NGO Opportunities in Kenya - Save the Children

EC Kibera

Programme Operational Research on Family Planning
 

Factors

affecting uptake of family planning in urban poor settlement; A focus on

involvement of men and boys above 15 yrs. in Kibera

1. Organizational Background: Save

the Children has been operational in Kenya since the 1950s, providing support

to children through developmental and humanitarian relief programmes delivered

both directly and through local partners.

Current

programming focuses on Child Protection, Child Rights Governance, Education,

WASH, Child Poverty, Health and Nutrition.
 

Project

Overview: EC-Kibera

project is a 2-year project implemented by Save the Children in partnership

with Carolina for Kibera and Family Health Options Kenya. 

The

project has also partnered with Langata Sub County Health Management Team to

enhance quality of health services in an effort to improve health outcomes in

the location.

The initiative is funded by European Union with the objective to contribute to

a reduction in maternal and child mortality by improving maternal and child

health status for 226,160 people in Kibera informal settlement of Nairobi

County (74,840 women of child bearing age, 28,392 U5s, 6,685 U1s and 11,308

pregnant women. 

This

is through increasing demand for and access to quality maternal, newborn, and

child health (MNCH) services at health facility and community levels; improving

nutritional status of mothers, newborn and children under five by preventive

actions; improvement of family planning uptake; and improvement of the capacity

of the health care delivery system.  
 

Kenya

is one of the countries with very high maternal and neonatal death ratios.

According to the KDHS 2008/2009 report, the MMR is 488/100,000 live births.

Maternal deaths represent 27% of all deaths to women aged 15 to 45 years of age

and abortion related complications contribute up to 30% of the deaths. 

In Kenya

according to the latest study on the magnitude of abortion; 300,000 unsafe

abortions occur annually. This is occurring in the face of low contraceptive

prevalence rate in Kibera (37.8%) in comparison with national and county ratio

at 63% in Nairobi and the national average at 58% (KDHS, 2014).

The contraceptive prevalence peaks among women in the 30-34 age-group and is

lowest for women aged 15-19 years with increased utilization of all Family

Planning methods by women with highest level of education at 58%. The unmet

need for contraception remains high. 

About

47% of women had an unmet need for family planning and is higher among women in

the 15-19 (46%) and 20-24 (37%) years age group compared to those above 30

years of age (26%). This is an indication of lower access to family planning by

adolescents and youths.

This is a major gap considering that adolescents that were interviewed during

the EC-Kibera KAP survey confirmed that boys and girls were sexually active as

early as 10 for girls and 14 for boys, EC-Kibera KAP survey report 2015.

Statistics

also indicate that, 53% of the married respondents were currently using Family

Planning in the target region Kibera. 

This

puts the contraceptive prevalence rates (CPR) for Kibera lower than the CPR for

Nairobi County at 63% and national average at 58%. 

CPR

peaks among women 30-34 age group and is lowest for women aged 15-19 years47%

of women in Kibera had an unmet need for family planning services compared

National figure of 18% and 11% for Nairobi County. 

Men and boys play vital roles in enhancing demand of family planning services

and commodities and therefore the need to target men and boys with awareness

creation interventions on FP and the role they play in providing an enabling

environment that would enhance increased uptake of family planning.
 

Family

Health Option Kenya, Save the Children partner implementing the family planning

component conducts various events to improve uptake for FP. 

The

activities include outreaches, sports tournament, youth forums, men at work

sessions and street-theatres to increase awareness on FP and dispel myths and

misconceptions surrounding FP use. 

This

has reached 1240 men aged between 18-35 years through which 25 referrals have

been attained through the male support. 
 

The

reality is that with the efforts the desired uptake has not yet been achieved

owing to impeding factors that affect the uptake of family planning services

and the commodities coupled with bottlenecks within the supply side of these

commodities and services. 

These 

factors include; partner’s  approval,  quality  of 

the  services,  involvement  of  the  male staff 

administering  the  family planning services to adolescents girls

and  the  woman’s knowledge  about family planning 

services and proximity to the provider; (International journal of business and

social science Vol 2 No.1 January 2011).

Additional bottlenecks limiting the uptake of all FP includes: general myths

and misconception around the use of FP that could lead to infertility, use of

FP reduces sexual pleasure; the use of FP causing illnesses; use of FP is meant

to depopulate; the use of FP disfigures women; minimum male support and fears

on side effects across men and boys. 

There

has also had limited access of FP services by adolescents and inadequate FP

commodities supplies including IEC Materials (as per project reports). 

3. Purpose of the Operational Research
 

The

purpose of this operation research is to assess the role of men and boys in

increasing the uptake of family planning services focusing on the involvement

of men and boys above 15 years. 

It

will also explore the behaviour aspects of adolescent boys (15 – 24 years) on

understanding and perceptions regarding family planning together with their key

role in support for the uptake of family planning services.

It will also assess barriers in the supply of family planning services and

commodities to women and adolescents and learn from the process, achievements

and challenges encountered in the supply side of the family planning

commodities.

It will also be integral to develop recommendations to address these challenges

and factors to enhance the performance of the program, improve outcomes, assess

feasibility of new strategies and/or assess or improve the programme Theory of

Change.

It should aim at finding solutions to perceived challenges on the involvement

of men and boys above 15 years and the supply side bottlenecks in the delivery

of family planning services within the project location. 

The

perceived challenges on involvement of men and boys ranging from;

• Messaging
  
  of family planning information and communication methodologies.


• Cultural
  
  practices within the community.


• Attitude
  
  of men and boys on family planning.


• Knowledge
  
  levels and understanding on family planning (myths and misconceptions).

Service

delivery access points bottlenecks;

• Availability
  
  of health workers.


• Health
  
  workers knowledge and capacity.


• Efficiency
  
  of supply system.


• Integration
  
  of family planning with other primary health care services.

The

operational research will derive models and approaches to address the

bottlenecks and challenges identified and propose innovative methods to

strengthen engagement of men and boys above 15 years in improving FP uptake.
 

The

methods of operational research will range from the qualitative to quantitative

techniques. 

This

will be an exploratory study focusing on the involvement of men and boys

together with the supply systems of the family planning services and

commodities within the location.

The data sources will comprise of primary and secondary sources. 

The

secondary sources will involve information derived from other research work

conducted on male involvement in uptake of family planning services. 

Primary

data will be derived from the following informants of the study;
a)    Men and boys above 15 years. (Adolescent boys of 15 – 24

years to explore behaviour and perceptions on FP)
b)    Women of reproductive age at the community level
c)    KII (including the Langata Sub-County Health Management

Team)
d)    Family Health Options Kenya/ Carolina for Kibera
e)    Other NGO’s and stakeholders as may be identified.
Sampling methodology: The

recruited consultant will recommend an appropriate study design applicable in

effectively addressing the objectives of the study. The project works in 9

villages out of a total of 13 villages.

The

exercise is projected to be undertaken in 20 days from 15th August to 5th

September 2016. 

The

Consultant(s) is expected to deliver the following:

a) Introduction/inception meeting with EC-Kibera project Core team &

relevant staff.
 

b)

Research tools and framework for the research, in line with project

documentation and with input of partner, project and MEAL team.
 

c)

Visit project sites, interview respondents from the project sites (Men and boys

above 15 years), women and KII.
 

d)

De-briefing including recommendations at end of the data collection process.
 

e)

Deliver one in-depth report with detailed analysis and methodology for findings

of the operational research.

The consultant will have the primary responsibility of conducting the

operational research and preparing the report. 

The

consultant will be expected to lead and coordinate the data collection, entry

and analysis of data and report writing.

5. Qualifications and Experience:
 

Specifically,

Consultant will possess:

a. Relevant academic qualification in public health/ health systems management

or related health field.
 

b.

Specific experience in family planning research and/or evaluation is essential.
 

c. At

least 7 years of experience in the area of maternal, newborn and child health

and public health and in conducting research and evaluations for health

programmes in Kenya. Experience conducting evaluations in an urban informal

setting is an added advantage
 

d. A

demonstrated high level of professionalism and ability to work within tight

deadlines.
 

e.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
 

f.

Computer skills and proficient in English.
 

6.

Duration and Timeline of Consultancy
 

The

consultancy is expected to take a maximum of 20 days. Data collection is

expected to take 5 days out of the 20 days. The following will be the

requirements.
 

a. A

technical proposal outlining the objective, methodology to be employed with

mention of the data collection tools and approaches to be used for the

research. The technical proposal should also include a detailed implementation

plan outlining key timelines within the outlined period.
 

b.

Financial proposal should only include the fees payable (In Kshs) to the

consultant(s).  The consultant is expected to cover costs related to

travel, accommodation, meals and allowances and data collection.
 

7.

Intellectual Property Rights
 

All

products developed under this consultancy belong to the project exclusively,

guided by the rules of the grant contract between EU and Save the

Children. 

Under

no circumstances will the consultant use the information of this evaluation for

publication or dissemination without official prior permission (in writing)

from Save the Children. 

8. Submission of Proposals

The

submission of proposals is only open to the prequalified consultants (firms).

The

technical and financial proposals should be e‐mailed to

kenya.jobapplications@savethechildren.org by close of business (5.30pm), August 18,

2016.

9. Evaluation and Award of Consultancy
 

Save

the Children will evaluate the proposals and award the assignment based on

technical and financial feasibility criteria guided by this ToRs. 

Save

the Children reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal received

without giving reasons and is not bound to accept the lowest, the highest or

any bidder. 

The

consultancy is subject to Save the Children policies.

Gender

Analysis in Relation to Vocational Skills Development and Access to Employment
 

Objective: Gender analysis will inform development

of an approach for inclusion of adolescent girls and women in the vocational

skills training and access to profitable employment. 
 

Background: Save the Children is

investing and testing systems change for transformative youth livelihood in

Mandera with the overall objective of enabling youth to break out of chronic

poverty and thus break the inter-generational transmission of poverty. 

The

project is specifically aimed at increasing the number of youth who are in

decent employment or who run profitable businesses. 

Save

the Children will invest and test the ‘market systems change approach to youth

livelihoods’ because it has the potential to lead to sustainable change for the

most deprived youth at scale. 

Through

transforming deprived youths’ opportunities to learn marketable skills and to

transition into profitable work, the inter-generational transmission of poverty

will be broken. 

The

market systems approach for youth livelihoods will deliver where traditional

youth livelihoods programme approaches fail to deliver and at scale: in remote

and structurally neglected areas such as arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) of

Kenya. 

Testing

and refining this approach will enable us to develop a replicable model of

value to the wider Save the Children and partners. 

However, based on our findings from testing of the approach in 2015, it was

noted that adolescent girls and young women were excluded in development of a

broad range of vocational skills and thus sustained barriers in accessing

diverse, decent and profitable employment opportunities. 

A

tracer study of graduates from enterprise based vocational skills development

(EBTVET), found that although adolescent girls and young women were the

majority (60%), their skills were limited to only 4 out of 15 skill

areas. 

This

therefore limited their employment opportunities and resulted in many of them

being employed at family/relatives businesses and about 8% of them reverting to

poorly paid or less profitable occupational they were engaged in before the

training. 

The

tracer study established that female graduates were twice as likely to fall

back into unemployment, unpaid work and/or lowly paid unskilled work compared

to male graduates. 

Scope of Gender Analysis
 

It is

against this background that Save the Children intends to undertake gender

analysis to enable us to understand social, cultural, economic and other

possible barriers that restrict or cause exclusion of adolescent girls and

young women from various vocational skills which could enable them to access

diverse employment opportunities. 

Gender

analysis will also help us understand why female graduates were twice as likely

to fall back into unemployment, unpaid work and/or lowly paid unskilled work

compared to male graduates. 

Results from the study will inform development of an intervention approach

aimed at:

1.   
Identifying approach/es to ensure best possible inclusion of girls

and young women in the EBTVET programme.

2.   
Identifying how best to support girls to transition to

profitable employment (including self-employment).

• Review
  
  of the existing secondary literature.


• Review
  
  of the data collection tools and improve where necessary in consultation
  
  with project staff.


• At
  
  least 21 focussed group discussions (FGD) with; community/religious
  
  leaders, female graduates, current female trainees, male graduates,
  
  current male trainees, host trainers and parents.  


• Individual
  
  key informants’ interviews of: County TVET Director and 3 Sub-County Youth
  
  Coordinators or Officers. 


• Analysis
  
  of findings from above data collection.


• Debrief
  
  of the field staff.


• Presentation
  
  of draft report.


• Report
  
  finalisation.

Specific

Deliverables from Gender Analysis: 
 

1. The consultant will in

consultation with project staff review the tools, provide feedback and improve

if required. 
 

2. The consultant will carry out at least 21

separate FGD’s with separate stakeholder groups at Takaba, Banissa and El

Wak. 

This

will consist of 3 FGD with female graduates, 3 FGD with male graduates, 3 FGD

with current female trainees, 3 FGD with current male trainees, 3 FGD with host

trainers and 3 FGD with parents/guardians or spouses of the graduates/trainees

and 3 FGD with community leaders including religious leaders. 
 

3. The consultant will

conduct key informants interviews with County TVET Director and Sub-County

Youth Coordinator or Officers at Takaba, Banissa and El Wak. 
 

4. Based on above interviews, the consultant

will identify the different needs, opportunities and constraints that girls and

boys, young women and men face in accessing Enterprises Based Technical

Vocational Education Training (EBTVET) skills and thereafter utilising skills

attained in accessing decent employment. 

Assess

the chances and success of male and female youth in the EBTVET or

apprenticeship programme in reference to:

• Information
  
  provision/advertisements


• Application


• Selection


• Matching/Placement
  
  with enterprise


• Doing
  
  and completing the apprenticeship


• Transitioning
  
  into employment or self-employment

5. The consultant will

analyse the different opportunities and challenges that female and youth face

at above different stages?
 

6. The consultant will

analyse why female youth choose a limited range of sectors for vocational

skills development. 
 

7. The consultant will analyse why female

youth choose to be self-employed rather than to seek employment with local

entrepreneurs
 

8. The consultant will

analyse why female youth are almost double as likely to fall back into

unemployment or lowly paid unskilled work as compared to male apprentices. 
 

9. The consultant will

analyse and identify sectors most profitable and whether being self-employed

(including employment in family/relative’s business) is necessarily better or

less profitable than being employed by local traders. 
 

10. Based on above findings as well as

economic analysis, the consultant will identify most profitable employment

(including self-employment) opportunities accessible to women and how best we

can support young women to take advantage and maximise on the opportunities. 
 

11. On completion of the

field work, the consultant will debrief the relevant project staff in country

and SC UK colleagues (via skype) before producing a draft report.
 

12. On completion of the

draft report, the consultant will present their findings to the relevant

project staff in country and SC UK colleagues (via skype) with time for

feedback and questions before finalising the report. 
 

13. The consultant will

produce a final report outlining findings from each stakeholder group and

recommendations for improving the programme. This will include a two page

summary/lessons learnt. 

Timeframe: The task should

be completed before end of September 2016
 

Minimum

Qualifications 
 

At the

minimum, the gender analysis consultant must possess the following:

• Advanced
  
  degree in areas of gender studies or other related fields.


• Over
  
  5 years’ experience in undertaking gender monitoring and analysis in
  
  preferably pastoralist communities in Kenya. 


• Experience
  
  in monitoring and evaluation of project through a gender lens. 


• Have
  
  proven knowledge and practical experience in quantitative and qualitative
  
  research on gender issues. 


• Excellent
  
  organising, facilitating, presentation and communication skills.


• Excellent
  
  report writing skills.

The

consultant will be provided with tools or check list of questions for focused

groups’ discussion targeted to specific groups and check list of questions

targeted to key informant from County/Sub-County offices. 

All interested individuals are requested to express interest following the EOI

format ONLY (CLICK HERE to download)

by email to: Kenya.jobapplications@savethechildren.org  indicating the

Assignment Title on the subject line by 18th August 2016.