Justification
In order to optimize services to protect and support children and their families and address increased mental health and psychosocial (MHPSS) during pandemics, it is necessary to strengthen collaboration between healthcare and child protection service provision through increasing the understanding of child protection issues among health care professionals and establishing a clear referral protocol between the two services
Both the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) and UNICEF have recommended the hiring of an expert in health and child protection to help develop guidance and tools and to provide technical assistance to both the child protection and health sectors towards improvement of protection and MHPSS of children and families during pandemics, drawing on lessons from the current COVID-19 pandemic and the recommendations made during EVD preparedness planning activities.
Objectives
The overall objective of this technical assistance is to increase the understanding of CP among health professionals and establish appropriate linkages between health and CP professionals to respond to health emergencies, this entails documentation review and elaboration of materials for capacity development of both child protection and healthcare professionals to optimize services to affected children and families during current and future pandemics and other health emergencies.
Applications are due 31 December 2020.