Somalia: Baseline Evaluation for OFDA Funded Integrated Lifesaving Assistance for Drought and Conflict Affected Populations in Somalia


Oct 10, 2018 | Save the Children
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Introduction

Save the Children (SC) has worked in Somalia/Somaliland since 1951 and has provided emergency assistance since 1970 whenever there has been need. In 2016, SCI directly reached 600,936 children. Each year about 650,000 people benefit from our longer term development work in Health, Nutrition, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), Education, Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), Child Protection and Child Rights Governance.

With support from USAID/OFDA, SC will implement a one-year program targeting 95,000+ including 55,000+ internally displaced people (IDP) in AWDAL (Somaliland), BARI and NUGAL (Puntland), and BAY (South Central Somalia). SC will implement an integrated approach; health and nutrition sites, WASH, protection, agriculture & livelihoods services targeting the most affected populations within; Lughaya, Zeila (Awdal), Iskushban, Qardho, Banderbelya (Bari), Dangaroyo (Nugal), Baidoa (Bay). Further live saving health, nutrition and WASH services will also target the most vulnerable within Dinsoor and Bardale (Bay) and Borama (Awdal).

1. Project Objectives

The main objective of the program is to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity in communities experiencing humanitarian crisis or that are food insecure. The program has the following sector specific objectives;

  • Health: Increased access to primary healthcare for affected families
  • Nutrition: Increased access to interventions aimed at preventing, identifying and treating acute malnutrition among children and PLW
  • WASH: Targeted children and families affected by drought have improved access to safe and adequate water and sanitation services and hygiene messages to reduce the risk of disease transmission.
  • Agriculture and Food Security: Protect productive assets among drought affected host and IDP communities.
  • Economic Recovery and market systems: Restore productive assets and livelihood opportunities among drought affected resident and IDP communities.
  • Protection: Increased protection of children from harm, violence, exploitation and abuse

1.1 Geographical Coverage and Targets

SC will implement an integrated approach; health and nutrition sites, WASH, protection, agriculture & livelihoods services targeting the most affected populations within; Lughaya, Zeila (Awdal), Iskushban, Qardho, Banderbelya (Bari), Dangaroyo (Nugal), Baidoa (Bay). Further live saving health, nutrition and WASH services will also target the most vulnerable within Dinsoor and Bardale (Bay) and Borama (Awdal). In Bari, Nugaal and Awdal SC is also implementing FFP program.

2. Purpose of the Baseline Survey

The main purpose of the baseline survey is to establish the benchmarks as per the program logical frame indicators, which will provide pre-intervention situation that will eventually be used for tracking and assess project performance and progress. In addition, baseline will collect and estimates indicators for FFP program, which overlaps in some areas with OFDA programs to provide benchmarks for future comparison of effectiveness of the two programs integration or overlap.

3. Scope of Assignment

The consultant (s) will design and conduct the baseline survey and set out the benchmarks according to programme indicators taking into account regional variations and integration with FFP. The consultant will also present the findings to SC, Program Director OFDA/FFP, technical team and other stakeholders. The consultant shall have to carry out the following and other specific activities during the baseline survey process:

  1. Review of key documents that include the proposal documents, Project proposal, MEAL plan and work plan
  2. Design of baseline survey
  3. Produce an inception report with a detailed work plan and methodology to be used with respect to the quantitative household survey, provide a description of how data will be collected including the sampling frame, data sources, analysis plan and drafts of data collection tools such as questionnaires.
  4. Develop an implementation plan for qualitative data collection including tool such as Key Informant Interview guides
  5. Collaborate with SC on putting the baseline survey tool on tablets
  6. Conduct training of enumerators and supervisors
  7. Conduct field data collection
  8. Discussion with SC on initial results report on baseline survey
  9. Conduct final presentation in collaboration with SC.

4. Baseline Methodology

Detailed design of the baseline methodology will be done by the consultant. The design should take into account that not all activities will be implemented in all locations though each location will receive at least two thematic interventions. Mostly quantitative method will be employed during the baseline survey through a household questionnaire to collect data that would provide indicator benchmarks for the project. Quantitative method will be mostly employed during the baseline survey through a household questionnaire to collect data from caregivers or household heads or observations at the household. The consultant will also conduct desk reviews and key informants to collect institutional based indicators like health facilities and public places. Few focus groups discussion to compliment the findings of the quantitative survey will be encouraged to provide more information on underlying issues that program team can later utilize in implementing interventions. Due to community sensitivity on issues related to hygiene and infant young feeding practices (IYFP), the consultant will be encouraged to recruit mostly female enumerators from Somalia who can better gather this information from mostly anticipated women respondents.

5. Program Indicators to Assess

The program intends to assess the following principal indicators from OFDA:

  1. Percentage of pregnant women who have attended at least two comprehensive antenatal clinics
  2. Percentage of newborns that received postnatal care within three days after delivery
  3. Percentage of births assisted by a skilled attendant at birth
  4. Percentage of pregnant women in their third trimester who received a clean delivery kit
  5. Percentage of CHWs conducting public health surveillance
  6. Percentage of community members who can recall target health education messages
  7. Proportion of infants 0-5 months of age who are fed exclusively with breast milk
  8. Proportion of children 6-23 months of age who receive foods from 4 or more food groups
  9. Average liters/person/day collected from all sources for drinking, cooking, and hygiene
  10. Average number of users per functioning toilet
  11. Percent of households targeted by latrine construction/promotion program whose latrines are completed and clean
  12. Percent of people targeted by the hygiene promotion program who report using a latrine the last time they defecated
  13. Percent of people targeted by the hygiene promotion program who know at least three (3) of the five (5) critical times to wash hands
  14. Percentage of beneficiaries reporting net income from their livelihood

In addition, the consultant shall assess the following indicators from FFP program.

  1. Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger (Household Hunger Scale - HHS)
  2. Food Consumption Score (FCS)-% of household with acceptable FCS
  3. Reduced Coping Strategies Index
  4. Percentage of pregnant and lactating women that can name at least 3 promoted nutrition practices

6. Evaluation Process

The baseline will be carried out in conformity with the standard operating guidelines in the MEAL approach for SC. The baseline assessment will use mostly quantitative method though some qualitative information is still expected to be collected to explain some indicator estimates. The applicants are therefore expected to elaborate on the baseline methodology that they will follow in their technical proposal.

6.1 Baseline Inception Report

The successful Consultant will prepare a Baseline Inception Report that will describe understanding of the Terms of References, detailed methodology and work plan. The inception report will include the indicator matrix, which will detail how all project indicators shall be assessed, specifying the tools to be used. The report will be approved by Save the Children and will act as a key guiding document to the conduct of the baseline survey.

6.2 Work plan

The consultant will prepare a plan that will operationalize and direct how the whole exercise will be carried out. SC Somalia staff will be involved in providing input into design and review of tools, workshop agenda, and the report. The work plan will clearly describe the timing for:

  1. The development of baseline tools
  2. Baseline design workshop with stakeholders
  3. Recruitment and training of research assistants including pretesting
  4. Fieldwork (data collection and analysis)
  5. Report writing and dissemination of results.

6.3 Geographical and Beneficiary Targeting

The exercise will be carried out in AWDAL (Somaliland), BARI and NUGAL (Puntland), and BAY (South Central Somalia). The program is targeting 95,000+ including 55,000+ internally displaced people from the areas. A detailed breakdown of specific activities by area will be provided to the consultants shortlisted for inception report submission.

7. Deliverables

The potential consultant will be expected to complete the assignment in 30 working days (including development of study protocol and implementation plan/timeline, literature review, inception report, development and pre-testing of data collection tools/instruments, training of assessment team, data collection, analysis, validation and report writing).

The consultants will be responsible for the following deliverables:

  • An inception report with tools
  • Electronic files with raw data sets
  • A draft report that addresses the expectations stipulated in the objectives of the baseline survey
  • Final evidence based report as per the objectives stipulated in the baseline survey ToR
  • Presentation of the final results of the baseline survey to stakeholders

7.1 SC Somalia Responsibilities

The SC Somalia will be responsible for the following:

  • Ensure effective coordination of the baseline logistics to support the consultants in undertaking their assignment.
  • Approve inception report
  • Providing input into the tools developed, and baseline design.
  • Provide consultants with literature review materials/necessary documentations.
  • Link consultants to relevant stakeholders
  • Reviewing analysis of the data collected prior to the documentation of the final report
  • Review draft report
  • Approve and sign-off final report draft

7.2 Plan for dissemination and learning

SC-Somalia will organize meetings with various stakeholders at community and district levels to provide feedback on/disseminate findings from the baseline. This will also provide an opportunity for the stakeholders to identify and agree on targets adjustment and policy issues to be taken forward based on findings from the assessment. The consultant (s) shall present the findings and SC shall lead the discussion on joint planning.

7.3 Team Members’ Other Responsibilities

The members shall be responsible for the following:

  • Adhering to all terms/conditions stipulated in their contracts including SC child safeguarding policy.
  • Obtaining their health insurance
  • Adhering to the agreed time frames with regard to all activities outlined in the timeline Consultant’s own laptops/computers to be used during the assignment

8. Qualification and Experience

The following are minimum requirements for the team/consultant to be considered for carrying out the assignment

  1. Relevant Masters level education experience and training in Development Studies, Social Sciences, Agro-economics, Public Health, and/or related fields. A team with a combination of at least two of the fields will have an added advantage.
  2. At least 5 years’ experience in conducting similar work. SC-Somalia is interested to verify related assignments conducted in the past 2 years.
  3. Considerable track record and proven experience in quantitative and qualitative methods.