Deadline of this Job: 07 October 2022
Consultant scope of workAKF is seeking to engage partner organizations to work as part of a diverse team to collect data and develop a research project to investigate the relevance, use, and efficacy of the household play boxes and community listening libraries to promote reading for joy and learning through play. The research will need to: i) be formative and inform the further distribution of content to households and libraries, and ii) assess the overall relevance, use, and efficacy of these interventions. The scope of work includes:
In collaboration with AKF and research partner, finalize data collection tools and any dummy tables to respond to the data needs, mode of data collection, and data analysis needs,
Engage remote, ICT-enabled data collection systems to collect primary and secondary data,
Conduct data collection and complete initial data analysis as agreed through the dummy tables,
Deliver all data and data analysis in pre-agreed format, i.e., excel,
Share regular (to be agreed based on data collection plans) summaries of the data collected with AKF and the research partner, and
Other assets as suggested by AKF or the applicant.
Key deliverables
At minimum, the deliverables include:
All data collection tools developed, and all data collected through the process,
Regular presentations on preliminary findings of data collected for each geography, and
Finalized presentations/tables/graphics of findings to contribute to the final report evaluating overall relevance, use, and efficacy of the Play boxes and Community Listening Library interventions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Deadline of this Job: 12 October 2022
Background InformationKenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) is the non-state Principal Recipient (PR) for the Global Fund HIV Grant for the period between July 2021 and June 2024. The goal of the grant is to contribute to attainment of universal health coverage through comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment and care for all people in Kenya with the objectives to reduce new HIV infections by 75%, reduce AIDs related mortality by 50% and reduce HIV related stigma and discrimination to less than 25%.
Tuberculosis remains a major public problem, and there are still a lot of challenges faced as we near ending TB globally by 2030. An estimated 10 million people fell ill (1.1 million children), and 1.5 million died from TB in 2020 despite TB being preventable, treatable, and curable. Kenya is among 30 nations with a high TB disease burden that accounts for 86% of the world’s TB cases. TB is the fifth leading cause of death in Kenya. Tuberculosis (TB) thrives in conditions of structural inequity, where the complexities of poverty, social inequity, disempowerment, rights violations, conflict, and patriarchy render communities susceptible to TB and marginalize access to diagnosis, treatment, and care. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes that its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be achieved unless and until human rights and dignity are ensured for all individuals, everywhere, leaving no one behind. Gender assessment conducted by Stop TB Partnership (Building the evidence for a Rights-Based, People-Centered, Gender-Transformative Tuberculosis Response”) shed new light on the role of gender in the TB epidemic and response.
Kenya has progressively used evidence-based approaches in combating TB which has seen various strategies adopted for implementation and inform policy. The most identified human rights-related barriers to ending the TB epidemic, limiting access to TB services, and negatively impacting the quality of life are stigma and discrimination. As such, it is critical to understand the levels and dimensions of TB stigma and develop evidence-based strategies and actions to address it. This will in return reduce people's vulnerability to TB infection, increase people's access to TB services, and improve TB treatment outcomes.
The Stop TB Partnerships highlights the need to address human rights, vulnerable populations, and gender in order to control the TB epidemic. Similarly, The Global Fund's response to the TB epidemic encourages programs to remove human rights and gender-related barriers to TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services. The Global Fund's new Strategy 2017-2022: Investing to End Epidemics Strategic Objective 3 (SO3) states that "Promoting and protecting human rights and gender equality.
In response to TB, Global funds through KRCS is implementing the Reducing human rights-related barriers to HIV/TB services module in 46 counties of which Conducting Comprehensive TB Community Rights and Gender Assessment STOP TB assessment tools is one of the activities under the module.
Consultancy
KRCS seeks the services of a consultant to conduct Comprehensive TB Community Rights and Gender Assessment using STOP TB assessment tools. The Consultant will review and finalize the protocol and data collection tools, support and guide the TB stakeholders in conducting, community rights and gender assessments including training of the research assistants on the data collection tools, data analysis, report writing, dissemination, and development of key action plans for the comprehensive TB and community rights and gender assessment and TB stigma assessment.
The assessment, Purpose, Scope, and Objectives
Purpose
The program has planned to conduct Comprehensive TB Community Rights and Gender Assessment using STOP TB assessment tools to describe the policy and legal framework in relation to community rights and gender (CRG) and TB in Kenya, describe the gender responsiveness in TB programming, and assess the uptake and utilization of TB services among the TB Key and vulnerable populations in relation to community rights and gender.
Broad Objectives
The objective is to assess the responsiveness of TB services with regard to Community Rights and Gender (CRG) in Kenya.
The Specific Objectives of the consultancy include the following:
To describe the policy and legal framework in relation to community rights and gender (CRG) and TB in Kenya.
To describe gender responsiveness in TB programming.
To assess the uptake and utilization of TB services among the Key and vulnerable populations in relation to community rights and gender.
Outcomes
Policy and legal environment frameworks currently available in relation to CRG and TB in Kenya.
The extent to which TB programming is responsive to gender dynamics in Kenya.
Uptake and utilization of TB services among the Key and vulnerable populations in Kenya.
Scope of work
Geographical coverage: Nairobi, Narok, Murang’a, West Pokot, Kisumu, Kakamega, Garissa, Isiolo, Mombasa, Migori and Kitui
Target groups: Individuals who have had Drug - sensitive TB (DSTB) and/or Drug-resistant TB (DRTB), Close family members and neighbors – linked to TB patients currently on treatment, The community – schools and learning institutions/prisons/Homeless persons/Administration (chiefs’/village elders)/Drug and substance Users/Transgender, Health Care Workers – clinicians, nurses, Community Volunteers, and link assistants.
Expected outputs:
A technical and financial response to the call for applications outlining the understanding of the task, detailing the appropriate methodology for the assessment, data analysis plan, work plan with tentative timelines and summary budget.
An inception report of the desk review prior to field work to demonstrate a clear understanding and a practical work plan for the assessment 2. Submission of the final baseline assessment report to the evaluation team, including raw, final databases and any recorded material such as video, audio etc. 3. Delivery of a final costed Community rights, Gender assessment and TB Stigma Reduction Action Plan for TB Control.
Deliverable
The assessment will be phased with deliverables at intervals that will be discussed and agreed with the consulting firm. However, at the minimum
The Inception reports. 2. Final assessment report