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For every child, Care.

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Objective:

UNICEF Egypt seeks to contract a national individual consultant to support the Ministry of Health in conducting causal analyses of neonatal death in Egypt to accelerate progress in line with the SDC targets and national milestones. The study aims to identify the key causes and contributing factors to infant deaths by period (perinatal, intrapartum, neonatal, and infant) using qualitative and quantitative analysis.

The specific objectives of this study are:

1. To determine the main factors contributing to neonatal death from the 28th week of pregnancy until the first 28th day of life;
2. To determine the main factors influencing the death of infants within the first 365 days of life;
3. To determine the effect of socio-economic status, geographical access, or any other contributing factors such as nutritional status/diet consumption, home delivery including existing functional referral systems within the networks of care, family and community involvement and support, and the management of small and/or sick newborn care and/or other factors and also their direct and indirect effects on the incidence of neonatal and infant death;
4. To determine if complications during pregnancy and in delivery have adverse effects on the pregnancy outcome, including disabilities;
5. To assess the availability of essential equipment, medicines, other supplies, human resources, and guidelines required for the provision of curative and promotive maternal and newborn care;
6. To determine the adequacy of data collected by the routine HMIS in deriving key maternal and infant health indicators.

Methodology:

The analysis will be done in two stages:

First Stage: Conduct a secondary analysis of the EFHS 2021 dataset to address the first three objectives. The dataset provides a wealth of information on antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care, as well as pregnancy outcomes and other relevant indicators. Logistic regression models will be employed to identify the key factors influencing neonatal and infant mortality. Potentially more advanced analytical techniques can also be applied to explore both direct and indirect effects of these factors on the incidence of deaths.

Second Stage: to be conducted on the basis of the retrospective review of perinatal, neonatal and infant deaths in selected maternities, hospitals, and at home (2023-2024) utilizing medical records (newborn files and child health charts), death certificates, and interviews with parents, birth attendants at home and health staff. Interviews with key staff from the health authorities on the availability and quality of perinatal/neonatal care and paediatric services will also be conducted. The study will also include a desk review of existing surveys and official perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortality statistics.  

The Ministry of Health and Population, through its technical Neonatal Thematic Working Group (TWG), chaired by the Deputy Minister, will lead the organization and implementation of the study and provide administrative support by issuing appropriate orders and engaging local institutions and specialists at the national and local levels. The MoHP, guided by the findings of the EFHS 2021, will identify geographical areas in the north and south of the country and in big cities where the study will be conducted. A national coordinator will also be appointed, ensuring that briefing/debriefing for an international consultant will be organized. The coordinator will also ensure the participation of relevant professionals from national and oblast/district health departments in executing proposed activities. The MOHP will appoint a team of field workers. UNICEF will support the field work through Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) to the Ministry of Health and Population.

The consultant will work closely with UNICEF Egypt and the TWG of the Ministry of Health and Population:

Phase 1: Study preparation (June 2025):

-Conduct a desk review of relevant documents, including country-specific policies, strategic plans, implementation/action plans, and guidelines, and available reports and studies.

-Prepare a draft of the inception report, which includes

•  Study design and methodology, data analysis techniques, data collection tools, etc
• Training program/modules and materials,
• Detailed study work plan

-Train field team workers (team leaders and interviewers) on proper data collection methodology and procedures and field testing of the tools;

-Submit documentation needed to obtain permissions/authorization for the review

Phase 2: Study implementation (July- September 2025):

-Monitor the study team performance by preparing a monitoring plan and visiting the identified field sites;

-Analyze data and prepare a draft of the narrative report on the results of the study;

-Present and validate the results at the stakeholder validation workshop at the national level with the TWG, key national experts, and partners and develop a set of recommendations for the reduction of neonatal mortality in Egypt;

Phase 3: Develop final report (November 2025):

-Based on the stakeholder consultation and feedback from UNICEF and MOHP, finalize the study report.

-Submit the final report with presentations and the raw/clean dataset to UNICEF and MOHP (in English).

*Draft and final narrative report with executive summary (2-3 pages), including all key findings, recommendations and suggestions (governance/management, access and quality of perinatal care services, key contributing factors to high perinatal, neonatal and infant mortality and links to child disability). The report should also include suggested directions/actions to reduce mortality and potential disability, including on human resource capacity. The report should also include an equity analysis: a variety of factors, such as poverty (socio-economic status), gender, ethnicity, race, religious or other cultural affiliations, education of mothers, and geographic location of residence, might affect a child’s chance to survive before, during and a month and a year after birth. Strategies to address inequity should be recommended if such strategies/approaches do not exist or require improvements.

Conditions of work:

Place of work: The consultant will work remotely and in the UNICEF office in Cairo, with travel to the field.

Travel:  UNICEF Egypt will cover travel-related costs inside the country.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

-Advanced University Degree in Public Health, Medicine with specialization in Neonatology, Perinatology and/or Pediatrics.

-At least 10 years of experience working with mother and child health, child survival, and perinatal/neonatal care service research and practices.

-Experience in qualitative and quantitative research analysis, including statistical analysis.

-Previous working experience with the UN and/or other international agencies is mandatory.

-Working experience in the MENARO region is mandatory.

-Excellent facilitation, analytical, conceptual, and writing skills.

-Fluency in English and Arabic is required  

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

  To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.