1. BACKGROUND

The WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), through its Nutrition and Food Safety (NUT) Programme, provides technical leadership to support Member States in the adoption, adaptation, and implementation of WHO normative guidance to address all forms of malnutrition across the life course, including child wasting.

Despite progress over the past decade, the African Region remains off track to achieve the global nutrition targets. Child wasting continues to pose a major public health challenge, with an estimated 12.2 million children under five affected in the Region. Only a limited number of countries are currently on track to meet the World Health Assembly targets for the reduction of wasting. Severe acute malnutrition (SAM), particularly when associated with medical complications, remains one of the most significant contributors to preventable child mortality.

In response to persistent gaps, WHO, together with UNICEF and other partners, developed updated global guidance on the prevention and management of wasting and nutritional oedema, published in 2023. This guidance is complemented by the WHO training course on the inpatient management of severe acute malnutrition, originally released in 2002 and subsequently updated in 2022 and 2025, which provides standardized, evidence-based clinical approaches for the management of children with SAM and medical complications.

Several high-burden countries in the African Region have updated their national protocols to align with the new WHO recommendations. However, limited availability of skilled facilitators and mentors continues to constrain the effective roll-out of high-quality inpatient SAM training, particularly in stabilization centres and inpatient therapeutic programme wards.

To address this gap, WHO AFRO will continue to support regional and country-level training activities using the revised WHO training package. In this context, WHO AFRO seeks to establish a roster of qualified consultant facilitators with strong clinical expertise in the inpatient management of severe acute malnutrition with medical complications.

The roster will enable WHO to pre-identify and mobilize experienced experts, as needed, to support training, mentorship, and capacity strengthening activities across the Region.

2. DELIVERABLES

When mobilized, the consultant will support countries to:

• Review and apply WHO-approved training packages on the inpatient management of SAM with medical complications, ensuring technical accuracy and readiness for implementation at country level.

• Conduct training of trainers (ToT) for national and subnational trainers using WHO standardized materials and competency-based training approaches.

• Support and/or deliver cascade trainings for health workers involved in inpatient SAM case management at facility and subnational levels.

• Provide practical clinical mentorship during training activities conducted in hospitals or stabilization centres, as applicable.

• Support WHO and Ministries of Health in identifying capacity gaps, implementation challenges, and priority follow-up actions related to SAM case management.

• Assignments may be implemented in development, fragile, or humanitarian settings, depending on country needs and programme priorities.

Expected Deliverables

Reviewed Training Materials

• Technical review and feedback on WHO training packages for inpatient management of SAM with medical complications.

• Recommendations for contextualization of training delivery (without modification of clinical protocols).

Training of Facilitators Outputs

• Delivery of ToT sessions for identified national or subnational trainers.

• List of facilitators trained, including profiles and level of competency achieved.

Cascade Training Outputs

• Delivery and/or technical support to cascade trainings for health workers on inpatient SAM case management.

• Summary of training sessions conducted, including:

• Number of participants trained

• Cadres of participants

• Training locations

Clinical Mentorship and Practical Support

• On-site or embedded mentorship during practical training sessions.

• Documented key observations on clinical practice and quality of care.

Technical Reporting and Feedback

• Concise technical report summarizing:

• Activities conducted

• Key findings

• Implementation challenges

• Recommendations for follow-up support

• Structured feedback to WHO and national counterparts on:

• Facilitator performance

• Training effectiveness

• System-level gaps affecting SAM case management

3. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND LANGUAGES

Educational Qualifications

Essential

• Master’s degree in Medicine, Nutrition, Public Health, or Public Health Nutrition from a recognized institution.

Desirable

• Advanced university degree (Master’s level or above) in:

• Paediatrics and Child Health

• Public Health and Nutrition

• International Emergency Health and Nutrition

• Epidemiology

• Or related fields

Experience

Essential

• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience at national and/or international levels in the prevention and management of acute malnutrition (child wasting) in infants and children under five years of age.

• Demonstrated experience in the clinical management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM), including SAM with medical complications, in inpatient or stabilization settings.

• Proven experience in the application and dissemination of WHO normative guidance on the prevention and management of wasting and nutritional oedema.

• Experience supporting the development, adaptation, or implementation of national strategies, guidelines, protocols, or operational tools related to acute malnutrition.

• Documented experience in capacity strengthening, including:

• Delivery of training

• Training of trainers/facilitators

• Supportive or formative supervision of health workers on SAM case management

Desirable

• Experience working in nutrition programmes in the WHO African Region, including fragile, conflict-affected, or humanitarian settings.

• In-depth familiarity with the 2023 WHO Guidelines on the prevention and management of wasting and nutritional oedema in infants and children under five years of age.

• Participation in WHO regional or global technical consultations or workshops related to child wasting, including the 2023 WHO regional workshop on the care of children with wasting and nutritional oedema.

4. SKILLS / KNOWLEDGE

• Strong technical expertise in the inpatient management of SAM with medical complications, aligned with WHO standards.

• Ability to translate WHO normative and clinical guidance into practical training, mentorship, and on-the-job support for health workers.

• Proven skills in adult learning and facilitation, including:

• Case-based learning

• Clinical simulations

• Competency-based training approaches

• Ability to work effectively with Ministries of Health, WHO teams, and partners in diverse country contexts, including emergency settings.

5. LANGUAGES AND LEVEL REQUIRED

Essential

• Expert knowledge of English, French, or Portuguese.

Desirable

• Intermediate knowledge of other UN official languages.

6. TECHNICAL SUPERVISION

The consultants will report to the Nutrition and Food Safety Team Lead.

They will work in close collaboration with the respective WHO Representatives (WRs) and nutrition focal persons in the WHO country offices.