A consultant to Develop the 1st National Multi-Sectoral Policy for Nutrition – Somaliland

Terms of Reference for the Development of the 1^st National Multi-Sectoral Policy for Nutrition – Somaliland

I. BACKGROUND

Good nutrition is one of the key foundations for the development of a healthy, productive population. Well-nourished people are less likely to become ill or die, and are more productive and better able to learn. Achieving good nutrition, particularly among women and children, is associated with important short and long-term health, educational and economic benefits.

Situational analysis of data from Somaliland over the last two decade indicates that undernutrition is a significant and enduring public health problem and a major factor in the failure to meet national and global goals on hunger, child health, maternal mortality, gender equality and education. Rates of acute and chronic malnutrition have remained persistently high throughout Somaliland regions with some variation by livelihood system. Factors that contribute to the persistent undernutrition include chronic poor dietary diversity, inadequate infant, young child and maternal feeding practices, poor hygiene practices, water and sanitation, poor health seeking behaviors and low access to quality health services and education and gender inequalities. The persistence of undernutrition, even in years of relative stability and good harvest, adds further weight to the importance of these multiple underlying causes which by their nature cut across traditional sectors. With increasing understanding of the causes and their complexity, the challenge now is to strengthen efforts to address them through an integrated multi-sector response.

The Government has developed a roadmap to accelerate action and improve the nutritional status of Somaliland population. The roadmap aims to respond to the challenges raised above and focuses on interventions that aim to achieve the national and global goals related to nutrition and food security. The multi-sectoral responses identified are based on an understanding of the specific political, economic and social context of Somaliland.

In this context, the Somaliland Inter-Ministerial SUN Committee has decided to have one comprehensive multi-sectoral policy for nutrition from which priority strategies for Scaling Up Nutrition will be drawn.

II. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The SUN Secretariat for Somaliland wants to hire a consultant that will assist the Secretariat to develop a national multi-sectoral nutrition policy. The consultant will lead and provide technical support to the process of the development of the Somaliland National Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Policy; taking into consideration national and global development goals. The policy will be a comprehensive document encompassing both nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive policy measures.

III. SCOPE OF WORK

1. Review/analyze relevant documents and gather new evidences;
2. Review the Draft Roadmap for SUN, revise the document, identify gaps and emerging issues;
3. Undertake consultations with key stakeholders to get information to feed into the draft policy document;
4. Propose relevant policy measures and statements to address the gaps and emerging issues;
5. Facilitate the first national-level consultation workshop with all stakeholders in Hargeisa and present the first draft national multi-sectoral nutrition policy to them;
6. Revise and update the draft policy based on the feedback and comments from the stakeholders’ workshop;
7. Propose appropriate institutional arrangements for Policy implementation;
8. Propose institutional roles and responsibilities for all sectors, networks and stakeholders;
9. Prepare the final policy document;
10. Facilitate the validation and final dissemination workshop; and
11. Submit the final agreed policy document to the SUN Secretariat.

IV. DELIVERABLES

1. An inception report outlining the findings from the literature review, detailed methodology and Gantt Chart with timeline to complete this assignment;
2. A synthesis report containing the evidence presented and main discussion points raised and agreed at the stakeholder’s consultation meeting;
3. An outline of the draft policy informed by recent evidence;
4. A completed, formatted and edited final draft policy.

V. APPROACH AND DURATION

The consultant is expected to work directly under guidance and supervision of the Somaliland SUN Secretariat and use a consultative and inclusive approach to ensure that all key stakeholders are actively involved during the process of the design of the draft policy.

This assignment is for 45 working days. The consultant will work from the SUN Secretariat office and undertake field work if necessary.

VI. QUALIFICATION AND REQUIREMENTS

1. Advanced degree (Masters) in Public Health, Nutrition, Agriculture, or related/relevant field;
2. At least 12 years progressive professional work experience at government level and/or professional experience working in large national and/or international institutions in policy development, strategic planning, coordination, evaluation and system innovation;
3. Proven experience in developing and reviewing national social sector policies;
4. Experience in policy development in evolving contexts;
5. Strong analytical and report writing skills;
6. Excellent communication and facilitation skills;
7. Fluency in English and Somali; and
8. Flexibility, team player, ability to work with multidisciplinary teams.