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TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE FINALISATION OF THE NEONATAL OPERATIONAL AND CLINICAL
GUIDELINES FOR BOTSWANA, AND DEVELOPMENT OF ASSOCIATED TOOLS
Background
In the last decade, Botswana has made significant progress in the reduction of deaths of children under the
age of five, from 76 for every 1000 live births to 28 for every 1000 live births between 2001 and 2011. This
includes reductions in infant deaths from 56 per 1000 live births to 17 per 1000 births. However, as is the
case globally, a high proportion of child deaths occur in the first 28 days of live. Globally, 45% of all child
deaths occur in the neonatal stage. The majority of newborn deaths (>80%) are caused by three preventable
and treatable conditions, namely, complications due to prematurity, intrapartum-related deaths (including
birth asphyxia) and neonatal infections. National newborn mortality data remains sketchy and is not readily
available. The latest national data available, from 2007, reported Neonatal Mortality to be at 34 / 1000 live
births. Most of these deaths occur in rural areas, indicating inequity in access to quality care between urban
and rural areas. This high neonatal mortality occurs in the context of high maternal mortality, despite very
high maternal access to health care. In Botswana, 95% of births are attended by skilled personnel, and 94%
of women use antenatal care services at least once during pregnancy. High health care access coupled with
high maternal and neonatal deaths are indicative of challenges with quality of care and timely referrals in
the health care system. For Botswana to meet the ‘Every Newborn Action Plan’ neonatal mortality target of
fewer than 12 per 1000 live birth by 2030, it is critical to improve quality of care for newborns.
To this end, the Ministry of Health in Botswana has assembled a Technical Taskforce to develop Neonatal
Operational and Clinical Guidelines to guide health workers in management of complications to improve
newborn survival. The Taskforce has developed a draft of the guidelines.
UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Health to finalise the guidelines. UNICEF, therefore, wishes to recruit a
qualified, experienced Consultant in new born care to finalise the guidelines in consultation with the
Taskforce.
Methodology:
The consultant shall be engaged full time for the period of the consultancy. The consultant will be expected
to prepare an inception report detailing specific timelines for this consultancy period. They will review,
update and finalise the guidelines, relying on current evidence on effective interventions for prevention and
management of neonatal complications at all levels of newborn care. This will include review of all relevant
global operational and clinical guidance as well as documentation of local newborn care programming,
including the recent RMNCAH review report.
Reporting
The consultant will report directly to the Chief Health Officer in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Division
of the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Chief of Young Child Survival & Development at UNICEF
Botswana. The reports will be reviewed by the Ministry of Health and the Technical Taskforce. Deliverables
will be submitted as 3 soft copies on CD and 3 hard copies each.
Required Qualification and Experience
 Advanced degree or equivalent qualification in Paediatrics/Neonatology or Neonatal nursing
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 At least (8) years progressively responsible professional work experience within Maternal and Newborn
Care, including in both primary health care and tertiary care settings
 Demonstrable experience in Clinical newborn care
 Evidence of having worked with government
 Good understanding of Botswana Health services structure will be considered an asset
 Experience in Public Health practice in MNH will be considered an additional asset
 Good understanding of the global and regional post 2015 guidance on MNH
 Excellent analytical and writing skills in English;
 Extensive knowledge of MNH issues
The consultant may be requested to produce copies of previous related work as evidence of competency
Specific tasks:
The Newborn Care Consultant will work closely with the Technical Taskforce and will be specifically
responsible for the following tasks:
1. Prepare an inception report for the assignment;
2. Facilitate a stakeholder workshop to review the inception report and agree scope and depth of the
guidelines
3. Visit Newborn care sites at different levels of care (Clinic to Referral Hospital) to appreciate current
practice and identify bottlenecks to quality health care
4. Review and draw from all relevant documents including the ‘Status of implementation of MNH Road
Map, Joint RMNCAH review; Every Newborn Action Plan, Accelerated Child Survival and Development
Strategy, draft National Nutrition Strategy, Infant & Young Child Feeding policy and guidelines, PMTCT
guidelines, Integrated Health Services Package, Essential Health Package, National Health Policy, and any
other relevant national, regional and global strategy documents
5. Review and revise the draft Neonatal Operational and Clinical Guidelines
6. Develop a pocket book of Neonatal Clinical Guidelines and relevant job aids for quick reference by health
workers
7. Develop monitoring and quality assurance tools for operational and clinical neonatal care
8. Present the final guidelines and pocket book to the Technical Taskforce and the Ministry of Health
Management
Deliverables
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Inception report with timelines, within 5 days of signing contract
Neonatal Operational and Clinical Guidelines (complete)
Pocket book: Neonatal Clinical Guidelines
Job aids for quick reference
Monitoring and quality assurance tools
Duration
The consultancy is expected to take not more than 30 working days.
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UNICEF DSA rates and transport will be provided for any approved travel outside Gaborone related to the
assignment. Any travel should be accounted for and settled in line with UNICEF travel policies and regulations
How to Apply
Interested and suitable candidates should ensure that they forward their applications (a cover letter, CV,
and signed P11 form which can be downloaded at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc),
quoting the indicative fee range and the consultancy reference to:
The Human Resources Manager
UNICEF Botswana Country Office
Email address: gaborone@unicef.org.
Applications submitted without an all-inclusive fee/ rate will not be considered. Please note that only
shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and
male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with
disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
Submission deadline: 06th January 2016