Nutrition Governance; institutional framework) consultant Tonga, Nuku’alofa, Tonga Remote
Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia
Listed on 2026-09-15
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Healthcare
Public Health, Health Education & Promotion
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
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every child, the right to health. How can you make a difference?
Surveys conducted in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) over the past 5 years consistently show alarming rates of various forms of malnutrition among both children in adults. In Tonga, nearly six in every ten children and adolescents (5-19 years) are overweight and obese, while over a third of the children have been reported to be anemic. Sub-optimal diets are considered as the main key immediate driver for malnutrition in all its forms.
Poor nutrition is a crucial risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In Tonga, NCDs are the leading cause of mortality and take up a significant proportion of the health expenditure. Overall purchases from imported items are the main source of food access followed by small-scale agriculture production. Households in the lowest socio-economic quartile have the lowest food expenditure which is mostly on unhealthy foods as these are less expensive.
In order to address the multi-faceted burden of malnutrition in Tonga, as the first pacific country to release a national NCD strategy in 2004, the public health efforts have progressed well, notably with the promotion of physical activities and tobacco cessation/control. However, nutrition services at primary health care level, other sectors and in the communities are not well supported partly due to the constraints related to institutional set up.
In Tonga, the MoH is the ministry expected to offer technical support in the delivery of nutrition services within health and other social services sectors such as agriculture, trade as well as social assistance. In this context, UNICEF seeks a consultant to provide technical assistance for Ministry of Health in Tonga to review the existing institutional framework and capacity to deliver, coordinate or steer nutrition services across different sectors and in communities;
and recommend an organizational / human resource structure for optimal delivery of nutrition services. The consultant needs to travel to Tonga to perform most of the assignment which involves extensive stakeholder consultation, while s/he can work remotely at the beginning (on an inception report) and end of the assignment (on a final report).
If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:
TMC
0005607 TOR.pdf
Minimum Requirements
- Education:
Master University Degree in Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Dietetics, Public Health, Health Policy, Health Systems, Health Workforce Development, Organizational Development, Public Administration, Governance or a related field is required. Additional academic training or demonstrated expertise in health systems strengthening, workforce planning, public sector reform, or nutrition policy and programming would be an asset - Work Experience:
A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in…
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