SYP Resource Mapping Internship

Objectives of the Internship Program

The UNFPA Internship Program offers a small group of outstanding students the opportunity to acquire direct exposure to UNFPA operations. It is designed to complement development-oriented studies with practical experience in various aspects of UNFPA work.

Applicants should have expressed interest in the field of development; ability to adapt to new environments and work with individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Interns work under the supervision of a staff member at UNFPA. The background of the interns is matched with the needs of the organization.

Qualifying for an Internship

Candidates for the internship programme are selected on a competitive basis. The profiles of the interns are matched with the needs of the organization. The following qualifications are required for consideration:

• Students should be enrolled in an advanced degree programme or have recently graduated;
• Students must have written and spoken proficiency in English; fluency in French, Spanish or Arabic is an asset.

Financial Aspects

Interns do not receive a salary or any other form of remuneration from UNFPA. The costs associated with an intern's participation in the programme must be assumed either by the nominating institution, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students, or by the students themselves, who will have to meet living expenses as well as make their own arrangements for accommodation, travel and other requirements. In addition, applicants must have medical insurance for the duration of the internship. Proof of insurance will need to be submitted before the internship begins.

Background

UNFPA envisions a Southern Africa where all adolescents and young people are healthy, productive and empowered. It envisions a region where adolescents and young people are free from sexually transmitted infections including HIV, do not experience unwanted pregnancies, are not forced into child marriages or suffer sexual violence. This is a generation which must be equipped with comprehensive knowledge and skills regarding their sexuality, rights, and one whose behaviour favours good health.

Hence, UNFPA developed the Safeguard Young People Programme (SYP) with the aim to identify and scale up comprehensive interventions for adolescents and young people in Southern Africa through a multi-sectoral approach. This includes policy development, integrated HIV and sexual health services aimed at young people, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for young people both in an out of school, and youth participation in activities that empower them.

The ownership of the programme remains with government at national level, with the key entities involved being the Health, Youth and Education Ministries. In addition, in all the eight countries where the project is implemented, different national departments such as the National Population Unit, the Sexual and Reproductive Health Unit, the National AIDS Councils and the National Youth Councils are heavily involved. This is to ensure a multi-sectoral implementation process that is harmonized and sustainable. The UNFPA country offices have also engaged with other strategic partners to ensure quality implementation of the different parts of the programme.

1. Purpose of the Project Site Resource Mapping

In order to enable adolescents and young people to successfully transition to adulthood, the issue of their rights and sexual and reproductive health must be supported by a multifaceted programme. The SYP programme therefore addresses young people holistically, taking into account the diverse social, economic and cultural contexts affecting their healthy development. These contexts need to be well understood by the SYP programme in order to make informed planning, resource allocation, and evidence based decision making.  

The Monitoring and Evaluation function of the SYP was therefore mandated to provide a geographic overview of the programme implementation sites, including getting insight of the social and economic context and trends in the Region as well as in each of the 8 countries targeted by SYP. The mapping exercise would also contribute to the quality assurance and the effective monitoring and evaluation of the programme, as well as continuously provide substantive inputs to UNFPA’s reports to be submitted to the donors.

It is envisaged that this information will help in integrating the SYP programme, and enable the UNFPA country offices and implementing partners in the planning for project support during this first phase ending 2016 and in planning for the 2nd phase of the Programme. In addition, evidence derived from the programme, best practices, as well as lessons learnt will be documented for further utilization by the programme. The information collected will be complied into a report for each country and this will include maps showing the resources for each of the districts, regions or provinces.

2. Methodology of the mapping exercise

The mapping exercise was been conducted in 7 of the 8 SYP countries. The methodology used included the following:

1. Held meetings with officials from the Ministries of Health, Education and Youth would gave overviews of the issues affecting adolescents and young people in the country as a whole.
2. Reviewed the Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) and the Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) and collected data wherever possible on the following:
   
   1. HIV prevalence rates among adolescent and young people
   2. HIV testing and counselling
   3. Adolescent antenatal
   4. STI data
   5. School drop-out by reason
3. Travelled to SYP implementation districts/regions and held meetings wherever possible with district health, youth and education officials, and implementing partner NGOs.
4. Visited health facilities with youth friendly health services and held meetings with facility officials.
5. Collected GIS data which included the following:
   
   1. Administrative boundaries
   2. Health facilities
   3. Education facilities
   4. Infrastructure
   5. Geophysical data
       
3. Purpose of the Internship

The purpose of internship is to assist the SYP M&E Specialist to conduct the next stage of the resource mapping which entails:

1. Desktop capture, organization and analysis of the collected data,
2. Production of maps, and
3. Production of a report encompassing the following:

• Profiles of the health facilities, their types, catchment areas, and adolescent and youth services offered;
• Profiles of schools in the health facility catchment areas, particularly in terms of subjects taught related to young people’s SRH if any;
• Mapping of HMIS data covering adolescents and young people’s SRH in the project sites;
• Mapping of EMIS data, particularly school drop-out as a result of pregnancies and marriages;
• Mapping of available community resources where young people can be reached (e.g. youth recreation and sports centres);
• Mapping general information on adolescents and young people (males and females) in each of the SYP districts, regions and or provinces, including population;
• Analysis and presentation of hotspots (HIV, school drop-out, teenage pregnancies, child marriages, distant health and education facilities) prevalence in each of the project districts and or the whole region or province.
• Production of the complete mapping report.

4. Deliverables
   1. A time schedule/workplan for the delivery of the assignment.
   2. An organized database of collected data.
   3. Feature and spatial analysis maps.
   4. A written report on the SYP programme site resource mapping.
       
5. Duration of the Internship

The internship shall be carried over an initial period of two months of October and November 2016 with a possibility of extension.

6. Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in geography, geographic information systems (GIS), public Health, demography, operations research, or Monitoring and evaluation.
• Have experience in GIS, spatial data analysis, experience with ESRI Shapefiles or similar open source formats.
• Experience in undertaking geodata collection, Global Position Systems, or infrastructure studies/surveys preferably in Southern Africa would be an asset.
• Have excellent computer skills, as well as report writing and communication skills in English.
• Experience working with main statistical packages such as SPSS or STATA would be an asset.
• Working knowledge on adolescents and youth data particularly, sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention, will be considered as an asset.

To apply to this position please complete the attached Internship Application Form and email it together with your P11 to jobs.esaro@unfpa.org. The closing date for applications is 5pm (GMT+2) on 5 October 2016.