Deadline: 28-Apr-25
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is seeking expression of interests to empower communities through inclusive social and behaviour change interventions.
Sectors and Areas of Specialization
- This program comprises 6 sectoral components:
- Health,
- Nutrition,
- WASH,
- Education,
- Child Protection and
- Social Protection.
- It also includes cross-cutting components supporting the achievement of cross-sectoral results such as Social and Behavior Change, Youth and Adolescent Engagement, etc. that contribute to the achievement of planned results.
- The SBC interventions aim to address social and behavioural barriers across all programs by fostering inclusive, community-driven solutions that promote sustainable behaviour change.
- By embedding gender, disability, and climate considerations into every stage, these interventions will ensure equitable access to services and improved outcomes for all.
Expected Results
- Evidence-Based SBC Design and Implementation
- Conduct participatory research to identify social and behavioural barriers to service uptake across programs, ensuring that insights account for gender dynamics, the needs of persons with disabilities, and climate vulnerabilities.
- Design and implement integrated SBC strategies that promote critical behaviours across programs, such as health-seeking, improved hygiene practices, school retention, adequate nutrition, and child protection.
- Develop and institutionalize SBC knowledge-sharing platforms in collaboration with academia and professional associations, such as the Ethiopian Health Education Professional Association (EHEPA), to promote evidence-based practices.
Integrated Service Promotion Campaigns
- Develop unified campaigns that deliver consistent messaging across programs, encouraging the uptake of essential services and practices.
- Ensure messages are inclusive, accessible, and culturally relevant, addressing the unique needs of marginalized groups, including women, youth, and persons with disabilities, while integrating climate-sensitive practices such as water conservation and sustainable agriculture.
- Community Engagement for Sustainable Behavior Change
- Mobilize and empower community leaders, youth groups, and women’s networks to act as champions of behaviour change.
- Facilitate community-driven platforms, such as dialogues and participatory events, to co-create solutions and foster collective ownership of behavior change efforts.
- Capacity Strengthening for Frontline Workers and Partners
- Train frontline workers, service providers, and community volunteers to deliver SBC interventions that are gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, and climate-conscious.
- Provide practical tools and techniques to enable them to address barriers to service delivery effectively and promote sustained behavior change.
- Development of Accessible SBC Materials
- Design inclusive communication tools, such as videos, posters, and digital resources, that are accessible to persons with disabilities and sensitive to gender and cultural contexts.
- Integrate climate-resilient messaging, such as promoting drought-resistant hygiene practices or nutrition habits, into all materials.
- Accountability and Feedback Mechanisms
- Establish systems to gather real-time feedback from communities, ensuring interventions are adaptive and responsive to their needs.
- Use digital platforms, such as UReport, to amplify voices from marginalized groups and enable inclusive participation in the design and evaluation of SBC efforts.
- Resilience and Crisis-Responsive SBC Approaches
- Design scalable SBC interventions to address sudden emergencies, including public health crises and climate-induced disasters.
- Integrate resilience-building into behavior change campaigns, such as preparedness for climate shocks or promoting equitable resource-sharing practices.
Geographical Focus
- Ethiopia
- Oromia
Eligibility Criteria
- Prospective CSOs will be assessed based on two set of criteria:
- Be a community-based organization or a national or international non-governmental organization (NGO) with a legal personality recognized in accordance with Ethiopia’s national legislation.
- Be registered on the UN Partner Portal as a non-profit civil society organization. Profile including organizational Capacity and relevant technical expertise of applicant(s) is one of the criteria with weighted average scores.
For more information, visit UN Partner Portal.