Premiere Urgence Internationale (PUI) Terms of Reference (ToR) for Consultancy Services - SMART Nutrition Survey

Premiere Urgence Internationale (PUI) is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious international NGO whose mission is to provide aid to populations affected by natural disasters, economic crises and conflicts. PUI’s overall objective is to cover the fundamental needs of populations suffering from humanitarian crisis in order to quickly restore their autonomy and dignity.

In Nigeria since 2016, PUI has been responding to the needs of crisis-affected people in Borno State through a comprehensive integrated approach, targeting vulnerable people affected by the crisis. PUI is providing to the targeted people means of subsistence (Food Security and Livelihoods) and access to basic services (Nutrition, Primary Health Care as well as Mental Health and Psycho-social Support). Protection is mainstreamed throughout all the sectors of activities.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Terms of Reference (ToR) for Consultancy Services - SMART Nutrition Survey

Location: Borno

Country / Region: Nigeria
Start date: 01/06 /2021
Source of funding: FFP
Author(s):  Medical Coordinator, Health Adviser

Nutrition Activities In Maiduguri, Nigeria
To ensure relevant impact on reducing malnutrition within the community, PUI implements integrated Nutrition package of CMAM, IYCF and Micro-nutrient powder (MNP) distribution to tackle all forms of malnutrition which overlap:

• IYCF interventions; with focus on preventive Social Behaviour Change
• Communication through a network of community outreach volunteers and Mother Care Groups as well as skilled based counselling of IYCF at health facilities mainly through critical contact points in the OTP, SC SRH/immunization services. Alongside with IYCF messaging, PUI will also target MNP distributions for 6-23 months children to improve dietary fortification of essential micro-nutrients.
• CMAM approach for timely identification and treatment of SAM and MAM in-line with WHO and MoH guidelines, through the provision of essential medicines and therapeutic supplies for management of malnutrition, and extending support to complicated SAM cases in the Stabilization Centre.

The Nutrition activities are covered under two complementarity grants funded by Office for Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Food for Peace (FFP) of USAID.

Rationale:

• The National Nutrition and Health survey conducted in 2018  revealed Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) prevalence (WHZ<-2SD) among children less than five years in Borno State was at 10.6% (8.1% - 13.7%; 95% CI) and 0.9% (0.3% - 2.3%; 95% CI) respectively.   
• The findings of SMART survey conducted by PUI (December, 2019) in Bolori-II ward, MMC LGA showed prevalence of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) at 11.1% (7.7-15.6, 95% CI), with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) of 2.0% (0.9-4.2, 95% CI), stunting prevalence at 30.4% (25.0-36.5, 95% CI) and underweight at 21.8% (16.9-27.5, 95% CI). The aforementioned levels of malnutrition are of significant public health concern. The rates are classified as ‘Serious’ for GAM and ‘high prevalence’ for stunting and underweight respectively according to World Health Organization Standards.
• Throughout 2019 and 2020, PUI has been implementing an integrated multi-sectoral humanitarian intervention to improve the nutritional status of vulnerable under-five children and PLW. In order to ascertain the extent of improvement in the Nutritional status of under-five children and other contributing indicators in Bolori-II, PUI intends to conduct a follow-up end-line SMART survey in Bolori-II ward, MMC in December 2020.

Survey Objectives:

• Overall Objective:The overall objective of the Survey is to determine the magnitude and severity of malnutrition and retrospective mortality rates amongst the under-five children and identify factors influencing nutritious statues of children less than five years in in BoloriII, Maiduguri Metropolitan city in Borno state, Nigeria.

Specific Objectives:

• To estimate the prevalence of acute malnutrition among children 6 to 59 months of age using WHZ, MUAC and bilateral oedema.
• To estimate the prevalence of chronic malnutrition using HAZ, Underweight and Overweight using WAZ among children 6 to 59 months of age.
• To estimate retrospective mortality rates (both crude mortality rates (CMR) and Under-five mortality rates (U5MR)) in the target population.
• To estimate retrospective morbidity among children under five years and healthcare seeking behaviour among the caregivers of under-five children.
• To estimate the coverage of measles vaccination among 9-59 months aged children, Vitamin A supplementation status among 6-59 months aged children and deworming among 12-59 months aged.
• To assess IYCF practices among the households with children under two years of age in the target population.
• To assess the prevalence of acute malnutrition among women of 15 to 49 years of age using MUAC.
• To draw recommendations for addressing identified gaps to support on advocacy, planning, decision making and monitoring purposes.

Tasks
Over-All Scope Of The Work:

• The consultancy is responsible for leading and conducting SMART Nutrition survey in Bolori-II, Maiduguri metropolitan city (MMC), Borno state Nigeria as per the national and international protocols of SMART methodology.

Main Activities
In the frame of this assignment, the consultant will:

• Develop and design SMART survey protocol, including sample size estimation, clustering of the villages etc., and validate contextual tools using the SMART methodology.
• Prepare and lead a validation of the SMART survey protocol from the Nutrition sector and address the comments shared by the sector.
• Recruit, train and manage the SMART survey enumerators.
• Lead in the collection of the survey data through ensuring data quality measures are in place.
• Be responsible for the survey data cleaning and analysis through statistical packages (ENA 2020 version, EPI Info 3.5.4. and others).
• Prepare a draft Nutrition SMART survey preliminary report to be reviewed by PUI, ensuring that the assessment is comprehensive and includes all relevant indicators.
• Prepare and lead a validation workshop for SMOH and Nutrition sector in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. This presentation outcome will be shared at State level via the Nutrition Sector and PUI HQ.
• Prepare a final report including background, methodology, results, limitations, conclusions and recommendations incorporating feedbacks from PUI staff and Nutrition Sector on the draft report.

Methodology
When applying, the consultant should provide a detailed methodology showing how the objectives of the study will be met. It is expected that the consultant will use standard SMART survey methodology using cross-sectional household nutrition survey.

The Survey methodology will include on these parts:  

• Study Area 
• Study Design
• Sample size
• Cluster Sampling Strategy
• Household Selection Strategy
• Target groups and inclusion/exclusion criteria
• Indicators and Measurements 
• Organization of the survey
• Organization of the survey
• Organization of the survey
• Data collection methods L. Etc…

Organisation Of The Mission
Composition Of Assessment Team:

• The Consultant will be under the overall supervision of PUI Medical Coordinator. The assessment can be led by one consultant or a team of consultants that must however meet the criteria specified in Section 8 (Requirements).  

Logistics, Security And Administrative Organisation:

• The consultant is expected to respect socio-cultural and security context of the mission and to act in a manner not to affect PUI image in the country. The consultant needs to sign and respect PUI code of conduct and other related rules.  
• The consultant is responsible for assessing her/his needs in terms of human resources and logistics. PUI will provide logistical and administrative support to the extent possible.  

Expected Deliverables
Survey Protocol And Training Tools:

• Submit a detailed survey protocol in MS Word, survey questionnaire, and presentation slides with the PUI and Nutrition Sector for validation.
• Survey Enumerators training package documents.
• Preliminary Report And Data Set:
• The consult should submit preliminary report and presentation slides using the NE Nigeria Nutrition Sector templates as a guide.
• The consultant should submit all the data and analysis outputs (both raw & final) electronically to PUI and Nutrition sector. All the data of the survey will be under PUI ownership and the consultant should agree to sign PUI data protection policy.

Final Evaluation Report:

• Following the validation of the survey by PUI technical team and Nutrition Sector, the consultant should submit the final report incorporating all inputs.:
  • Executive summary
  • Background  
  • Objectives
  • Methodology
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Recommendations and priorities
  • References
  • Acknowledgment
  • Appendices including plausibility report, Assignment of clusters, Standardization test, Questionnaires etc.
• A draft of the report must be presented 1 week before the end of the consultant mission
• The report must be provided in 2 hard copies as well as 1 soft copy sent by email to the Medical Coordinator, DHoM-P and HQ Health Advisor on the date formerly agreed.
• The Medical Coordinator, DHoM-P or HQ Health Advisor can request corrections or modifications within three months after the report is released and the consultant must ensure that s/he is available if necessary.  

Budget  

• PUI will provide accommodation for the consultant in team guest houses while in Maiduguri. The consultant will be briefed on the PUI security rules and will have to respect them during all the consultancy duration.   
• Meals and other incidentals will be responsibility of the consultant.
• The consultant will conduct his/her work using his/her own computer.  
• Other miscellaneous costs directly related to the task that can include photocopying of questionnaires, etc. shall be covered by PUI. Any cost needs to have prior approval from PUI.  
• The movement of the consultant and team to and from the field will be facilitated by PUI in Maiduguri.
• The cost related to travel from/ to Field of the survey teams will be covered by PUI.     
• Consultant fee payment will be paid in three instalments; First Instalment 30%, Second instalment 40% and the remaining 30% as the final instalment. First instalment will be paid after completion and validation of the survey protocol, the second instalment after the validation of the preliminary report and Data sets by the PUI and the Nutrition Sector and final instalment will be paid after the final submission of the validated final report.

A financial offer should be submitted, including a budget with detailed section (i.e. all costs related to the assessment, namely airline and other transportation expenses tickets, visa costs, medical coverage expenses and insurance, the cost of food and accommodation, logistics and human resources needed, enumerators cost, logistics as well as remuneration of expertise…).

Requirements
Education:

• Minimum of Postgraduate degree in Public health, Nutrition, Epidemiology, statistics or related discipline with at least more than five years of working experience.

Experiences:

• At least three years of proven experience in undertaking community-based studies particularly SMART methodology.
• Consultant must been trained in SMART survey by recommended platform and present at least one report of survey done by him/er self (not as deputy or any other position)
• Demonstrable experience in designing and implementing CMAM and IYCF programs.
• Advanced proficiency in the use of MS Office and statistics packages i.e EPI INFO, ENA for SMART 2020 version, and SPSS.

Competences & Knowledge:

• Ability to work own initiative and to meet deadlines.
• Excellent organizational, supervisory and communication skills.  
• Excellent analytical, report writing and statistical skills.
• Strong communication skills, able to effectively present information clearly and respond appropriately to questions from PUI staff and other relevant stakeholders.
• Experience working in emergency context but having one from northern Nigeria is a plus.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English
• Speaking Hausa is an asset

Application Closing Date
25th April, 2021

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should submit all documents to the following email: [email protected], with Reference: Maiduguri SMART Survey.

Click here for more Information (PDF)

Applications Procedure
Interested candidates should submit in English:

• A technical offer (5-10 pages) including:  o Understanding of the challenges of the study and the Terms of Reference (ToR): development of a problematic and formulation of questions, which the offer proposes to respond to o The methodology and tools proposed for the assessment o The timetable showing the details for the completion of each of the assessment phases. The proposed schedule should include time for briefing and debriefing on the mission.
• A financial offer including a budget with detailed sections (fees, other costs)
• An updated CV
• 1 summary paper in English of similar assignments. Need to share a complete document of one previously done SMART survey report.
• Professional References (2)

Note: Only applications including the full list of requested documents will be considered.