Local Consultancy: To conduct a desk review of existing literature, programs, and products on teenage pregnancy with the aim of informing a comprehensive government response framework, South Africa, Pretoria

The Position:

Local Consultancy: To conduct a desktop review of existing literature, programs, and products on teenage pregnancy with the aim of informing a comprehensive government response framework.
 

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Introduction and Context

The UNFPA is an organization within the United Nations that focuses on sexual and reproductive health. Its mission is to create a world in which all pregnancies are intended, all childbirths are safe, and young people are able to reach their full potential. To achieve this, UNFPA endeavours to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, promote reproductive rights, and reduce maternal mortality. 

As a result, teenage pregnancy is one of the challenges that remains a significant social and public health issue globally, with severe implications for the health, well-being, and future prospects of adolescent mothers and their children. South Africa has a Gender Inequality Index value of 0.421, ranking it 94th out of 162 countries. Youth unemployment is a significant issue, with 63.9% of young people aged 15-24 years being unemployed as of 2022. This disproportionately affects young women, who face an unemployment rate of 68.9% compared to 59.3% for young men. The provinces with the highest levels of multidimensional poverty, female-headed households, and gender inequality also tend to have poorer SRHR outcomes. For example, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces have the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, with 12.5% and 11.6% of girls aged 15-19 years giving birth, respectively, compared to the national average of 7.7%. 

Despite numerous efforts to address this problem, teenage pregnancy prevalence remains high in various regions, particularly in low and middle-income countries. This literature review seeks to investigate the underlying factors contributing to teenage pregnancy, focusing on understanding the magnitude of the problem, and the specific role of child marriage, lack of access to contraception, and gender-based violence.

Purpose of consultancy:

The individual consultant will conduct an in-depth literature review on teenage pregnancy in South Africa to guide and inform UNFPA on how best to advise the Department of Women Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) on key strategic national plan priorities and interventions that should be considered for a bold and robust response against teenage pregnancy.

Scope of Work & Deliverables
The scope of work and deliverables for the assignment will include: 

2. Objective of the Review 

The primary objectives of this literature review are to:

3. Scope of Work

This literature review will focus on the following key areas: 

4. Methodology

Deliverables

The final output of the literature review will include a comprehensive report that will guide the government of South Africa and stakeholders on the development of a costed national response plan, and the report will include the following:

   Duration and working schedule:

This assignment will last 4 weeks months, from 29 April to 27 May 2025. The consultant will be expected to provide a detailed plan with time frames to meet the abovementioned deliverables.

Place where services are to be delivered :

Consultancy will be virtual, with travel as and when required to Pretoria.

Supervisory arrangements:

The consultant will be under the overall supervision of the UNFPA Assistant Representative/Head of Programmes.

Expected travel:

The consultant is expected to work both remotely (off-site/virtually) and be available to travel for field work and stakeholder engagement as appropriate.

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

● Must have demonstrable previous experience in assessment of SRHR and or HIV programmes 

● Have a postgraduate degree i.e. Master’s or PhD in Public health, Population Studies or Epidemiology.

 ● Experience working in collaboration with government (particularly, the Department of Health, development partners (especially UNFPA), civil society organizations (organizations implementing Public Health programs in South Africa).

 ● Demonstrated strong report writing skills and evidence of reports produced 

● Excellent knowledge and at least 4 years’ experience working in family Planning, Maternal and Child Health, HIV

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.