WHO Consultant – Prevention and Response to Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PRSEAH), World Health Organization (WHO) Vacancy Announcement;

1. Background and Justification

In 2022, more than 20 million people were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia, including 5.2 million people in Tigray. Tigray has been under a de facto blockade for the last two years, with little to no access to cash, fuel, telecommunication, or electricity, limiting humanitarian assistance and the delivery of essential supplies.
The conflict has left many injured and has had a severe impact on families’ lives and livelihoods. The periodic spillover of the conflict into the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara has significantly increased humanitarian needs in the northern part of the country.
The food security and malnutrition situation has worsened with over 13 million people in need of assistance in Tigray, Amhara and Afar. Disease outbreaks are on the rise, including of malaria, measles, acute respiratory tract infections and other vaccine-preventable diseases while risk of other outbreaks, such as cholera, is high. Over 2.8 million people have been displaced and are living in crowded settings with limited access to food, nutrition, health and water and sanitation infrastructure.

Following the fighting that erupted in Ethiopia’s Tigray region in November 2020, thousands are believed to have been killed and thousands of people displaced internally. The breakdown of social infrastructure, the disintegration of families and communities and the disruption of humanitarian responses is a precursor to increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including rape by combatants and intimate partners or acquaintances and even sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by humanitarian aid workers. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict called attention to sexual violence in the Tigray region following a high number of reports on crimes of sexual violence
The Ethiopia Humanitarian Response aims to provide lifesaving interventions and to address immediate needs of most vulnerable people across the country while ensuring that gender,protection, accountability to affected populations (AAP), including protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) programming are well integrated across the response.

Purpose of the position
The purpose of the position is to provide technical, operational and provide support for the mainstreaming of protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH) in the WHO Tigray emergency response operations covering Mikelle, Afar and Amhara.

*Objective of the Programme and of the immediate Strategic Objective
The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. In discharging its mandate, all WHO personnel and collaborators are expected to respect and abide by the international standards of ethical and professional conduct, reflecting WHO ethical principles, and to respect and abide by the WHO Policy on zero tolerance to all forms of sexual misconduct, including zero tolerance to inaction, and to ensure that they abide by and promote the WHO Policies related to PSEAH.

*Organizational context
Under the overall supervision of the WHO Incident Manager, and with technical oversight and guidance from the PRSEAH Country Programme Coordinator in Ethiopia, the consultant will coordinate with, and collaborate with the in-country IASC PSEA network partners, and with government counter parts in the health sector contributing to the Tigray response operations to mainstream PRSEAH in the response.
S/he will support WHO’s contribution to the in-country interagency PSEA work including specific deliverables and responsibilities that WHO holds within the PSEA network and action plan. The Incumbent will ensure that PRSEAH activities aimed at protecting affected population as well as personnel involved in the aid response for all forms of sexual misconduct are integrated in the response plans and in funding appeals, and shall routinely report on progress as per the reporting needs.

*Summary of assigned duties

Under the direct supervision and overall guidance of Incident Manager the Technical Officer will do the following :
a) Oversee and strengthen implementation of PSEAH interventions in the current WHO Northern Ethiopia emergency response operations:
• Overseeing, coordinating and implementing an endorsed PRSEAH POA that is adapted to the context and needs of the emergency operations
• Supporting/advising all key stakeholders internally on responsibilities and accountabilities in preventing and responding to SEAH including regular briefings on risks, and incidents
The Humanitarian Response Plan Ethiopia 2022
• Mainstream PRSEAH in WHO Programs and operations including in human resource management and WHO emergency operations to mitigate potential risks through implementation of safe-guarding measures during recruitment, training of personnel including volunteers, dissemination of PRSEAH information package to all personnel and Implementing partners,
• Mitigate PSEAH risks within WHO Programming for the emergency operations through dissemination of PSEAH information package to all personnel, partners and contractors;
• Implementing PSEAH trainings and refresher courses to all personnel, implementing partners, volunteers and Government counterparts.
b) Contribute to the Network collective efforts for scaling up PSEAH interventions in the NE response operations through.
• Contribution to and actively represent WHO in the PSEA Network activities, aligning with the PSEA Network TORs and contributing to implementation of relevant components of the joint Action Plan such joint risk assessments, capacity building, community awareness and engagement on rights, reporting and services; capacity building for referral for victim support; SEAH prevention activities, etc.
• Actively represent WHO and contribute to various PSEA related thematic working group (GBV, Gender, Protection Working Group, child Protection working group, Health Cluster, etc.) activities to promote PSEAH objectives ;
• Contribute to and support mapping of existing victims and survivors service providers, gaps and needs; and coordinate internally to ensure appropriate channeling of WHO contributions to the joint efforts for victims and survivors support mechanisms;
• Support and ensure the inclusion of PRSEAH in humanitarian needs overview, humanitarian response plans, event specific SRPs and funding appeals
• Representing WHO and participating in routine Inter-agency PSEA Network meetings, documentation and dissemination of outcomes and recommendations internally and to senior leadership as appropriate.
c) Support PRSEAH mainstreaming among implementing partners, including national Governments, NGOs and INGOs through:
• Support the WHO leadership to systematically roll out the UN Protocol on Allegations of SEA involving implementing partners and accompanying partner assessment, and support as needed ;
• Ensure that implementing partners are trained on PRSEAH, and that PRSEAH clause is inserted in all contractual agreements
• In coordination and collaboration with PSEA network partners, organize and implement awareness and training sessions of Implementing Partners as part of the PSEA capacity building activity of Implementing Partners
• Contribute to creating awareness and building capacities of national Governments on PSEAH and related capacities.