Individual Consultant - Baseline Evaluation for Advocacy Solutions to Improve PHC Delivery and Health Outcomes at EngenderHealth Nigeria

EngenderHealth (EH) envisions a gender-equal world where all people achieve their sexual and reproductive health and rights. We believe this is essential for ensuring everyone can attain their full potential. To realize this vision, we implement high-quality, gender-equitable programs that advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.

We invite proposals from qualified Individual Consultants for:

Title: Individual Consultant to conduct a Baseline Evaluation for Advocacy Solutions to Improve PHC Delivery and Health Outcomes in Kaduna, Kano & Lagos States

Cooperation Agreement Number: INV-044525-2024
Purpose: Baseline Assessment
Period of performance: August - September 2025

Introduction

• EngenderHealth is seeking a consultant to conduct a baseline assessment—a desk review followed by limited primary data collection— with a gender-analysis lens for its “Advocacy Solution to Improve PHC Delivery and Health Outcomes” project, supported by the Gates Foundation (GF)in Nigeria.
• The project focuses on strengthening the Primary Health Care (PHC) system and improving Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) outcomes in Kano, Kaduna, and Lagos States.

Project Goal and Objectives
The overall goal of the project is to create a stronger policy and financing environment for gender-responsive health systems that uphold health commitments and contribute to the achievement of the agendas of the PHC Transformation Strategy and Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Initiative in Kano, Kaduna, and Lagos States. The project will utilize a cross-cutting, multi-sector and gender-responsive approach and also consider focus on adolescent and youth as well as other marginalised groups as needed.

The Project Objectives include:

• Objective 1: Increase the salience of Health and PHC priorities among policymakers and male, female and youth community leaders through coordinated stakeholder engagement and champion building that prioritize Health, PHC, gender equality and RMNCAH in country/state policies and agendas.
• Objective 2: Strengthen in-country Health coalitions and accountability mechanisms at national and state levels, supporting the coordination and delivery of high-impact Health and PHC interventions.
• Objective 3: Improve health planning, budgeting and spending for effective health and PHC service delivery (gender responsive budget allocation and release at national/state levels) across priorities, specifically focusing on BHCPF and state health budget execution.
• Objective 4: Improve demand and strengthen community engagement by leveraging media and communications, including faith-based and traditional leaders using responsive behavioral insights and analysis.
• Objective 5: Increase the collection, use of evidence and sex disaggregated data for advocacy and decision-making for effective PHC performance management by strengthening partner capacity to develop evidence and ensure data availability.

Research Questions
Through the desk review and subsequent limited primary data collection, the following research questions are to be answered:
Outcome 1: Agendas Set/Influenced:

• What key political agendas related to RMNCAH and PHC have been prioritized by the governments of Kano, Kaduna, and Lagos? How do these political agendas include or exclude specific considerations for gender, youth, and social inclusion principles?
• How do government officials’ public commitments prioritize or exclude RMNCAH and PHC priorities? How do these commitments differentiate issues or impact that consider gender, youth, and social inclusion principles?
• What evidence exists of stakeholder engagement in influencing health-related agendas, particularly around integrating gender, youth and social inclusion principles and pro-health policies?
• What partnerships or coalitions currently exist for advocating for RMNCAH and PHC agendas, and what has been their role in influencing government priorities? How do they integrate gender, youth, and social inclusion principles in their work?
• How have the national or state-level plans (e.g., health sector strategies) reflected RMNCAH and PHC agendas? How are the plans initiated? From what department? Who else is involved in the development of the plans?

Outcome 2: Policies Adopted/Implemented:

• What health-related policies have been developed or adopted in Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, and other supported states?
• How do these policies integrate gender, youth, and social inclusion principles, and how are they aligned with global RMNCAH and PHC standards?
• What mechanisms are in place to monitor the implementation of these policies at state and local levels?
• What evidence exists of stakeholder engagement (e.g., CSOs, development partners) in policy formulation and implementation? Are there any women-focused CSOs invited?
• What challenges or barriers exist in the adoption and implementation of health and PHC policies in these states?

Outcome 3: Budget Allocated/Released:

• What is the trend analysis in budget allocation and releases for RMNCAH and PHC in Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, and other supported states over the last three years?
• How do budget allocations integrate gender, youth, and social inclusion principles in the health sector?
• What percentage of allocated budgets for PHC and RMNCAH programs has been allocated, released, and utilized?
• How are budget allocations and releases communicated to stakeholders, including civil society, citizens and state accountability mechanism (SLAM)?
• What mechanisms exist for tracking and reporting budget expenditures for PHC and RMNCAH programs? Are budget expenditures tracked vis a vis the approved state annual operation plans?

Outcome 4: Commitments/Accountability Strengthened:

• What accountability mechanisms are currently in place for PHC and RMNCAH commitments in Kano, Kaduna, and Lagos states? What are the gaps and evidence?
• How are citizens, CSOs, and other stakeholders involved in holding governments accountable for their health commitments? Which groups are most often involved in these efforts and which groups are most often left behind?
• Are there publicly accessible platforms (e.g., website, dashboards, scorecard, reports) for monitoring PHC and RMNCAH commitments in Kano, Kaduna and Lagos States? What are the evidence and gaps?
• How are women’s groups and youth-led groups involved in influencing government action on RMNCAH and PHC
• What gaps exist in the current State Level Accountability Mechanisms for health service delivery and outcomes in Kano, Kaduna, and Lagos states?

Cross-Cutting areas for consideration:

• How do socio-political, cultural, and economic factors impact the prioritization and implementation of RMNCAH and PHC agendas?
• What documented successes or best practices exist in the advocacy, development, or implementation of gender-sensitive, youth-responsive and inclusive health policies in these states?
• What are the major barriers and opportunities for sustaining progress in RMNCAH and PHC advocacy, policy adoption, and accountability?

Overview

• EngenderHealth is seeking qualified consultants to complete a desk review to support the baseline assessment for the project to support program and activity design in responding to the above objectives and outcomes and informing the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) indicators.
• As part of the assessment, the consultant will work closely with the EngenderHealth team to identify baseline values for the indicators stated in the PMP.

Methodology:

• The baseline assessment will conduct a comprehensive desk review, with a large emphasis on a desk review, as well as some subsequent, limited primary data collection.
• The consultant will work with EH to develop a framework for the reporting and analysis.
• The desk review will serve as an environmental scan through a review of the literature.
• In addition, we will look to the consultant to describe a mixed-methods approach, using findings from the desk review, to support any primary data collection from target groups.
• The primary data collection will only occur after the desk review has been completed and will be driven by any identified additional areas of inquiry.
• It will be limited in scope, as the main emphasis should be on the desk review and environmental scan.
• Framework: Establish a framework for the analysis
• Desk Review: Review of existing policies, strategies, and relevant literature (including those provided by EngenderHealth); and frameworks to support the environmental scan, data analysis and presentation of the results.
• During the desk review, the consultant will identify baseline values where feasible for key PMP indicators.
• The desk review may also include a stakeholder mapping to identify influencers who have played significant roles in the policy development and implementation process.
• Limited Primary Data Collection: Such as Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) key groups of policy makers and other target groups; Rapid Quantitative Assessments or other to answer remaining questions from the desk review.

Gender responsiveness, as well as wider social inclusion focus:

• The baseline assessment methods will include an integrated gender, youth, and social inclusion lens, with consideration for Adolescent and Youth and groups that may be socially marginalised, women from specific religious groups, or geographical areas.
• This focus will support the project to respond to specific gender integration priorities and allow for flexibility for other areas of exploration.
• This approach recognises that while gender-responsiveness is of central importance, EH adheres to our wider organisational values to ensure we consider focus on other groups that may face marginalisation.
• For example, the desk review will include methods that assess the extent to which existing policies are gender-responsive and consider wider social inclusion elements such as adolescent and youth.

Scope of Work

• The consultant should describe their proposed methodology in detail, including desk review approaches and literature included; methods as to how the results from the desk review will support tailored research questions and target groups for identification for any additional primary data collection, and from there, this primary data collection should be informed by their recommended sampling strategies, data collection tools, and data analysis techniques.
• Methodologies must be participatory and inclusive.
• The consultant should propose how all activities will support a gender-focus and results in gender-related outcomes, as well as specific tools that may be used, such as the Gender-Responsive Policymaking Handbook, to guide their study methodology and analysis, and other examples as illustrated by GF projects to explore other policy-related needs address women’s economic empowerment, as illustrated in this report; and familarise themselves with other GF investment tools and those of EngenderHealth of GYSI (see section below).

Pre-Phase: Framework and process for enduring gender-responsive lens:
Frameworks:

• We expect the consultant to collaborate with EH to support a review of gender-responsive frameworks for all aspects of this work, with a focus on other populations that may face social exclusion.
• Through the consultations with EH and through the literature review, as well as a review of the project’s TOC, we anticipate that the consultants may establish a framework for the analysis that focuses on key policy-level building blocks to support the wider project goal; with the domain – gender equality, as well as adolescent and other social inclusion elements – that cuts across all other elements.
• Through a review of existing frameworks, we envisage a framework to guide the wider analysis.
• The consultant will work with EH to review methods and tools such as the WHO Gender Assessment Tool and EngenderHealth’s GYSI analysis framework as a way to refine the desk review and primary data collection.
• Such tools will be used to frame the analysis and results, and support how we will measure and ensure application of a gender analysis, with additional focus on adolescent and youth wider inclusion.
• Through the consultations, we will establish a framework for the analysis.

Phase 1: Comprehensive Desk Review and Stakeholder Mapping:
Desk Review:

• Conduct a thorough review of existing policies, strategies, and literature related to RMNCAH-N services in Nigeria. This includes analyzing policy documents, budgets, guidelines, and research papers to determine the extent to which these are gender responsive.
• Results from the desk review will inform the value of certain baseline indicators in the PMP.

Stakeholder Mapping:

• To better understand the policy environment and to support the selection of study participants in the primary data collection phase, the consultant may consider identifying categories of influencers who have played significant roles in the policy development and implementation process.
• This may include Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs); multilateral organizations; donor organizations and agencies; international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs); civil society organizations (CSOs); and academia.
• Private sector actors may not be included because of the focus of the review on government policies.
• This exercise will also synthesize community-level barriers experienced by different groups when accessing Primary Health Care (PHC) services, focusing on gender and other social inclusion barriers.

Synthesis of Lessons:

• Extract relevant learnings for successful advocacy programming that address barriers to gender-responsive health policies and practices.

Phase 2: Limited Primary Data Collection:

• The primary data collection phase will be informed by the results from the desk review and the identified evidence gaps.
• Considering gender equality and the policy cycle, we anticipate that several advocacy and policy barriers may be in place, perhaps embedded in beliefs and norms, and thus a comprehensive understanding of those beliefs will also be key; as well as how communities are engaged to support accountability efforts.
• For example, we are aware that norms may have effects on what is considered an acceptable arena for government concern and action and what is ‘off limits’, and they influence the types of laws, policies and programmes that are proposed and adopted.
• Garnering more specific data on nuances like these, especially from key population groups, will be helpful in designing tailored advocacy efforts for successful policy change.
• The ideas below are illustrative.
• The consultant should describe their proposed methodology in detail and propose efficient but high-quality collection methods.
• Note that this primary data collection need not be extensive – it will serve to fill major gaps that were identified during the desk review.
• After the data collection the results would be presented to better understand successful advocacy programming that address barriers to gender-responsive health policies and practices.

Deliverables

• Inception Report: Outline the methodology, workplan, timeline and framework for the baseline assessment.
• Desk Review Report: Present findings from the literature review, baseline indicator values assessment and stakeholder mapping; and key research questions and focus for additional data collection. Summary brief report of results to be developed.
• Study protocol: To support primary data collection based on insights of the desk review, with a clear outline of the research objectives, sampling and methods.
• Primary Data Collection Report: Document insights from rapid assessments, KIIs, and FGDs.
• Final Baseline Report: Include all data analysis, conclusions, and recommendations for project design and implementation.

Timeline:
The baseline assessment is expected to be completed within 2-months period. Key milestones include:

• Desk review and stakeholder mapping, with analysis and brief summary report
• Obtaining ethical approval and conducting primary data collection (rapid assessments, KIIs, and FGDs).
• Data analysis and draft report preparation.
• Presentation of findings
• Final report submission.

Evaluation Criteria

• Proposals will be evaluated based on the consultant's experience in conducting similar assessments, particularly those with a desk review, the quality of the proposed methodology, and the team's expertise in policy advocacy and gender equality.

Resources:

• We encourage the applicants to review other documentation that have used a gender-focus, such as Social Norms Learning Collaborative, who developed findings from the Policy and Social Norms in Nigeria; and the framework for the analysis developed on page 5 and wider summary of the desk review.
• There are also guidelines from the GF to support how to incorporate a gender lens. See this toolkit to implement a gender analysis guide.
• Gender equality resources (toolbox); and guides from the GF GYSI Analysis from EngenderHealth.

Specific Tasks
The scope of work includes:

• Development of Methodological Approach: Prepare, present, and defend the methodological approach deemed appropriate for carrying out the baseline assessment, with a clear focus on gender-responsiveness.
• Desk Review and Stakeholder Mapping: Conduct a comprehensive desk review and stakeholder mapping, with a list of criteria for the desk review and how the findings will be analysed and used in primary data collection. Draft a brief summary of findings.
• Primary Data Collection: Design and implement primary data collection tools, including developing questionnaires and conducting KIIs/FGDs.
• Ethical Approval: Obtain ethical approval from the appropriate institutional review board.
• Study Contextualization: Translate, test, and finalize study tools/instruments.
• Fieldwork Plan: Develop a fieldwork plan and quality control protocols.
• Data Collection and Analysis: Conduct data collection, transcription, translation, and summary of interviews and group discussions.
• Report Writing: Prepare a comprehensive baseline report.

Budget Considerations
The consultant should consider the following activities, with daily consultancy fees ranging from N100,000 to N150,000:

• Desk review process and synthesis
• Consultations with EH to understand the project, needs and review of appropriate frameworks and policies
• Development of methodologies and target audiences to support rationale for primary data collection after the desk review is complete (Phase 2).
• Study contextualization, translation, testing, and finalization of study tools/instruments
• Support recruitment of 1-2 reviewers and interviewers to support data collection in each state
• Development of fieldwork plan and quality control protocols
• Data collection
• Consultations with EH to establish baseline figures for the PMP
• Transcription, translation, and summary of interviews and group discussions
• Report writing
• This TOR provides detailed information on the scope of work, methodologies, and deliverables for the baseline assessment, ensuring a comprehensive and gender-sensitive approach to understanding Nigeria's PHC policy landscape and its impact on RMNCAH-N services.

Selection Criteria
The potential Consultant should meet the following qualifications criteria:

• Research & Evaluation Experience: Proven experience conducting desk reviews as well as quantitative and qualitative research, community dialogues, and problem diagnostics, particularly involving government officials, policy decision-makers.
• Expertise: The Consultant should have a multidisciplinary expertise in gender studies, public health, social sciences, development studies, or other relevant fields, with a strong public health background.
• Understanding of Nigeria’s Health System: Demonstrated deep knowledge of Nigeria’s healthcare system, including key challenges and bottlenecks.
• Familiarity with Nigeria’s Health Policy Landscape: In-depth knowledge of family planning, sexual and reproductive health policies at both federal and subnational levels in Nigeria.
• Application of gender-responsive lens: The Consultant should have experience, demonstrated ability to use and apply gender and other inclusive frameworks and methodologies in health-related evaluations is ideal.
• Communication & Facilitation Skills: Excellent writing and speaking skills in English and relevant local languages, along with strong communication, presentation, and facilitation capabilities.

Payment:

• The payment instalment will be deliverable-based and to be depicted later in the agreement document with the selected agent/company.

Supervision:

• The M&E team of EngenderHealth will supervise the overall process of this assignment, and the consultant is expected to provide progress updates regularly based on an agreed-upon timeline/frequency of reporting.

Responsibilities of EngenderHealth Nigeria:

• Facilitate agreement with the consultant.
• Provide technical oversight,
• Provide data collectors recruitment and training
• Provide support at the state level
• Provide feedback on the draft inception report.
• Provide letters of introduction.
• Provide relevant project documents.
• Facilitate validation workshop and dissemination meetings.
• Provide the venue and equipment for the presentation and dissemination of the findings
• Facilitate payments for the consultant.

Logistics:

• The applicant should include all associated costs within their quoted prices. This is a comprehensive and complete TOR that encompasses all the details provided. It is ready for use in soliciting proposals from qualified consultants.

Application Closing Date
25th July, 2025, before 5:00 pm GMT.

Submission of Proposal
An interested consultant must submit separate technical and financial proposals. The financial proposal should include business costs and personal expenses. The cost indicated must be inclusive of all taxes. The proposal must be submitted to: Nigeriaprocurements@engenderhealth.org using the Title as the subject of the email.

Proposals should include the following:

• Cover Letter.
• Technical proposal: detailing methodology and sampling.
• Financial proposal: The financial proposal should list items of costs associated with logistics, travel, accommodation and consultant daily fee.
• All proposed costs should be expressed in Nigerian Naira.
• Supportive documents: including TIN, reports of similar work done, recommendation letters from previous work and consultant curriculum vitae.

Note: This is Limited to Nigeria candidates only.