Analysis of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services for Persons of Concern to UNHCR That Live Outside of Camps and Settlements

Mar 12, 2019 | UN High Commissioner for Refugees
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UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. 

  • Title: Report on water, sanitation and hygiene services for persons of concern to UNHCR that live outside of camps and settlements
  • Duty Station: home based with missions
  • Duration: 9 months
  • Contract Type: individual consultant
  • Closing date: 17 March 2019 (midnight CET)
  • Start date: 1 April 2019

Organisational context

Each year UNHCR publishes a Global Trends report on forced displacement. This report details population and demographic details of all persons of concern to UNHCR (PoCs) worldwide. The data from this report is also available through the online portal: popstats.unhcr.org. Of the 68.5 million persons of concern approximately three quarters live outside of camps and settlements. 

For those PoCs living outside of the planned and managed camps there is no systematic monitoring of the water sanitation, and hygiene services that these individuals access. The risk is that if these PoC do not have access to services OR if barriers to access are considerable then the coping mechanisms employed could subject these individuals to considerable protection risks. Coping mechanisms that have been observed include: survival sex to obtain money to pay for basic needs and essential services, collection of water from unimproved water sources, resorting to open defecation, and others.

This consultancy is aimed at gaining an understanding of the WASH situation of PoCs living in out-of-camp settings globally. 

Platforms

There are various databases that UNHCR manages which contain limited data on out-of-camp refugees, these include:

Integrated Refugee Health Information System (iRHIS)

https://his.unhcr.org/home

Standardized Expanded Nutrition Survey (SENS)

http://popstats.unhcr.org/en/overview

https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations

Global Focus Insight

https://gfi.unhcr.org/Pages/home.aspx

Integrated Refugee and Forcibly Displaced Livelihoods Information System

https://lis.unhcr.org/home

UNHCR WASH data

UNHCR WASH programmes are requested to conduct Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Surveys once a year. Most of them are conducted in camp-settings, but occasionally also target refugees living in host villages or urban settings. These data sets are available at field level only, but access can be facilitated through the UNHCR global WASH unit.

Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP)

JMP is the mechanism for collating data for reporting on SDG 6.1 and 6.2. The data sources for the JMP are the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and national demographic surveys. These surveys often collect data which can be used to as proxies for social economic status or wealth. In addition there are situations where these surveys are designed to be statistically significant to municipal level or where the demographic information includes descriptors on legal status. As such it might be possible, through these surveys, to either directly or indirectly identify the service levels that refugees or other PoCs are receiving. More information on JMP’s methods can be found here: https://washdata.org/sites/default/files/JMP%20methodology-Apr-2018-5.pdf

UN Agencies: In addition to JMP there are many other sources of humanitarian data within the United Nations agencies. 

Many of these datasets have WASH data, including:

National Sample of Cities: UN-Habitat

https://unhabitat.org/national-sample-of-cities/

Humanitarian Data Exchange

https://data.humdata.org/

Displacement Tracking Matrix- (IOM)

https://www.globaldtm.info/

Global Internal Displacement Database

http://www.internal-displacement.org/database

In addition, the consultant will make a contribution to UNHCR’s work on microdata sharing, by preparing 10 KAP datasets for inclusion in the World Bank’s microdata library according to existing anonymization protocols developed by UNHCR.

Duties and responsibilities

The objectives of this consultancy are: 

  • Contribute to the evidence base on forced displacement regarding from the WASH perspective through two concrete activities
  • Broaden the evidence-base on access to water, sanitation and hygiene services by PoCs living outside of camps and settlements.
  • Increase the availability of UNHCR WASH data in the public domain.

The key deliverables are as follows:

  • A Desk Review provides a detailed summary of the datasets with the relevant information (e.g. WASH access, population, and poverty data) as well as a proposed methodology for carrying out the full analysis.
  • A 2 page summary of the datasets
  • A Final Report with information on WASH Service levels enjoyed by PoCs following UNHCR core indicators as well as SDG 6 categories for water supply (Indicator 6.1.1), sanitation and hygiene (Indicator 6.2.1). Report will disaggregate data by country, and where appropriate provide comparisons between PoC and host population.
  • Preparation of 10 WASH KAP data sets for publication in the World Bank’s Microdata library

The proposed timeline is as follows (subject to change dependent on the timeline of collaborating UNHCR partners):

  • Inception Meeting April 2019
  • Conduct Desk Review: April - May 2019
  • Present desk review and agree on methodology: June 2019
  • Collate and clean datasets: June-September 2019
  • Analyse Data October 2019
  • Prepare and Present Report : November 2019
  • Submit Final Deliverables: December 2019

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

Academic:

  • Essential: Post-Graduate degree in Geography, Engineering, Statistics, Information Management, Environmental Health or other relevant degree.
  • Desirable: Completed studies at doctoral level (PhD or equivalent) in Geography, Engineering, Statistics, Data Management, Environmental Health or other relevant subject.

Experience:

  • At least 6 years of experience on statistical analysis, data analysis and data mining.
  • Demonstrated experience in conducting research projects on WASH related subjects.
  • Familiarity with the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme on Water and Sanitation data and methodology

Skills:

  • Ability towards analytical and creative thinking for rapid solutions.
  • Good communicator with strong interpersonal and negotiations skills to deal with persons of various cultural and educational backgrounds.
  • High ethical and professional standards
  • Team player with service oriented attitudes.
  • Proficiency in computer software such as MS Word and Powerpoint as well as modelling and statistical analysis packages including but not limited to: MS Access, Excel, SPSS, Stata, or R.

The consultant should provide an example of at least two data mining/analysis project in which he/she was involved.

Languages:

  • Excellent knowledge of English (written / oral / comprehension) is essential. Working knowledge of another UN language (preferably French) is desirable.