Terms of reference summary
| Project Name | Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Strategies for Universal Health Coverage in Africa |
| Target Location | Ethiopia, Malawi, Uganda |
| Project Goal | For women, girls, adolescents, and persons with disabilities to hold systems accountable and ensure access to universal health coverage for all |
| Project Outcomes | Outcome 1: Women, girls, adolescents, and young people are capacitated to lead and support network and movement building. Outcome 2: Communities are engaged and sensitized on SRHR rights, policies, and legal environments. Outcome 3: Service delivery systems are strengthened and inclusive to diversity. |
| Direct beneficiary | Women, girls, and young people in all their diversities, with priority to vulnerable and marginalized groups |
| Project deliverables | Inception report (30% fees disbursed upon approval of inception report) Baseline survey tools Initial findings presented to Sonke. Draft evaluation report (40% of fees disbursed upon submission of report) Final evaluation report (30% of fees disbursed upon submission of report) |
| Project lifespan | 2023-2027 |
| Baseline Purpose | The purpose of this baseline evaluation is to assess the ability of women, girls, adolescents, and persons with disabilities to hold systems accountable to ensure access to universal health coverage. |
| Baseline Start and End Dates | 15 October 2023 – 31 January 2024 |
| Anticipated Baseline Report Release Date | 01 February 2024 |
Project Overview
Only five out of 60 African countries permit abortion on demand. Legal reforms, such as access to safe legal abortion and considering exceptions to a standard age of consent policy are critical enablers that can change a hostile environment to a supportive environment for all women and girls. Supporting enabling legal and social environments are key to advancing gender equality and attaining sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes in Africa. Despite tremendous progress in respect of the inclusion of gender equality as a global goal – including in numerous UN conventions, the SDGs, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the African Agenda 2063 – gender inequalities continue to undermine women’s rights, gender equality, and the enjoyment of human rights by all women and girls, to impede development and democracy building, and to compromise people’s lives in dramatic and devastating ways. Deeply rooted structural obstacles such as the unequal distribution of resources, power, and wealth, combined with social institutions and norms that sustain inequality, are holding African women and girls, and as a result the rest of the continent, back.
The Norwegian government has committed to an international SRHR pledge which was announced at the ICPD + 25 Nairobi Summit, and further elaborated at the Generation Equality Forum (Beijing + 25), under the Bodily Autonomy and SRHR coalition where financial support for comprehensive sexuality education was included. NORAD invited regional and international SRHR organizations and established SRHR funds providing direct grants to local, national, and regional civil organizations, and networks with documented relevant SRHR experience. As the selected implementation partner Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) is sub granting organizations in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda to implement the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Strategies for Universal Health Coverage in Africa. The overall objective of the project endeavors for women, girls, adolescents, and persons with disabilities to hold systems accountable and ensure access to universal health coverage for all by strengthening the organizational capacity of the nine local MEA partners through the provision of sub-grants over the course of the project. This includes strengthening the skills and competencies of grantees to have greater agency on movement building, and promoting access, advocacy and accountability actions relating to the thematic areas of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), comprehensive and safe abortion as well as access to SRHR services.
Outcome 1: Women, girls, adolescents, and young people are capacitated to lead and support network and movement building.
Outcome 2: Communities are engaged and sensitized on SRHR rights, policies, and legal environments.
Outcome 3: Service delivery systems are strengthened and inclusive to diversity.
Purpose of this Consultancy
Sonke seeks to recruit the services of a consultant to conduct an evaluation of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Strategies for Universal Health Coverage in Africa project. The baseline evaluation aims to assess the following:
- The pre-implementation state of the strategic objective and outcome-level indicators
- The organizational capacity of the nine local MEA partners to support women, girls, adolescents, and persons with disabilities to hold systems accountable.
- The democratic governance structures and leadership capabilities of local MEA partners to execute the MEA SRHR Strategic Plan.
- The capacity of the nine local MEA partners to advocate for sexual and reproductive health rights of women, girls, adolescents, and persons with disabilities at a national and regional level.
- The laws and policies that enable the inclusion of comprehensive sexuality education in secondary schools.
Research design and methodology
Proposed data collection methods and analysis
Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods should be used through a combination of surveys, focus group discussions/interviews, desk studies (reviewing project documents, annual progress reports, and other relevant evaluation documentation), and additional primary data collection required. Data collection tools should be developed by making use of the project monitoring and evaluation framework, with questions linked to the outcome and if applicable output indicators. Online data collection is preferred, evaluators can make use of tools such as Google Forms or Survey Monkey for quantitative data collection. Qualitative data collection can take place via telephone, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, etc. All qualitative data must be recorded and transcribed accordingly to ensure data quality. Data analysis should be conducted on Stata, SPSS, or any other relevant software. Additional follow-up data collection should take place to fill in any knowledge gaps and further validate findings.
Data sources
Both primary and secondary data sources should be used, the proposed data sources include but should not be limited to:
- Desk review on institutional policies and, relevant project documents such as the concept note and M&E framework.
- Quantitative data is to be collected through a representative survey.
- Qualitative data is to be collected through focus groups group discussions and/or key informant interviews.
Proposed sampling methods
For the quantitative methodology, a reliable sample size should be calculated. Both primary and secondary beneficiaries should be selected via stratified random sampling/proportional random sampling considering beneficiary type, geographic area, and any, other key defining factors decided by the evaluator.
Time schedule
The estimated duration of the baseline evaluation is 3 months, starting in November 2023 and ending in February 2024 when the final report will be submitted. Within the first 2 weeks of the consultancy, the consultant is expected to produce an Inception Report, including a detailed work plan and methodology. The consultant is expected to convey the main findings and recommendations in a meeting with Sonke and partner staff before finalization of the report.
Budget: ZAR 200 000
How to apply
Should you wish to apply, please send as five separate documents to Yanga Fadana by COB 15 November 2023. If selected, induction will start on 20 November 2023.
Email: yanga@genderjustice.org.za
- Brief 1-1.5-page cover letter citing your relevant expertise for the consultancy.
- Detailed CV including examples of similar evaluations completed (4 pages maximum)
- Detailed quotation
- Short proposal including work plan and budget.
- Example of similar work completed.
Key Activities
The main activities for the baseline evaluation can be seen from the table below.
| Evaluation Phase | Role | Primary Task |
| Planning | Project team | – Conduct project introduction meeting with the consultant – Submit project documents to external research team |
| External research team | – Develop baseline methodology/questionnaire – Test and adjust survey tools | |
| Technical team | – Provide technical inputs to improve baseline methodology/questionnaire – Give the final approval to the consultant team to collect data | |
| Data Collection and Analysis | External research team | – Fully facilitate the data collection – Fully responsible for data quality assurance – Present and validate data to the project and technical teams |
| Project/Technical team | – Link the research team with the local MEA partners | |
| Reporting and follow up | External research team | – Prepare draft report in English – Discussion with Sonke on findings and reflect the feedback in the final report – Final report submission – Provide presentation feedback on baseline report to Sonke |
| Project and Technical team | – Participate in discussion meeting and provide feedback |