job Description
Mission and objectives:
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children are given opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination or, bias. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens addressing inequity not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity and inclusion is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations. The Zimbabwe Vision 2030 is “working towards building a new Zimbabwe, a country with a thriving and open economy, capable of creating opportunities for investors and employment” .
Context:
UNICEF Zimbabwe implements a broad Nutrition programme that supports policy and enabling environment work, subnational capacity building and community nutrition interventions under the Maternal, Infant, Young Child and Adolescent nutrition (MIYCAN), management of wasting, micronutrient supplementation and emergency response. Zimbabwe is a country with a low burden of wasting, but relatively higher chronic malnutrition (stunting) and ‘hidden hunger’ – micronutrient deficiencies, as well as rising levels of overweight and obesity, constituting a triple burden of malnutrition. Nutrition emergencies in Zimbabwe are varied in nature, ranging from climate-related both slow onset and rapid onset such as drought and floods / cyclones, to economic related crises driving food insecurity and poverty. Zimbabwe has, over the years, grappled with the negative effects of the climate crisis, which have led to erratic rainfall patterns characterized by either severe floods or prolonged periods of drought. As a result, 2.8 million people were estimated to be food insecure during the peak of the lean season in early 2024 (ZimLAC Rural 2023). The 2023/2024 El Niño event is set to worsen this situation and put children at increased risk of wasting. Already, 83 per cent of Zimbabwe’s children are living in food poverty, not receiving the diverse diet they need to grow and develop to their full potential (MICS 2019), putting them in a precarious position for fast deterioration in nutrition status as food security declines. The current El Nino induced drought is expected to reduce food access and availability, and thereby the quality of diets, which will result in a deterioration of nutrition status affecting children under-five, the most vulnerable, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women. The last comparable El Nino event in Zimbabwe (2015/16) resulted in an additional 10,000 children suffering from life-threatening severe wasting during the lean season following the El Nino. Learning from this, the nutrition sector has a short window of opportunity ahead of the onset of the lean season (in Oct 2024) to protect children’s diets, through promoting and supporting good feeding practices to prevent a rise in life-threatening wasting. As the global nutrition cluster lead, and the nutrition sector co-lead in Zimbabwe, UNICEF has a crucial role in coordinating humanitarian response including mapping and monitoring partner activities, supporting generation and availability of adequate nutrition data to inform response actions and monitor performance, ensuring accountability to affected populations and adequate monitoring of the response. The UNV will support the emergency nutrition response to the El Nino induced drought, ensuring a comprehensive, coordinated and multi-sectoral response to the emergency, aimed at preventing an increase in wasting and associated child mortality through protection of child diets and early identification and quality treatment of children with wasting. The UNV will also support the nutrition sector coordination, under the leadership of the Nutrition Manager.
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