Multisectoral Assessment Consultant (Mat South and Masvingo)
Consultancy, Research Jobs
- International Medical Corps
- Expires 15 Nov 2023
- Matabeleland South
- Full Time
Job Description
International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide. By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at the highest risk, and with the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency and development phases, International Medical Corps rehabilitates devastated health care systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance.
To learn more about us visit: https: https://www.internationalmedicalcorps.org/
Organizational Background
International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, non-governmental organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health and emergency relief programming. During the 2008–09 cholera epidemic, its work in Zimbabwe included health, water, and sanitation interventions for the affected populations. In 2013, in response to food and nutrition insecurity in the country’s southern region, IMC worked under the Amalima consortium, to implement WASH and nutrition activities as part of a U.S. Agency for International Development Food Assistance Program, serving more than 66,000 community households. Currently, International Medical Corps is leading health, nutrition, and WASH activities with the support of USAID/Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, under the CNFA led Amalima Loko. The program runs from 2020-2025 in the drought-prone, food-insecure districts in Matabeleland, North province. International Medical Corps is also implementing a USAID/ Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance funded project in support of ‘Emergency Intervention to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) access in Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, and Masvingo Provinces and a climate-adaptation-focused project Enhancing Climate adaptation and resilience through an innovative nutrition sensitive agriculture and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) intervention in Zimbabwe.
Amidst a decade of economic decline in Zimbabwe, International Medical Corps has delivered quality health, nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene services to vulnerable populations in poor and vulnerable rural communities. The interventions aimed to improve nutrition and reduce the spread of waterborne disease, thereby contributing to reduced morbidity and mortality. In response, International Medical Corps is proposing a comprehensive needs assessment that focuses on WASH, Health, Nutrition, Resilience, Food security & Livelihoods, Climate Change, and Protection mainstreaming (GBV). The assessment findings will be used to design project interventions in some of the districts in the IPC 3 in Matabeleland South and Masvingo and inform the design of interventions that will respond to communities' needs, alleviate suffering and enhance their adaptive and absorptive capacities to respond to WASH, Health, food security, Livelihoods and climate-related shock and stressors.
Situational Background
Over the past five years, the El Niño induced drought has resulted in increased household food insecurity in Zimbabwe, especially for the rain fed-agriculture dependent rural population and poor access to potable water, good sanitation and hygiene. Almost half of the population in Zimbabwe is food insecure .. Main drivers of food insecurity in Zimbabwe include; poverty, erratic weather, HIV/AIDs, liquidity challenges, unemployment and economic instability. Tropical cyclone Eloise hit Zimbabwe in southeastern Zimbabwe in January 2021 affecting most Zimbabweans who mainly depend on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. Water challenges plague most of rural Zimbabwe. Masvingo and Matabeleland South provinces recorded the least access to improved water nationally, and 5 districts in these two provinces were among 20 with the lowerst results nationwide
Matabeleland South had the highest proportion of households accessing surface water (21%), followed by Masvingo (10%). Increasingly, more groundwater sources (boreholes) are breaking down due to wear and tear, a lack of spare parts, and communities lacking funds and support to repair them, compounded by a reduction and loss of livelihoods and decreased streams of revenue resulting from the pandemic. Most rural communities in Matabeleland South and Masvingo travel more than a kilometer to access drinking water, and spend more than an hour queuing at water points. This results in low handwashing practices as water for drinking and other household chores are prioritized. In Zimbabwe, more than 80% of households in all districts do not have handwashing facilities. Sanitation coverage in these provinces is low, with at least 36% of households in Masvingo and 33% in Matabeleland South practicing open defecation. According to ZIMVAC 202, at least 80% of households in Matabeleland South and 90% of households in Masvingo lack basic hygiene services.
Women and adolescent girls are more affected by poor access to water, sanitation, hygiene services, and food insecurity in Zimbabwe due to inequality in income distribution and power, and societal norms on gender roles within households. Women and adolescent girls play a key role in collecting water for household use, cleaning, looking after children, and preparing and providing food. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) reports that women in Zimbabwe spend at least 49% of their time on food production activities and 25% of their time on domestic chores. Long walking distances to water points worsen the plight of women and adolescent girls, and the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to acute food insecurity faced by Masvingo and Matabeleland South Provinces.
Compounded by consecutive years of drought, poor harvests, and the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, Zimbabwe’s unstable economy is a key driver of acute food insecurity and malnutrition. Nationally, global acute malnutrition (GAM) was 4.5% in 2020 (an increase from 3.6% in 2019) . GAM in Masvingo reached the 5% benchmark for a public health emergency while Matabeleland South was at 4.5%. The proportion of children receiving a minimum acceptable diet (MAD) was at 3.8% in Masvingo province and 1.7% in Matabeleland South – the national average was 2.1%. Without adequate diversity and meal frequency, infants and young children are vulnerable to malnutrition, especially stunting and micronutrient deficiencies, and increased morbidity and mortality.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has had devastating effects on household access to diversified and nutritious foods. More children are becoming malnourished due to the deteriorating quality of their diets, interruptions in nutrition and other essential services, and the socio-economic shocks created by the COVID 19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ), through the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), launched a National Preparedness and Response Plan to minimize morbidity and mortality adverse socio-economic impacts in Zimbabwe. The GoZ also placed the country under two phases of lockdowns; from 30 March to the end of April 2020, then again from 5 January 2021 to 28 February 2021. As of 12 May 2021, Zimbabwe had 38,466 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 36,277 recoveries, and 1,579 deaths. The MoHCC rolled out the COVID-19 free vaccination process on 18 February 2021, and as of 12 May 2021, 549,797 peope have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination while 180,568 have received their second dose.
Gender Based Violence is a topical issue worldwide and Zimbabwe recorded new and worrying trends during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The ZimVAC assessment recorded that nationally, 13% of respondents reported having experienced spousal violence while 0.4% reported experiencing other forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV). Spousal violence was at 11.6% and other forms were at 0.7% in Masvingo while in Matabeleland South, spousal violence was at 7.4% and other forms were at 0.1%. Nationally the most reported form of spousal violence was verbal abuse and deprivation of physical needs in order to punish the victim (71%). At the national level, about 2 in 5 women reported ever having experienced either physical or sexual violence whilst 1 in 10 reported having experienced both .
The Zimbabwean population is still struggling to access protection infrastructure and services. Only 44% of households in Matabeleland South and 36% in Masvingo provinces reported that they had police services reachable within one hour . Furthermore only 29% of the households in Matabeleland South and 37% in Masvingo reported having access to services for victims of physical and sexual violence. Access to information on services for victims of physical and sexual violence was reported to be a great challenge as only 36% of households in Matabeleland South and 40% in Masvingo accessed information either from health workers or the police.
Nationally access to health services is also a great challenge. 33% of households travel 5-10km, while 16% travel more than 10km to access a health facility. At least 34% of households in Matabeleland South travel 5-10km to access a health facility while 21% travel more than 10km. In Masvingo 35% travel 5-10km while 15% travel more than 10km. The Neonatal Mortality Rate was 32 deaths per 1 000 live births for the 5 years preceding the survey and has remained unchanged over the past 15 years, with Matabeleland South at 26 deaths per 1000 live births and Masvingo at 20 deaths per 1,00 live births.
Duties and Responsibilities
The consultant is expected to collect primary data from key stakeholders in Matabeleland South Province (Mangwe, Matobo, and Beitbridge district) and Masvingo (Mwenezi,Chivi,Chiredzi and Masvingo districts), using both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect this data. He/she will also review existing secondary literature to obtain information. The consultant will finalize the key questions for this work and develop a study proposal that includes the following: individual/groups to be consulted; size or scope of sampling frame; sample selection method and data collection methods; data analysis at the district level, and health data be specific per health facility. Methodologies should incorporate gender mainstreaming and protection issues.
The consultant is expected to submit a work plan within the first 3 days of the assignment and confirm the study methodology, tools, and sample size with the MEAL Manager and IMC Country Director. International Medical Corps will have the sole responsibility for the hiring and payment of enumerators, while the consultant will be responsible for training and supervision of enumerators during the assessment. IMC will facilitate all logistical arrangements for the assessment, including transport to the field and enumerator accommodation. The consultant will work with IMC MEAL and TU team members to derive the best possible valid and relevant data collection tools to be used in the assessment. International Medical Corps will review and approve the tools and support the selection of communities/clusters to be selected for assessment. IMC focal points for the assessment will organize introductions with stakeholders where required, assist in mobilizing participation and the provision of feedback to participants.
Expected Outputs/ Deliverables
Period of Consultancy : 22 November 2023 to 19 January 2024.
• Inception report (including specific details on methodology, research questions, tools and schedules for data collection, ethical considerations, data analysis, storage, and management plans).
• A one-pager on the benefits and limitations of the assessment methodology used in the selected Provinces.
• Raw dataset and cleaned dataset in CSV (quantitative) and Word or Excel (qualitative) including all primary data collected, and a list of all groups/people consulted or interviewed.
• Provide Geo-Positioning system (GPS) coordinates for all study sites (including all households interviewed, should there be any).
• Needs assessment narrative report (including maps, pictures, tables, graphs) detailing findings and recommendations, including secondary data review.
Qualifications and Experience
Application Requirements
All expressions of interest should include:
• A technical proposal (maximum of 10 pages), highlighting the scope of work, experience, and qualifications, as well as a brief explanation on understanding the Terms of Reference. An analysis framework and evaluation plan should also accompany this.
• Financial proposal in US dollars (US$): the financial proposal should provide cost estimates for services rendered.
• Proof of previous work done, in the form of hard copies of at least three (3) reports produced for previous work done from maximum the last 7 years.
• The consultant should be prepared to make a presentation to International Medical Corps and stakeholders on how they propose to carry out the assessment. The expert is to attach CVs of all team members that will participate in the assessment.
How to Apply
This position is open to Zimbabwe local consultants only and applicants are requested to submit the aforementioned documents through e-mail to recruitmentzimbabwe@internationalmedicalcorps.org with the email heading ‘Multisectorial Assessment Consultant’ by the 15th of November 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
International Medical Corps never asks consultants or job applicants for a fee, payment, or other monetary transaction. If you are asked for money in connection with this recruitment, please report to International Medical Corps at the reporting email address provided at the end of this document. International Medical Corps’ Reporting email address: report@InternationalMedicalCorps.org. Please do not submit your CV or application to the reporting email address, it will not be considered for review.
