Job Number: 514057 | Vacancy Link

Locations: Africa: Kenya

Work Type : Consultancy

Consultant to re-design the Imarisha Afya ya Mama na Mtoto programme including linkages to the productive and economic sector in Kakamega County

Purpose of Assignment:  Consultant to re-design the Imarisha Afya ya Mama na Mtoto programme including linkages to the productive and economic sector in Kakamega County

Estimated level of the assignment           

Location of Assignment:              Nairobi with frequent travel to Kakamega County

Duration of contract:                    90 Days in period of 5 months

Start date:                                            1st July 2018      To:  30 November 2018            

Reporting to:     UNICEF, Social Protection Specialist

Kakamega contributes a high burden of child deprivation in the country, due to its high population.  It also contributes significantly to national under five mortality.  It has above-average under five mortality, with the largest difference being in the child mortality rate (i.e. deaths between one year and five years).  However, more than half of mortality is within the neonatal and infant period.  Factors potentially contributing to the high neo-natal and infant mortality include the low rate of skilled delivery, low rate of ante-natal care, and low rate of contraceptive prevalence. To curb this the Kakamega County rolled out ‘Setting the Foundation in the First 1000 Days of Life – Accelerating Maternal and Child Survival in Kakamega County’ programme.

The Kakamega cash transfer programme named Imarisha Afya ya Mama na Mtoto was developed by the newly established the county Government in 2013 with a purpose of improving the county maternal and new born health and survival levels. Hence the cash transfers provided to pregnant and lactating women helps to cover some hidden such as transport which are the main bottlenecks which prevent women to attend health services for ANC, delivery and primary health care for new born during the 1000 days.

Distinct platforms within the first 1000 days of life are the focus of improving maternal and child survival outcomes in this initiative.  This focuses on the prenatal period with related platforms including antenatal care, community health strategy (addressing barriers including transport, community maternal and new-born health information and health seeking behaviours, food/nutrition security, community monitoring/scorecard), skilled delivery (addressing barriers of transport, social cultural, incentive based package for input – mother and baby items), postpartum and young child period from birth to 24 months including a focus in improved access to maternal child health services addressing transport, information/support – mothers to mothers support groups/male involvement

 

The programme is implemented to support pregnant mothers and children until age of 18 months. The project delivers a cash subsidy of Ksh 12,000 in a period of 18 months, in 6 cycles of Ksh 2000 and the main criteria to assess whether mothers are eligible for the program is be a resident in the county, pregnant or have a child below 18 Months and must be vulnerable and live in poverty. Therefore, it is designed and geared towards the conceptual period and a significant emphasis on the first 1000 days of life which is the critical window of opportunity where health and nutrition interventions to reduce stunting have the highest impact, this will not

only maximize growth but also reduce the risk of death in infants and young children.

The programme targets the most needy pregnant mothers and new born babies up to the age of 18 months (the first 1000 days of life). For the first Phase of the program (2013/14 to 2016/17) the number of targeted facilities is 25 health facilities based on their workload in order to show significant results. The criteria for selection of the participating health facilities was to be a government facilities that conduct high volume deliveries

Results, comprising changes in key indicators for increasing skilled delivery, ANC completion, and immunizations, are mixed. When comparing statistics for 2016, the Imarisha facilities outperformed the county averages across six key health indicators, when considering observed values versus targets. While this was also true before the Imarisha programme began, over the 2014-2016 time the county indicators fell while the Imarisha facilities were able to ensure small increases across almost all of them. Therefore, the Imarisha social protection programme likely had a protective effect in either maintaining attendance through the key 1,000 days or ensuring proactive ordering and maintenance of essential supplies for service continuity.

The lessons learnt from the first phase of the programme have shown that; i) there need to have a  clearly defined target population identified from the outset, ii) there should be a clear communication to all facilities and communities which includes: target population; enrolment information; what is expected of the beneficiaries, beneficiary rights, payment amounts and schedules, payment method, clear exit criteria, and the complaints and grievances procedure, iii) linkages to other services is especially relevant for shorter term Cash Plus programmes, iv) targeting teenage mothers and providing cash to vulnerable women in many societies brings with it several constraints v) payment schedules need to be revised to make sure mothers receive their payments before they are expected to deliver at the facilities. Cultural issues of power and agency need to be considered and worked into programme design, v) The role that the Grievances and Complaints Committees play are crucial however their functionality differs widely, clarity on membership and vigilance with respect to committee functionality would support programme effectiveness

UNICEF in partnership with the County Government of Kakamega would like to engage the services of an experienced and competent a consultant to re-design the programme, integrating the lessons learned from the first phase of the programme (as mentioned in the paragraph above) including systematic linkages to other social protection programmes as well as with the productive and economic sector , to ensure sustainability of the programme and economic empowerment of its beneficiaries.

 

Under the supervision of the Social Protection Specialist, the consultant will hold consultative meetings and reflection sessions with the programme team including nurses and data clerks to re design the programme. The consultant will utilize review reports and the workshop feedback to develop the second phase of the programme that is linked to the productive sector, linkages to the national safety net programme and economic empowerment for the beneficiaries.

RWPPCR/IRs areas covered

The consultancy contributes to Outcome 6, Output 2 (social protection models) of the Country Programme.  It also supports two of the three strategic shifts of the programme towards a) modelling of approaches to reach the most deprived children; and b) resilience building approaches.   

•             To re-design the programme addressing lessons learnt from phase one of implementation, midterm evaluation and system review recommendations for an effective and efficient programme.

•             To develop a model or practical approach  linking beneficiaries to the productive sector and national safety net programme

•             Develop an economic inclusion design as part of a graduation model for beneficiaries

•             Work on a Coordination mechanism between involved sectors at county level as well as between the county government and the national government

Specifically, the consultant will perform the following activities/ tasks:

To support the re-design of the programme through consultative and reflection sessions. This needs a comprehensive desk review of existing evidence as well as  a review of the current  operational manual. Therefore, the consultant will be using the programme documentation reports, the impact evaluation reports, the systems review report and midterm review reflection with key stakeholders.  Following activities will be undertaken:

Lead consultations, reflections process

1.            Conduct discussions with programme stakeholders on the different programme pillars

2.            Facilitate consultations workshops with all relevant county stakeholders for the program re design to collect inputs

Update Operation manual and design documents 

1.            Visit existing programme guidelines and operational manuals that entails the program management and implementation.

Payments: The review of the payment schedule aims to ensure that timeliness and predictable payments are made. It also aims to ensure efficiency as well as better support beneficiaries. Therefore, the consultant will

1.            Review the payments schedule linked to the points of care to ensure beneficiary funds are disbursed early enough for the intended purpose. 

2.            Assess the inclusion of additional soft conditions to facilitate payments, such as birth registration linked to the last payment before exit.

1.            Review the enrolment process including the family visits

2.            Review the proxy means test that is currently in use and improve the targeting approach that will suit in the conditional cash transfer.

3.            Integrate recommendations provided by MIS consultant team that is currently improving the MIS.

The positive health seeking behaviour achievements realised in the program reinforces the idea that conditionality work. The County Government program is conditional and achieves its results, the consultant will be required to develop approaches and strategies that will increase uptake and utilization that will;

1.            increase community participation and more specifically male involvement,

2.            focus and emphasize on HIV AIDS treatment and prevention,

3.            increase family planning utilization as stipulated in the MNCH 2017 ACT 

1.            Review the existing guide on the complaints and propose a complaint register and resolving mechanisms

Reporting 

1.            Review the existing reporting structure in the MIS and programme reports and regular programme monitoring reports,

2.            Propose a  format of key indicators for reporting formats and schedules for senior management and funds utilization. 

Strengthen the economic Inclusion and linkages to the productive sector

1.            Based on the discussion with Kakamega Senior management, proposes an economic inclusion design options that will be opening of economic opportunities to the beneficiaries that is integral to achieving a transition towards economic empowerment. The options including the linkages to the productive sector as well as national safety net programmes as well as other social protection programmes (e.g NHIF etc…)

 

 

 N.B. 

•             Payment is on satisfactory completion of deliverables duly authorized by the Supervisor of contract.

•             Specific deliverables of acceptable quality must be submitted at the planned times. 

•             Performance will be evaluated considering quality of deliverables, consultation with stakeholders, timeliness of deliverables of and comprehensiveness of work as defined in the terms of reference.

•             The consultant is expected to carry out the design process in accordance with professional communication development standards

The consultant should have the following skills and qualifications: -

•             At least Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Economics, Community Development or any relevant area

•             Minimum of 5 years’ professional practical experience in designing projects, monitoring programmes in the productive and economic sector and livelihoods programmes

o             Practical experience in designing programmes/projects in the area of social cash transfers will be a strong asset

•             Proven ability to develop livelihood programmes and community engagement and experience in social protection programmes

•             Proven ability to: (i) handle multiple tasks under pressure with short deadlines; (ii) ability to work independently, seeking guidance on complex issues; and (iii) excellent interpersonal skills, proven team orientation and the ability to work across unit boundaries.

•             Proven experience in working with Government and international organizations is added advantage

•             Strong writing and oral communication skills

•             Proven ability to negotiate and lead discussions

•             Ability to travel in the field

•             The consultant is expected to commit fully to this task as per the TOR and adhere to the timeline, subject to changes and revisions by UNICEF KCO team. 

•             The consultant will not have supervisory responsibilities nor authority on UNICEF budget and other resources.

•             As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.

•             The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts.

Consultant may fail to provide quality deliverables on time. Regular reviews will be conducted with the consultant to ensure work progresses as planned and challenges are addressed in time.