Background

Over the last decade, Mozambique has shown impressive economic growth but with 60% of the population living on less than US$2 a day and ranked 181 out of 188 countries on the 2016 Human Development Index (HDI), it is still among the poorest countries in the world. Mozambique also ranks 139 out of 159 countries on the Gender Inequality Index (GII) primarily as a result of high adolescent birth rates, high maternal mortality rates and low female participation in secondary schooling. In all, approximately 23% of the population are adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19. In Zambézia province, the onset of sexual activity is under the national average (15.5 years of age for females and 16.3 years for males, compared to 16.1 and 17.1 nationally), which is associated with low levels of education, poverty, and the cultural practice of child and early forced marriage (CEFM), especially in rural areas (DHS, 2011).

Within the country, Zambézia has some of the worst health outcomes while also having the third lowest budget for health per capita, resulting in a lack of quality health services and infrastructure. In Zambézia, the infant mortality rate is 95 per 1,000 live births compared to 64 nation-wide, the fertility rate is 6.8 compared to 5.9 nationally, and 41% of adolescent girls (15-19) already have a child or are pregnant (37.5% nationally). The province also has the lowest secondary school net attendance rate (11%) in the country (DHS 2011). The HIV prevalence among young women (15-24), is one of the highest in the country with 14.3% (9.8% national average), compared to 4.5% for boys (1.5% national) (IMASIDA, 2015).

In response to the significant SRHR needs of adolescent boys and girls in Zambézia, the Ungumi Project is directly aligned with the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) priority to address these specific needs as outlined in the draft Integrated Adolescent and School Health Strategy and the Family Planning and Contraception Strategy 2010-2015 (2020), where adolescents and youth are identified as one of three target groups. The project will contribute to Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’ as well as Goal 5, ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’ which includes preventing CEFM and ensuring ASRHR are fulfilled. The project is also aligns with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) Feminist International Assistance Policy’s (FIAP) core action area, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, as well as action area two, Human Dignity (health and nutrition, education, humanitarian action).

Rationale

The independent evaluation of Ungumi is a mandatory step mainly to assess overall project performance during implementation period, its results identify key lessons learned for ending program and for the future strategies. The evaluation constitutes an important contribution to the envisioned program on gender equality and adolescents sexual and reproductive health and potential for scaling up and disseminating knowledge being implemented by Save the Children in its strategies. The independent evaluation will build on other small studies that the project has carried out during its implementation period.

Objectives

The specific evaluation objectives are:

  • To independently verify (and supplement where necessary) record of achievement as reported through interim, and annual reports and defined in the project.
  • To assess the extent to which the project performed well which includes considering how well the project met its objectives and how principles of effectiveness and efficiency in relation to delivery of its outcomes.
  • Compare EL values of the indicators with the BL;
  • What has happened because of GAC’s funding that wouldn’t have otherwise happened; and
  • Assess how project’s ASRH activities have contributed to the achievement of national priorities.
  • Draw lessons learnt – what lessons have been learnt so far which can be applied in the similar interventions in future projects.
  • Appraise the project partnership approach (including management structures, communications and relationships) to community implementation, research and advocacy in relation to the project’s achievements.
  • Assess how MEAL system and function has effectively contributed towards achieving Ungumi’s ultimate outcomes.
  • What is the level of progress of change from the baseline over the intervention period?
  • Who are the key influential in the project’s targeted communities that shape social norms, who do people turn to (particularly adolescents, married and unmarried) when they have problems;
  • Was the project’s gender equality strategy effective at transforming harmful gender norms and power imbalances between girls and boys, women and men? Did the strategy help to foster greater gender equality and/or women and girls’ empowerment? Did the gender equality strategy also lead to greater ASRHR outcomes?

Evaluation Criteria

Relevance

  1. To what extent were the outcomes of the Project valid? Did it address the most priority needs of the adolescents – girls, women, boys, and men?
  2. Are the activities and outputs consistent with the intermediate and ultimate outcomes?
  3. Was the design of the project the most appropriate and relevant to achieve the ultimate outcome?
  4. Were the gender equality initiatives the most appropriate and relevant to achieve the ultimate outcome? What about gender equality and girls’ empowerment as a stand-alone outcome?
  5. How has the local context in which the project has been implemented changed from the time when the project started?

Effectiveness

  1. What role has the project played in improving the ASRH rights and services for the adolescents in the area where the project has been implemented?
  2. What were the key factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the project outcomes?
  3. How are the project services perceived and utilized by the adolescent girls and boys, women, and men?
  4. To what extent were the projects’ approaches and methodologies effective in achieving its set objectives?
  5. Were the monitoring mechanisms effective in providing timely data to inform programming decisions?
  6. To what extent were the projects’ approaches and methodologies effective in achieving or improving gender equality? What about women and girls’ empowerment?

Efficiency

  1. Was the SAAJ, Children’s parliament, training of health care professionals, adolescents, religious leaders, government officials effective?
  2. Were the Tô Na Boa, Raparinga and Rapaz Biz, and Lourdes Mutola Foundation sports initiatives effective for achieving greater gender equality and/or girls’ empowerment, and improved knowledge on ASRHR?
  3. What are some of the other options of possible more effective approaches that the project can explore?
  4. Was adequate human, financial and logistical resources applied to delivering project outcomes?
  5. Were outputs delivered in a timely way?

Impact

  1. What have been the main changes among the adolescents and community attributed to the project (positive or negative), and what are the key factors behind these changes?

Sustainability

  1. To what extent can the project benefits live on after the project ends?
  2. To what extent do the adolescents have ownership of the project benefits?

Methodology

A mixed approach (quantitative and qualitative) will be employed in collecting the data from the respondents.

Data collection tools will include:

  • An interviewer-administered questionnaire for the quantitative household survey. The respondents would be;
    • Married and unmarried adolescent girls and boys (10-14; 15-19 years of age) in Zambezia province (Milange, Derre and Morrumbala districts);
    • Male and female heads of households, parents, community members, and spouses of each age sub-group of girls and boys, stratified by age (10-14 and 15-19 years);
  • A quantitative interviewer-administered health facility questionnaire and SAAJ centers.
  • Qualitative key informant interviews with
  • Province and district level education and health officials.
  • Key community members (males and females) i.e. Madrinas, Padrinhos, religious leaders, traditional leaders.
  • Trained health workers
  • Focused Group Discussions with
  • Unmarried and married adolescents 10-14; 15-19 years and
  • VYA and OAs unmarried and married to measure changes in perceptions, behavior/practices and norms
  • KII informant and In-depth interviews with
  • Parents/caregivers of the adolescents
  • Husbands of married adolescents
  • Community/religious leaders and traditional healers.
  • Government officials

Scope of Work for the Consultancy

The Endline will be jointly conducted by an international and a national consultant with clear lines of responsibilities.

  • Work in collaboration with local consulting firm and MEAL team for joint research planning/ protocol, tools and timelines development.
  • Finalize the development of research design and methodology.
  • Prepare an inception report that should have clear contents and structure of the report.
  • Analyze the dataset provided by Save the Children.
  • Produced final end line report and a power point that should present key findings and recommendations.

The Consultant will report to Sr. MEAL Advisor at Save the Children Canada and with functional relationship with head of MEAL in Save the Children Mozambique Country office.

Qualifications of Consultant

  • Minimum of 10 years of experience in coordinating and administering implementation research studies, including gender-sensitive data collection and entry, data management and storage, preferably for international non-profit organizations or multilateral agencies with preference for studies in Adolescents sexual reproductive health programs;
  • Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis, particularly as it relates to discriminatory social and gender norms i.e. power dynamics between male and female members, decision making, and others;
  • Knowledge and experience with ASRHR, related to measuring and analyzing social norm change, policies and clinical services systems in Mozambique.
  • Knowledge of and experience with gender equality in programming.
  • Fluency in English (spoken and written) is a requirement.

Deliverables, Time Frame and Level of Effort

The consultancy period will be approximately 30 days from 1st October to 30th November 2021.

S/N Activity Number of Days

 
1 Meeting with project team and define modality for assessment 02
2  Desk review – Literature studies of reports and documents 02
3  Write and submit an analysis plan that should clearly present table of contents, report structure including key findings, and recommendations 02
4 Incorporate Save the Children’s feedback 01
5 Analyze the quantitative and qualitative dataset 05
6 Prepare a first draft of Endline report 12
7 Incorporate Save the Children’s feedback and submit second draft 02
8 Incorporate Save the Children’s feedback on second draft 02
9 Prepare final End-line report with PowerPoint 02
10 Total work days 30

 

Application Package and Procedures

Applications for the consultancy must include following components, for a total of no more than 15 pages (not including appendices, CVs, etc.):

  1. Detailed technical proposal clearly demonstrating a thorough understanding of this ToR and including the following:
    1. Demonstrate previous experience in coordinating and administering studies of a similar nature, including experience with the implementation of data collection activities that are gender-responsive, adolescent-friendly and respect child safeguarding principles;
    2. Propose steps to be taken for enumerator training, piloting/translation of tools, data collection, spot checking, data entry and management.
  • As adolescent mothers are among the key respondents for the household survey, the proposal should detail the informed consent process considering the situation for both male and female adults as well as adolescent girls and boys under the age of 18;
  1. Team composition (including sex-disaggregation) and level of effort of each proposed team member, if applicable.
  1. A financial proposal with a detailed breakdown of costs for the study:
  2. Itemized consultancy fees/costs for all team members
  3. Validity period of quotations
  4. Names and contact information of two references who can be contacted regarding relevant experience.
  5. A copy of a previous report of a similar undertaken on implementation study
  6. A Consulting Firm profile (if applicable).

The proposal will be scored on both technical (methodology) and financial (budget) aspects weighted at 70% and 30% respectively. Complete applications should be submitted electronically with the subject line of: ‘Ungumi Endline Application’ at following email address by 30th June 2021.

Email ID: gtimpl@savethechildren.ca

Ethics Approval and Disclosure/Ownership of Information

All ownership and copyright for the data collected is held by the Ungumi Project and Save the Children Canada. It is understood and agreed that the Consultant shall, during and after the effective period of the contract, treat as confidential and not divulge, unless authorized in writing by Save the Children Canada, any information obtained in the course of the performance of the assignment.  Information will be made available for the consultants on a need to know basis.

Supervision of Assignment

The lead technical Consultant will be required to work closely with Sr. MEAL Advisor at Save the Children Canada.

Payment Schedule

Payment to the consultant shall be done in accordance with normal procedures of Save the Children Mozambique. In principal however, consultant fees will be paid upon the satisfactory report of performance.

The payment schedule will be as follows:

  • 1st payment: after submitting inception report, which will include detailed analysis plan, will be paid 40% of total payment.
  • 2nd payment: upon completion of final report with power point presentation, as well as corrective actions as necessary, will be paid 60% of total payment.

Safeguarding

Save the Children is committed to actively safeguarding children from harm and ensuring children’s rights to safeguarding are fully realized, and that representatives of Save the Children never abuse their power to exploit or abuse (sexually, economically, etc.) people in project locations.  It takes seriously the commitment to promote child safeguarding practices and protect children from harm, abuse, neglect and any form of exploitation as they come into contact with Save the Children supported interventions. In addition, positive action will be taken to prevent child abusers from becoming involved with the study in any way and take stringent measures against any staff and/or associate who abuses a child. Decisions and actions in response to child safeguarding concerns will be guided by the principle of ‘the best interests of the child’. Further, Save the Children recognises that its staff and volunteers are likely to find themselves in a position of power related to project beneficiaries and other stakeholders. Consequently, specific measures will be taken to prevent of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) of project beneficiaries and other stakeholders.

As such, the study must ensure appropriate, safe, non-discriminatory participation; stressing the views of all young girls, boys, (10-19 years) be collected; a process of free and un-coerced consent and withdrawal; confidentiality and anonymity of participants. Environments and working methods should be adapted to youth capacities; time and resources should be made available to ensure that youth are adequately prepared and have the confidence and opportunity to contribute their views. The consultant, all enumerators, and all those coming in contact with children will undergo a training that will cover child safeguarding and PSEA.

Disclosure of Information

It is understood and agreed that the Consultant(s) shall, during and after the effective period of the contract, treat as confidential and not divulge, unless authorized in writing by Save the Children, any information obtained in the course of the performance of the Contract.  Information will be made available for the consultants on a need‑to‑know basis. Any necessary field visits will be facilitated by Save the Children staff.