Somalia: Assessment Assistant in Gender Based Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis

Oct 5, 2018 | Action Against Hunger
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Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organization which originated in France and is committed to ending world hunger. The organization helps malnourished children and provides communities with access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger.

1.  BACKGROUND

The Somalia Resilience Programme (SomReP) is a consortium of seven international non-governmental organizations (INGO). SomReP works to enhance the resilience of chronically vulnerable households, communities and systems across Somalia. Droughts in 2006 and 2008, followed by a devastating drought and famine in 2011 and the Recurrent drought in the region have helped highlight the weak human and institutional capacity, lack of effective policies and regulations at the government level geared toward supporting Somalia’s vulnerable populations and the increasing fragmentation and instability in the country.

The Somalia Resilience Program (SomReP) is an ambitious approach to tackle the challenge of recurrent droughts and other shocks —and the chronic vulnerability among pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and peri-urban households in one of the poorest countries in the world. SomReP is being implemented through a consortium of 7 INGOs (ACF, ADRA, CARE, COOPI, DRC, Oxfam and WVI) with the Technical Unit housed under World Vision Somalia for the coordination and provision of technical support/direction to the program. These seven international organizations have deep experience in Somalia and jointly aim to build resilient households and communities across Somaliland, Puntland and South-Central Somalia using their own potential and abilities other than depending handouts. Different members to better support the communities adopted this approach to foster synergies on approaches and best practices.

Based on program’s objectives, the main objective of this assignment is to provide sufficient understanding on the gender sensitive status of climate vulnerability and capacity analysis (GCVCA) of pastoral and agro-pastoral households living in Puntland and Somaliland states.

The project Geographic Areas are Puntland and southwest state-South Central particularly in Eyl and Uxudur districts: where ACF has Program operations under SomReP (Swedish Development co-operation – SDC and EU-South West resiliency funded programs respectively).

The GCVCA methodology helps to understand the implications of climate change for the lives and livelihoods of the people we serve. By combining local knowledge with scientific data, the process builds people’s understanding about climate risks and adaptation strategies. It provides a framework for dialogue within communities, as well as between communities and other stakeholders. The results provide a solid foundation for the identification of practical strategies to facilitate community-based adaptation to climate change.

ACF will also use well-established Gender-sensitive Climate Vulnerability and Capacities Analysis (GCVCA) to help communities evaluate the risks they face, assess their own adaptive capacities and assets, monitor changes and progress over time in an inclusive, participatory manner and make needed adjustments based on learning. The consultancy is expected to carry out field level GCVCA assessments in target districts of SDC 4 –Eyl, and EU-SWS Uxudur districts.

The main objectives of this gender sensitive GCVCA are: a) analyze vulnerability to climate change and adaptive capacity at the community level in the project target villages in Eyl and Uxudur districts, Nugal and Bakool regions respectively; and b) combine community knowledge and scientific data to yield greater understanding about local impacts of climate change.[1]

With support from SOMREP CBDRM TA, ACF will engage a qualified and dynamic local Assessment Assistant (Local Consultant) in the planning and implementation of the GCVCA exercise. GCVCA exercise is expected to lead to a much better understanding of the risks, vulnerabilities and capacities in these communities and open up avenues for robust and contextually relevant resilience programming in Somalia at large and in the specific geographical areas in particular.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSESSMENT

The main purpose of the assessment assistant is to support GCVCA execution of the GCVCA data collection exercise, and preparation and compilation of the analysis in consultation with the ACF program staff. SomReP ACF program staff and local enumerators/facilitators who have participated in GCVCA methodology training shall undertake the exercise at field level and participate or contribute to the GCVCA exercise at district/regional and national levels.

The specific objectives of the Assessment are:

a) Contribute to the planning process of the GCVCA exercise using the GCVCA hand-book as a guide and Terms of Reference.

b) Strengthen the capacity of ACF program staff in vulnerability and capacity assessments.

c) Provide technical guidance in the GCVCA implementation process and application of the different risk, vulnerability and capacity assessment tools.

d) Ensure robust integration and synthesis of literature review information and community-level findings.

3. KEY TASKS OF ASSESSMENT ASSISTANT (LOCAL CONSULTANT):

Provide support to CBDRM TA and assist in the following:

a) Review and translation of ACF GCVCA tools and other Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools that will be used for the GCVCA exercise from English to the local language and vice versa

b) Support the training of the GCVCA teams on the GCVCA methodology/tools

c) Provide field technical support to the data collection team on a daily basis throughout the study period

d) Provide support in literature review – reviewing assessments, baseline surveys and other relevant studies

e) Support sharing and validation of study findings at community and district levels.

f) Analysis of the GCVCA data/findings (at all levels – community, district, regional, etc.) and compilation of the Village Profiles and GCVCA report as the GCVCA teams share information including aggregation of all the GCVCA exercise in the two districts

4. METHODOLOGY

The GCVCA exercise will be implemented by ACF programme staff in Eyl and Uxudur districts technically supported by CBDRM TA with the study assistant providing ground support to the enumerators.

a) GCVCA staff training

The training will be conducted for three days (Per district) including a simulation exercise in one of the communities, focusing overall process of conducting GCVCA including the analytical frameworks and disaster risk and vulnerability assessment tools. This is aimed at equipping those not very familiar with GCVCA and PDRA (participatory disaster risk assessment) with the relevant skills and knowledge for the field exercise.

b) Community and stakeholders’ sensitization

The GCVCA team will conduct a stakeholder analysis to identify potential institutions and individuals and key actors in the areas of livelihood security (participants to the GCVCA). The stakeholder analysis will take place in parallel with the community sensitization on GCVCA exercise.

c) Community Level Analysis

The community level analysis will be conducted in Eyl and Uxudur district. The community level analysis process will be conducted for three (3) days in each sampled community/villages and shall engage various community groups such as development/welfare committees, village councils, and youth and women groups. The GCVCA shall apply Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools to asses and analyze risks, vulnerabilities and capacities. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KII) shall also be employed with representatives from different communities to collect in-depth information and triangulate with information collected from the communities through the other tools. CARE handbook will be the main reference guide for the collection and analysis of information on risks, vulnerabilities and capacities.

d) Integrating desk review with community level analysis

CBDRM TA with the support of Asseeement Assistant shall perform a thorough desk review on climate change, disaster risks, disaster risk management policies and plans, and climate change vulnerability in Somalia, and particularly in the project areas. He/she shall produce a synthesis GCVCA report of the target districts/communities in Eyl and Uxudur district integrating the community level findings and analysis with the desk review findings.

e) District/regional multi-stakeholder workshops

When the community level analysis is completed, one multi-stakeholder workshop shall be organized in Eyl and Uxudur where presentations of the community level analysis will be made to community representatives, government authorities and other organizations working in these districts to collect further information from these groups and validate the available the community level analysis.

5. SCOPE OF WORK

This assessment Assistant provides support in tools translation & capacity building of enumerators/ACF staff on GCVCA, field data collection, community workshops and providing field technical backstopping and report writing.

As part of the assignment, the Assessment Assistant will closely work and interact with CBDRM TA, ACF Staff, communities and government officers.

The Assessment Assistant will be supervised by ACF in close consultation with CBDRM TA and will be in constant touch with the GCVCA teams, providing technical guidance in the field, receiving reports and raw information, and asking for clarifications during report writing and compilation. The Assessment Assistant is required for a period of about 32 days with varying degrees of engagement ( 23 days in Uxudur and 9 days for Eyl districts).

6. AREAS OF INVESTIGATION OF THE GCVCA

a) Contextual analysis (physical, social, political, economic, institutional, etc.)

b) Common climate related risks in the specific community, their patterns, severity, impact, etc.

c) Vulnerability and capacity dimensions – social, geographic, economic etc.

d) Vulnerable elements – people, assets, environments etc., and their degrees/levels of vulnerability

e) Characterization and mapping of the climate related disaster risks – causes, warning signals, duration, frequency, period of occurrence, forewarning etc.

f) Capacity assessment – existing capacities to withstand the disaster risk and identification of gaps

g) The impact of the disaster risk on women and girls

h) Role of local authorities and government departments in averting the impacts of the disaster risks and where they need to be strengthened

i) Stakeholder analysis in disaster preparedness and response

j) Access and control of resources, such as land, livestock, water infrastructures, etc.

k) Policy analysis – land tenure policy, livestock marketing policy, water policy, etc.

l) Preparedness and action planning (solutions and activities to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance capacities in the face the identified risks and changes) at multiple levels

m) Identification of advocacy issues and pinpointing entry points and possible allies

7. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE ASSESSMENT ASSISTANT

In line with the objectives of the task and under the overall guidance of the CBDRM TA, the following deliverables are expected from the consultant:

a) GCVCA methodology and tools reviewed and adapted for use

b) Provide field technical support as appropriate

c) Correct field data is collected, analyzed and documented of key findings for the purpose of developing a report.

d) Translation of information from local language to English and vice versa

8. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ACF :

a) Overall responsibility and supervision of the task

b) Provide existing assessments/ project documents, updates and provide relevant documents to support the task

c) Review draft and provide comments, approve final report d) Logistical support including field travel, accommodation and per diem will be provided as per ACF Somalia mission policy to facilitate fieldwork processes

9.MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

The Program Managers for ACF shall be responsible for the overall management of the GCVCA exercise.

10. ASSESSMENT ASSISTANT PROFILE

A technical expert with sufficient knowledge and experience in disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, livelihoods analysis and participatory assessments is recommended for this assignment. The technical expert should have competencies in facilitating, developing and revising participatory tools, coaching and mentoring community facilitators, ensuring gender sensitivity/inclusion and conducting thorough desk reviews, integrating literature with research findings and writing high quality and analytical reports. He/she should have:

a) Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, resilience building, food security and livelihoods in arid and semi-arid areas.

b) Familiarity with the Risk and Vulnerability analytical skills using quantitative and qualitative information with Climate Change being a benefit for the systems mapping.

c) Experience in humanitarian and development contexts.

d) First-hand knowledge of socio-cultural, economic, political situation in Somalia or in a similar conflict-ridden country with high vulnerability to droughts is advantage.

e) Advanced degree in disaster risk management, development studies or a related field.

f) Strong analytical and writing skills and the ability to clearly present findings and drawing practical conclusions and recommendations.

g) Prior work experience in a similar technical exercise.