TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES: To Carry out research on sexual and reproductive health rights for Blind and Partially Sighted persons in Lesotho
- Introduction
The African Union of the Blind (AFUB) is a continental Non-Governmental Organisation of national organisations/ associations of and for blind and partially sighted people in Africa. AFUB was established in October 1987, in Tunis, Tunisia, under the auspices of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now African Union (AU). AFUB is membership organisation with a current membership of 53 member countries.
AFUB’s vision is of a continent where blind and partially sighted enjoy equal rights, social inclusion and full participation in development.
Our mission is to strengthen member organisations and create unity of purpose among them through capacity building and advocacy in partnership with governments, international agencies and other stakeholders.
Our objectives are:
- To promote the human, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of blind and partially sighted people in Africa;
- To strengthen national associations of the Blind to enable them promote the rights of blind people within their countries;
- To strengthen the self-awareness of blind and partially sighted persons, to develop their personality, self-respect and sense of responsibility.
AFUB’s role is to advocate for rights of its members and build the capacity of its members which can only be achieved through continuous staff skills development geared towards improvement of staff professional competences.
AFUB‘s Strategic Plan 2017-2021, in number 3.5.3 stipulates that: During the period, we shall seek to enhance our operational capacity to effectively deliver on our advocacy and coordinative roles in Africa.
To this end, we shall:
- Strengthen our governance and management systems for improved coordination and oversight of the organisation’s activities.
- Increase the development, mobilisation and management of our resources towards financial sustainability.
- Enhance our information management, communication and public relations in order to improve on our heritage, visibility and profile.
Training workshops and advocacy strategy form part of AFUB‘s three pillars of its strategic plan namely: Advocacy; membership development and organisational strengthening.
Despite some progress made in implementing the current strategic framework, more needs to be done to strengthen AFUB’s governance and management systems towards a more sustainable Union.
Lesotho National League of the Visually Impaired Persons (LNLVIP) is an advocacy organization of the blind and partially sighted people of Lesotho. It was established in 1986 and legally registered the same year. It has representation in the ten districts of Lesotho in a form of branches and sub-branches and has membership of about 8000. LNLVIP’s mandate is to promote, protect and advocate for fair recognition and inclusion of the needs and rights of the visually impaired in all public services in the country.
The Vision of LNLVIP is to work for full emancipation and social integration and inclusion of the visually disabled persons in Lesotho and the mission is to improve the quality of life and self-reliance of the visually disabled persons in Lesotho.
LNLVIP is an affiliate to local and international NGOs. It is an affiliate to African Union of the Blind (AFUB) and World Blind Union (WBU). Locally it is affiliated to Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled (LNFOD) and Lesotho Council of NGOs (LCN).
Our Objectives are:
- Provide social welfare for visually impaired persons so as to enable them to participate in all fields and in all levels of society
- To cater for the education of the visually impaired persons so as to enable them to earn vocational, professional and academic qualification necessary for placement in our society
- To promote leadership and participation of visually disabled women in relation to women of other disabilities and non-disabled women
THEMATIC AREA: INCLUSIVE HEALTH AND REHABILITATION
Impact: Persons with disabilities claim their rights and exert influence on matters that affect their lives
Outcome 2: Blind and partially sighted girls and boys, women and men in Africa have better access to SRHR information and services. (Atlas Alliance Outcome: Girls and boys, women and men with disabilities benefit from regional, national and local level programs and services in target areas)
Outcome indicators:
Examples of BPS girls and boys, women and men report that their access to SRHR information and services has improved (compared to the baseline).
Number of BPS persons that have benefited from information on SRHR.
Output 1: Strengthened capacity of the AFUB women committee, AFUB youth and staff on SRHR.
Output indicators:
AFUB women’s committee, staff and AFUB youth have completed a training course on SRHR
4staff and 9 AFUB women committee have completed the training course on SRHR
15 people in each member organization have completed the training course on SRHR
Number of BPS members of the blind associations in the 2 target countries that have received information on SRHR
Baseline: there is no baseline available. This serves as justification for a research on SRHR.
Mean of verifications:
Project reports, evaluation reports
In view of this, AFUB and LNLVIP seek for a Consultancy firm or an independent Consultant TO Carry out research on sexual and reproductive health rights for BPS in Lesotho, where the results are to be used by the Project Staff, National Associations and the Board taking into consideration the findings and recommendations to be done to the LNLVIP and AFUB Secretariat.
2. Scope of Services
AFUB and LNLVIP seek to engage the services of a consultant or (registered firm) to facilitate this research on the SRHR in Lesotho to be used by the LNLVIP and Union.
The main components of your service will include a desk review of relevant materials existing in the country of target Association, CONDUCT full RESEARCH and facilitate a workshop in the beneficiary Association.
3. Deliverables
- Present an inception report on how you will execute the assignment at the commencement of the assignment including your estimated budget.
- You will conduct a desk-review. The review will encompass reviewing LNLVIP guiding policies, strategic plan, progress reports, evaluations, as well as to collect inputs from their stakeholders and members. Based on the desk review you will guide AFUB and LNLVIP on priorities to take, for example in which areas to strengthen the members, staff and the Board.
c) You will submit a final report of your research by first week of December to LNLVIP and AFUB.
d) You will be requested to facilitate a workshop in Maseru (preferably within 2021).
e) Must have strong knowledge of disability issues especially visual impairment.
4. A proposed timeframe has to be included in the inception report
5. Deadline for bids
Applications to conduct the advertised assignment, including a quote and a list of organisations where you have conducted similar facilitator assignments should be sent to [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]
Or may be hand delivered to: LNLVIP Office, Health Headquarters 5th Floor, Building Room 501.
Deadline: October 22nd , 2020.