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Nutrition Governance (institutional framework) consultant for Tonga, Nuku’alofa, Tonga, 3 Months, Remote (With Travel)#595469

UNICEF

Published

02 Sept 2026

Deadline

14 Sept 2026

Surveys conducted in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) over the past 5 years consistently show alarming rates of various forms of malnutrition among both children in adults. In Tonga, nearly six in every ten children and adolescents (5-19 years) are overweight and obese, while over a third of the children have been reported to be anemic. Sub-optimal diets are considered as the main key immediate driver for malnutrition in all its forms. Poor nutrition is a crucial risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In Tonga, NCDs are the leading cause of mortality and take up a significant proportion of the health expenditure. Overall purchases from imported items are the main source of food access followed by small-scale agriculture production. Households in the lowest socio-economic quartile have the lowest food expenditure which is mostly on unhealthy foods as these are less expensive. In order to address the multi-faceted burden of malnutrition in Tonga, as the first pacific country to release a national NCD strategy in 2004, the public health efforts have progressed well, notably with the promotion of physical activities and tobacco cessation/control. The objective of this consultancy is to recommend: i) an evidence-based, context-specific, and fit-for-purpose institutional set-up / structure within Ministry of Health in Tonga, which will allow optimal delivery of nutrition services through health systems and effective coordination of nutrition interventions across sectors; and ii) nutrition human resource capacity needed in other Ministries / entities to delivery in full, required multi-sectoral interventions for nutrition