Consultant for the development of General Comment on WASH & Nutrition

With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 31,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Key Responsibilities:

Note: All documents should be uploaded on the field labeled CV with financial proposal and not exceed 5MB.

Scope of the General Comment

The General Comment shall elaborate the elements of Article 14(2)(c) of the African Children’s Charter including the interrelated rights to adequate nutrition, safe drinking water, and the legislative, institutional, and other measures that should be taken by State Parties to the African Children’s Charter to ensure the full realisation of these rights for all children. Specifically, the General Comment will focus on the following key issues, among others:

i. Clarify key technical and normative terminology associated with the child’s right to adequate nutrition and safe drinking water, such as stunting, wasting, malnutrition, food insecurity, and water supply and quality, sanitation, etc, as well as what constitutes adequate nutrition and safe drinking water;

ii. Elaborate on the use of a child rights-based approach to guide laws, policies, and programmes in the context of the lived realities of the Child in Africa across different environments and situations of vulnerability.

iii. Outline States obligations to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights to adequate nutrition and safe drinking water, including legislative, institutional, governance and budgetary responsibilities, in line with international and regional child rights standards.

iv. Clarify the obligations of States Parties to regulate and monitor business enterprises and other commercial actors whose activities impact children’s rights to adequate nutrition and WASH, including elaborating States’ regulatory obligations under Article 14(2)(c), read together with Article 1(3) of the African Children’s Charter. This include, inter alia, regulation of the marketing of breastmilk substitutes and ultra-processed foods, water privatisation, and extractive industries polluting water sources.

v. Explain the interdependence and indivisibility of the rights to adequate nutrition and safe drinking water, including their intrinsic linkage with other rights such as health, life, and education; as well as the factors which render certain groups of children particularly vulnerable to the non-fulfilment of these rights, including a discussion of the relationship between violence against children, early pregnancy, food systems and industry practices;

vi. Provide guidance on how States should design and implement child-sensitive social protection systems and comprehensive programmes including targeted social safety nets, cash transfers, food assistance and WASH-related support and allocate adequate budgetary resources for their effective implementation, in order to realize children’s rights to adequate nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation, in line with relevant UN standards, guidance and best practices.

vii. Provide practical and context-relevant recommendations to support States in translating these standards into effective laws, policies and programmes, including guidance on monitoring, evaluation and accountability mechanisms, with particular attention to vulnerable children and low-resource settings.

viii. Outline how States should work with communities, health workers, educators, humanitarian actors, and other stakeholders to ensure equitable access to nutrition, water, and sanitation, including in rural/urban contexts, climate-affected areas, and displacement settings.

The General Comment should further explain how the four general principles of the African Children’s Charter (best interest of the child, survival and development, participation, and non-discrimination) should be interpreted in the context of the child’s right to adequate nutrition and safe drinking water. Moreover, the General Comment should adopt a child-rights perspective in expounding the drivers of lack of adequate nutrition and safe drinking water and the obligation of states to ensure equitable and effective access to these rights for all children.

Key deliverables

• Activity: Prepare inception report and a draft outline of the General Comment and present it to the ACERWC and their partners.
  • Deliverable/Outcome: Inception report and Draft outline prepared and submitted.
• Activity: Facilitate consultations with key informants and children/young people, synthesize findings, and develop a first draft of the General Comment, based on the agreed outline; collect input and develop a second draft for presentation to ACERWC and their partners
  • Deliverable/Outcome: Consultation Synthesis Report and First Draft of General Comment prepared and submitted
• Activity: Participate in the ACERWC Sessions, coordination, planning, consultation, and validation meetings, as required.
  • Deliverable/Outcome: Participation in the ACERWC Sessions and validation workshop
• Activity: Develop the final draft of the General Comment based on inputs, and revise it based on inputs, for adoption by ACERWC.
  • Deliverable/Outcome: Final draft prepared and submitted

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local Applicants Only

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organisation with a mission centred on following Jesus Christ in service to the world´s most vulnerable children. Therefore, in all locations to the fullest extent legally permissible, the successful applicant will affirm our core documents, observe conduct compatible with Christian principles, serve at a high level of professional ethics and strive to act in accordance with cultural sensitivities. Furthermore, regular attendance with team and office devotions, chapel and prayer gatherings are expected in line with policies in the World Vision host location and its departments.