The UNFPA Regional Office for West and Central Africa (WCARO) is currently supporting 8 country offices in the region that are part of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), as well as initiating regional-level activities towards FGM elimination. Part of its role is to support country offices in using research and evidence to inform programming. During the 2017 Annual Consultation of the Joint Programme, medicalization of FGM has been highlighted as ‘a grave concern’ that ‘can hinder progress within the programme’. In general, the Joint Programme works with health workers to build their capacities in terms of comprehensive prevention, care and protection services related to FGM - efforts that also help curb medicalization. Specific interventions to curb medicalization have not yet reached scale. There is a need to further reflect on this area and identify, sharpen and scale-up programmatic interventions, while keeping in mind the strongly varying country contexts.
The prupose of this consultancy is to contribute to countering the phenomenon of medicalization of FGM in West and Central Africa through more strategic programming. The specific objectives of the consultancy are to:
a) Make an inventory of past and current activities undertaken by UNFPA and partners that help counter medicalization of FGM
b) Drawing on those and literature, share successful and promising strategies on the issue of medicalization of FGM
c) Propose concrete recommendations for country offices and the UNFPA Regional Office for West and Central Africa to programme on this issue
These 3 elements will form a Technical Paper that will be presented and discussed during an interactive webinar by the consultant before being finalized. The target audience is anyone working towards the elimination of FGM, and specifically UNFPA staff and partners working in the Joint Programme.
Required Qualifications and Experience
Advanced degree in Social Sciences, Medicines or related field;
At least 8 years of demonstrated experience in the area of harmful practices, gender-based violence, health services in developing countries;
Experience with or in the health sector and the medicalization of FGM is a strong asset;
Fluence in written French and English is required.
Location: Home based
Duration: 20 working days starting in December 2017.
How to apply
Interested candidates should provide a cover letter and CV to unfpa.wcaro.recruitment@unfpa.org by before 11 December 2017
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
