Consultant - Political Economy Analysis of Diarrhoea Control at Save The Children

Job Description

• Save the Children is looking for experienced development professionals to work within the Nigeria Country Programme.
• These roles will be critical for the delivery of results for children expected by this programme.
• Introduction and background Since 2009, Save the Children has campaigned globally in support of improved health and nutrition outcomes to accelerate progress towards MDG four, under the umbrella of our EVERY ONE campaign.
• In Nigeria, EVERY ONE was formally launched on 17th February, 2012. Over the last five years, SC has developed strong expertise in understanding the political dimension of health and nutrition frameworks in Nigeria.
• We will bring our advocacy and campaign strengths at both state and national level into play in delivering the outcomes under this programme, building on a strong reputation across government and civil society for leading the call for improved child survival outcomes in Lagos State.
• The Stop Diarrhea project is an initiative supported by Reckitt Benckiser aimed at contributing to a two thirds reduction in diarrhoeal related deaths in children under the age of five in Lagos State, Nigeria; specifically in Shomolu LGA in Lagos.
• Nigeria has high incidence of diarrhoea cases in children across the geo-political zones, especially in children 0-5years, resulting in percentage increase in children being affected by diarrhoea.
• Repeated episode of diarrhoea exacerbates children poor health status and accelerates malnutrition, creating a deadly cycle.
• Diarrhoea remains a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries like Nigeria.
• Dehydration caused by diarrhoea is a major cause of illness and death among young children, even though the condition can be easily treated with oral rehydration therapy (ORT).
• Exposure to diarrhoea-causing pathogens is frequently related to the consumption of contaminated water and to unhygienic practices in food preparation and disposal of excreta.
• The combination of high cause-specific mortality and the existence of an effective remedy make diarrhoea and its treatment a priority concern for the health sector.
• Some of the key measures to prevent childhood diarrheal episodes include promoting exclusive breastfeeding, hand washing with soap, improving hygiene and quality of drinking water, vitamin A supplementation and promoting rehydration and zinc intake as prescribed in the WHO 7 point plan for diarrhoea control.
• ORS and Zinc remains the cornerstone of appropriate case management of diarrheal dehydration and is considered the single most effective strategy to prevent diarrheal deaths in children under< 5’s.
• The Stop Diarrhoea Project The “Stop Diarrhoea Initiative” in Lagos is supported by our partner, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) and it is aimed at reducing one of the leading causes of death in under 5 children- Diarrhoea.
• Through this effort, SC hope to conduct a policy analysis on Stop Diarrhea Initiative to document relevant government policies that revolve around the elements of WHO/UNICEF 7-Point Plan for the control of diarrhea.
• The essence is to generate evidence based report that will inform SC’s advocacy strategies for a successful program implementation.
• The program drew participants from line Ministries, departments and agencies from the health sector in Lagos state including, Ministry of Health, Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Lagos state Ministry of Rural Development (LSMRD), Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) S/W Zone, Lagos Water Corporation, Lagos Civil Society Partnership (LACSOP), Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) and PATHS2.
• SC believes an effective and impactful implementation of SDI project will rest on an enabling policy environment thus it became imperative to identify and analyze laws and policies in Lagos state upon which the SDI campaign can be grounded.
• Analyzing the laws and policy helped to identify entry points, issues for review or amendment and/ supportive provisions that can strengthen the implementations of SDI and engender impactful outcomes.
• The policy analysis meeting has no doubt revealed some new issues which the SDI needs to address for successful project implementation.
• Specifically, the analysis have shown that there is need to amend some of the Laws and policies to make them respond to issues that may directly or by implication support the SDI.
• It may also be necessary to consult the sanitation law and the special peoples Law of Lagos state to know how they interact with / support the policies and laws analyzed here.
• In view of the above, a comprehensive Political economy analysis will be initiated in Lagos. The process will build on previous PEAs conducted by SPARC and SAVI in Lagos to involve an in-depth desk review before the stakeholder mapping.
• The PEA will provide a systematic analysis of the current status of policy effort, the positions of support and opposition taken by key players, and the political, financial, and other interests of key players in Lagos in relations to Diarrhoea control.

Purpose of the Engagement:

• The PEA is to provide actionable information on identified key political actors in the states, opportunities and constraints to the adoption, funding and implementation of the Health Sector Medium Term Sector strategy (MTSS), water and sanitation programs in the state.
• Political economy analysis approach has attained prominence in the development terrain globally due to the realization that to deliver effective and efficient development assistance, an understanding of the local context is mandatory.
• This is because even issues that appear purely technical could have deep political, economic and social roots.
• The PEA will consider socio-economic and political considerations relevant to the states of Health Sector Medium Term Strategy and WASH Policy implementation and their influence in securing necessary commitment of support for Water and Sanitation interventions in the state including possible risks.
• It will also help to gain an understanding of the interaction between the national, state and local government agencies in this regard.

The PEA will provide contextual analysis into the following:

• Who are the key public and private players (Institutional and public) in the state responsible for resourcing for child health and WASH programs?
• What are the challenges involve in securing government commitment to child health and WASH programs in Lagos state?
• Who are the influencers of the key stakeholders and decision makers responsible for child health and WASH programme in Lagos state?
• How does interest group and CSO influence budget decisions in Lagos State?
• What are the strategizes and prospect for donor engagement in scaling up child health and WASH interventions in Lagos and Nigeria in general Research methodology The study would adopt a multi-pronged methodology, which will include a combination of qualitative and qualitative analysis using appropriate source documents and research approaches including desk review.

Process Planning:

• Meetings will be conducted with relevant project staff to determine the extent of the analysis, set priorities and identify key goals and expectation for the political economy
• A concept note will be developed and shared with relevant project staff for buy:
  • Identification of Issue.
  • Review of existing report: This will include desk review of previous analysis conducted by SAVI and SPARC. It will also include review of previous political economy studies as well as policy documents pertaining to issues of diarrhoea control and WASH intervention in the state
  • Contextual Analysis: A rapid contextual analysis will be conducted using the synthesizing report (SAVI/SPARC) analysis.
• The contextual analysis will also identify the stage in child health and WASH activities funding and policy in Lagos state.

Analysis of Political Dynamics:

• This will be conducted through stakeholder mapping exercise using cost effective, participatory approaches that could involve workshop setting. The purpose will be in two folds via;
  • Gather information to help analyse the extent to which structural, institutional and agency factors constitute constraints or provide opportunities for effective policies and initiatives on Child Health and WASH.
  • To propose strategies and identify realistic solution needed to improve government commitment to Child Health and WASH intervention in Lagos state.
  • Dissemination of report to stakeholders through the publication of report and organisation of stakeholder town hall meeting for feedback and commitment to actions.
• Consultancy Upon receipt of applications from prospective consultants, Save the Children (SC) will review such applications and asked shortlisted candidates to submit 3-5 page proposal and corresponding budget as separate attachments for the conduct of political economy analysis survey on diarrhoea and WASH programmes in Lagos State.
• This piece of work is expected to last for between 6-8 weeks maximum.
• To guide prospective applicants, SCI will provide a detailed ToR and require shortlisted candidates to submit their proposal focusing on detailed methodology and protocol, research team, workplan and other necessary information require to determine their ability to deliver quality product for dissemination.

Qualification and Experience

• The preferred candidate (s) must have a doctorate degree (Ph.D) or its equivalent in social sciences with at least 10-15 years’ experience in development or relevant field of endeavor.
• Demonstrable experience in the academia or development sector is required with evidence of writing skills and publications.
• Robust research experience using qualitative and quantitative approaches through participatory analysis is preferred.
• Evidence of past similar work/undertaking is necessary
• In-depth experience using PLA will be an added advantage