1.0 Project Background
Save the Children (SC) is the world’s leading independent organization for children. We save children’s lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfill their potential. We work together, with our partners, to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.
Save the Children (SC) undertook an innovative four and a half year project titled “Improving Nutritional Status of Pregnant and Lactating Women and Children in Rural Ethiopia (INSPIRE)”. The project spans the time period from January 21, 2016, to June 30, 2020, and is funded by the Canadian Government’s Department of Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The Project’s aim is to reduce maternal and child malnutrition in Ethiopia through a multi-sectoral approach and contribute to GAC’s global Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH )commitments as well as food security and nutrition priorities in Ethiopia. The ultimate outcome of the Project is to improve the health, nutrition, and well-being of pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and girls and boys under five through i) Increased access to and utilization of quality nutrition services; ii) Increased access to and utilization of nutritious food; and iii) Increased access to water and sanitation services. The Project will target vulnerable PLW, girls and boys in a total of 22 food insecure woredas (districts) from six zones in the Afar and Amhara National Regional States with high malnutrition rates.
Child malnutrition places a huge burden on Ethiopia, contributing to approximately 50% of child mortality in the country. Under-five chronic malnutrition rates are estimated at 37% for the entire country and are higher in vulnerable regions including the targeted regions of Afar (43%) and Amhara (41%). Despite experiencing strong economic growth recently, Ethiopia remains one of the 15 poorest countries in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Approximately, 80-85% of the population remains economically dependent on rain-fed agriculture. In both Afar and Amhara, erratic rains and degraded agricultural and pastoral land contribute to overall food insecurity. Even though the health system has improved significantly over the past few years, equitable access to quality services remains a significant barrier, particularly in rural and pastoralist areas. Relatively low levels of exclusive breastfeeding for babies under six months of age and very poor dietary diversity have contributed to child malnutrition. Lack of access to adequate, basic or safe water and sanitation facilities[1] also contributes to approximately one-fourth of all child mortality in the country. Hygienic behaviors are poorly practiced, with many rural households lacking access to clean water, and more than half of the rural population practicing open defecation.
The INSPIRE project works with the Bureaus of health, water and agriculture, focusing on increasing access, utilization and quality of key nutrition interventions including: nutrition-sensitive as well as nutrition-specific activities; preventive and curative nutrition services; nutrition-sensitive livelihood activities; improved off-farm income opportunities; and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services.
2.0 Qualifications of Consultant / Consulting Company:
· Minimum of 7 years of experience in coordinating and administering baseline/end line studies, including gender-sensitive, multi-sectorial nutrition intervention data collection and entry, data management and storage
· Experience working for international non-profit organizations or multilateral agencies;
· Demonstrated experience in training, facilitation and supervising survey enumerators and data entry clerks to collect and enter data as per high-quality standards;
· Demonstrated experience in setting up relevant database systems;
· Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis;
· Knowledge and experience with women empowerment, gender equality and and livelihood programming;
· Knowledge of and experience of gender equality issues are highly preferred;
· Fluency in English (spoken and written) is a requirement;
· Ability to produce high quality work under tight timeframes;
· Ability to work jointly with the Save the Children, and integrate feedback as required; and
· Ability to presents a team composition relevant to important themes of the project.