Engaging with Religious and Traditional Leaders on Promoting Access and use of Gender Responsive ASRH Services and Gender Equality in Gombe, Katsina and Zamfara at Save The Children

Ref No: 190001OK
Location: Abuja
Employee Status: Fixed Term

Background
Save the Children (SC) Nigeria is implementing Reaching and Empowering Adolescents to make informed Choices for their Health (REACH) in Gombe, Katsina and Zamfara states and Towards Ending Child Marriage –TECM (Better Life for Girls) in Gombe and Katsina states all in Northern Nigeria. Both projects are specifically designed to target states with some of the worst indicators for adolescents, especially girls, and with a focus on rural and hard to reach communities where rates of Child early forced marriage (CEFM), early childbearing, low educational attainment and discriminatory social and gender norms significantly affect the ability of adolescent girls and boys to make decisions and access services to protect and improve their sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

REACH and TECM will utilize a socio-ecological model to address deep seated gender based barriers and improve equitable access of 100,000 married and unmarried very young adolescents VYA (10-14) and Older Adolescents OA (15-19) to high quality, gender-responsive and adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services and rights, promote school enrollment and retention while delaying early marriage in VYA girls.

REACH and TECM will also contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (ensure universal access to ASRH services, including FP information and education, and integration of RH into national strategies and programmes); and SDG 5 (achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls), particularly REACH will work in:

• Improving access to high quality, gender-sensitive and adolescent-friendly SRH services for unmarried and married adolescent girls and boys;  
• Increasing the decision-making of married and unmarried adolescent girls about their own SRHR; and
• Improving the integration of civil society contributions and evidence-based best practices in ASRHR policy design and implementation at local and state levels.

While TECM will work to strengthen the capacity of CSOs to conduct advocacy and influence policy on child marriage, whilst engaging in ASRHR advocacy initiatives, also amplifying the voices of Children’s Parliaments, and collecting and sharing inspiring stories of girls who achieved their educational goals, as well as developing champions among traditional and religious leaders.

Furthermore, TECM will advocate for the adoption of the CRA in Katsina and Gombe. While Advocating for state-level adoption of the National Strategy to End Child Marriage and support the development of state level CEFM strategies and implementation plans and also Strengthening the capacity of CSOs and children’s parliaments to advocate for budget allocation and adequate resourcing for state level implementation of the NSCM, girls’ education, and the National Policy for ASRHR.
 
Rationale:

• REACH and TECM project recognizes that an ecological approach identifies behaviors and norms, and these behaviors and norms are influenced by multiple individuals and many other social and religious factors. These perspective helps to better understand the complex social system that sets norms between children, their families and their communities. This approach has helped shape our attitude, design and has created a need for the better understanding of those complex social factors and behaviors that promote both negative and positive social and cultural norms that promote gender inequality and gender based violence within our target communities.
• By this ToR, a consultant with technical expertise and skills for engaging religious and traditional leaders and especially with experience working with male champions in local communities in Northern Nigeria - Gombe, Katsina and Zamfara in particular, using already developed content will be engaged to support the REACH and TECM project. The consultancy tasks will be to tease out relevant contents from existing manuals to support the promotion of gender equality, girl child school enrolment and retention and access and use of ASRH services. The consultant will work with already state team identified respected, well known and acceptable religious and traditional leaders in the community /state to identify:
• Religious text and interpretations that can help mitigate and reduce existing social and cultural norms and inequalities related to adolescent SRH access and use of services and rights, CEFM and girl child school enrolment and retention, House hold decision making power especially around health and education, GBV, FGM/C and other subtle gender differences across the 3 states. The consultant will work with identified religious facilitators selected by the state team to tease out contents and come up with a training plan to empower and discourage those behaviors in the community for men and women.
• Identify Men champions in the community to support the above and ensure its success

Purpose of Consultancy
Through an ecological approach, REACH and TECM projects recognized the important roles of various individuals in behaviors, practices and norms in the communities and their influences. Both projects have highlighted the risks of excluding such groups in the community and its impact on the success of the project. These individuals include both young and older men in the community and most especially religious and traditional leaders who have strong influences on the community as a whole. The young men in project communities are already engaged in different activities including safe spaces and trainings.

To create an enabling environment for REACH and TECM project to achieve its aim, the project must find ways of empowering and increasing the knowledge of the above identified groups to understand the impact of negative social norms, inequalities and CEFM, this we believe will further improve and empower girls and women’s decision making power at all levels not just in sexual in reproductive health (SRH), reduce inequalities and increase the enrolment and retention of girls in school. To achieve this, the consultant will work together with the identified religious leader/s:

• Religious contents that are suitable and relevant in addressing underlining   causes of gender based violence, relevant negative social and cultural norms, and power relationships that promotes inequalities. This will support an integrated approach and support interventions that can meet multiple needs and address Gender inequality in a holistic manner especially its effect on very young adolescent VYA (10-14) and older adolescents OA (15-19) SRH particularly girls.
• Tease out contents with religious text that can be used for sermons in churches and mosques and other religious setting to promote gender equality, positive social norms and increase use and access to ASRH services.
• Develop training contents from existing training modules (developed by other INGO working in the same area) to train religious leaders, traditional leaders and adult men in the community to increase their knowledge and capacity in identifying and mitigating negative social norms and its impact, SGBV and gender inequalities in their communities and homes.
• Identify Male Champions and work with them to achieve REACH aim
• To understand religious interpretations and key actions that support GE, Couple communication, joint decision making in child spacing, child marriage and girl-child education.

Approach and Methodology:

• This activity will be carried out by a consultant(s) and an identified Religious scholar/s.
• A hired consultant with very good understanding of the Northern part of Nigeria, strong capacity for Gender Equality and expertise in working/training Men and an identified respected and accepted religious leader/s from the state or community will be responsible for the assignment.

Proposed Methodology:

• Desk review
• Mapping and desk review of existing relevant reference resources

Outputs, Deliverables and Reporting
During the consultancy, the following is expected:

• Initial Briefing with REACH and TECM team to understand expectation and deliverables
• Develop a time line with detail work schedule
• Compliance with approved timeline
• Produces a draft content from the desk review of relevant resources for REACH review
• Produce training content (slides) and other materials, training TOR, List of participants by state, pre/post-test items, training evaluation items and agenda.
• Produce budget for all activities.
• Work with the state selected facilitators to select participants for training and conduct first batch of training

At the end of the consultancy, the following approved deliverables are expected:

• An Approved adopted training manual for men in the community and a compilation of religious text that can be used in mosques and churches and other religious settings.

Key Skills and Experience

• Advance degree social sciences/Gender studies
• Proven years of experience working in Gender Equality and an understanding and Familiarity with working and training Men in a rural community setting.
• Proven Experience in developing and understanding contents for male gender equality champions  
• Excellent communication, analytical and report writing skills.

Timeline:

• Start: 1st July 2019
• Final report: 22nd July 2019
• Completion of all responsibilities: End of July 2019 latest
• Total workdays: 20 (approximately).

Milestone payment in three Tranches;

• First instalment - 40% Upon satisfactory completion of desk review report, work schedule and activity budget
• Second instalment - 30% - upon completion of the training of 1st batch of community men and religious leaders in Gombe, Zamfara and Katsina and draft report of training.
• Third Instalment - 30% - Upon satisfactory completion of Men and religious leaders’ training manual, religious texts and final report, including recommendations for sustainability and scale up.