This is mainly because of immunity gaps and accumulation of susceptible children in these underserved communities.

Disparities and immunization inequalities have been identified as one of the main issues facing the immunization programmes in Kenya.

One of the underlying causes is often the lack of evidence-based communication interventions to address the demand side barriers in certain ethnic groups or other high risk populations. With the additional burden of polio outbreaks being identified across the border in Somalia there is risk of importation of the polioviruses into Kenya due to the existence of pockets of unimmunized/under-immunized children in Somalia.

As a key partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), UNICEF has the mandate of providing assistance to ensure a fast and effective C4D response whenever a polio outbreak is confirmed, as well as the support to strengthen routine immunization in Kenya.

The organization relies on highly trained and experienced personnel of staff and consultants to meet this obligation.

It is against the above premise, that UNICEF Kenya is recruiting a consultant who is willing and will be available for immediate deployment in Kenya to support the C4D team.

Scope of Work