Hiring Office: UNFPA CO Lesotho
Purpose of Assignment: According to LePHIA 2017, HIV prevalence remains high at 25.6%. It is higher among women (15-49 years) at 29.7 compared to men of the same age (19.1%). The prevalence among children ages 0 to 14 years is 2.1%. The national HIV incidence among adults (15-49 years) is 1.2% with women having higher incidence (1.81%) compared to men (1.33%). The largest number of new infections is estimated to occur among Never Married women – mostly young women before marriage (3,823; 29.4%), Never Married Uncircumcised Men (3,374; 25.9%), Sero-discordant couples with the male HIV+ (1,760, 13.5%). According to projections from Comprehensive HIV Epidemic Analyses 2018 (CHEAL), these three groups will contribute 69% of new infections in Lesotho.
Lesotho has made commendable progress in achieving the 90-90-90 Fast-track targets. 77.2% of people living with HIV between ages 15 to 59 years’ report knowing their HIV status, 90.2% of people who know their HIV status are on treatment, and 88.2% of people on treatment are virally suppressed (LePHIA 2017). However, current trends according to UNAIDS Estimates 2018 predict that fast track targets may not be met unless the response is revised and considerable focus is put on Prevention thematic area especially on Key Populations.
Lesotho is party to the Global Prevention Coalition and in May 2018, launched the Lesotho HIV prevention 2020 road Map for acceleration of HIV Prevention to reduce new infections by 75%. One of the action points in the Road Map is the development of a consolidated capacity building and technical assistance plan.
In light of the above, the country needs to develop a consolidated technical assistance and capacity building plan for the key stakeholders in the HIV prevention thematic area and develop a roll-out plan for the provision of technical assistance. Additionally, the assignment will provide technical support to bridge those capacity gaps and recommend how to accelerate HIV prevention in Lesotho. The Prevention Pillars are: VMMC, Comprehensive Prevention Packages for Key Populations, AGYW and their partners, Comprehensive Condom Programming and PrEP.
Scope of work:
(Description of services, activities, or outputs) The design of the capacity assessment and technical support plan requires the engagement of a consultant. The consultant will assess HIV Prevention Stakeholders on:
The consultancy will involve the following methodological steps:
1. Establish the core functions that need to be performed by the co-ordinating and implementing agencies in the national HIV prevention response;
2. Define the required capacity needs in terms of
a. Individual capacity: Knowledge, skills, competencies;
b. Organizational capacity: Positions, rules and procedures;
c. Systems capacity: reporting flows, decision points, accountability mechanisms
3. Assess the status of current capacity;
4. Develop an action plan to close the capacity gaps through a combination of short-, medium and long-term actions.
Consultant will be expected to undertake the following:
1.Develop inception report
2. Conduct desk review relating to the key Organisations and HIV prevention activities in Lesotho.
3. Conduct Focus Group Discussions and KII
4. Lead and facilitate the consultation process particularly the sharing of experiences and programs in addressing HIV prevention Issues, capacity needs result and technical assistance roll out plan.
5. Assist in the coordination and preparation of the agenda of the consultation/workshops.
6. Produce the draft capacity assessment Report.
7. Incorporate recommendations from the HIV Prevention Forum
8. Develop the Draft Technical Assistance plan and its roll out plan
9. Facilitate validation of the Capacity Development Report and the Technical Assistance plan
10. Produce a final capacity assessment report and Technical Assistance plan PPT presentation for the dissemination of the Capacity development findings and the Technical Assistance plan
The consultant will work closely with the NAC, Ministry of Health, UNFPA Programme Analyst- HIV with frequent reporting to the UNFPA CO Representative.
Duration and working schedule: This work will require 25 Working days over a period of 2 months. The contract will start on 1st 18 June 2019, with the final deliverable expected by the 30th July 2019
Task Number of days
Develop an inception report outlining the process through which work will be conducted, the methodologies to be employed, the research tools that will used
3
Conduct desk review of the the key Organisations and HIV prevention activities in Lesotho
4
Lead and facilitate the capacity assessment processes
7
Present and discuss the draft capacity assessment Report in the Validation Workshop
2
Assist in the coordination and preparation of the agenda of the consultation/workshops
2
Finalize the country-specific HIV prevention Capacity Assessment Report and Technical assistance plan
7
Place where services are to be delivered: The drafts will be submitted electronically to the UNFPA CO Representative with a copy to NAC Director and MOH Director Disease control.
Deliverables
The selected consultant will be expected to deliver the following:
Inception Report,
Individual in-depth interviews with key stakeholders,
Draft version of the Capacity Assessment Report
Develop draft report and power-point presentation
Presentation to key stakeholders at the Validation Workshop
Final report and PPT of the Capacity Assessment and Technical Assistance plan
Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline: The selected consultant will be required to provide regular updates through emails and meetings/consultations meetings as required.
Supervisory arrangements: The selected consultant will work under the overall supervision of the UNFPA CO Representative. The consultant will be directly supervised by NAC and MOH Director Disease Control. The consultant will provide regular feedback and update to UNFPA CO Representative and work closely with UNFPA Programme Analyst- HIV.
Expected travel: UNFPA will provide one trip ticket for the consultant and will also incur cost of travel and accommodation within the country.
Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements: The selected consultant must meet the following minimum criteria:
Proven track record in working on HIV Prevention issues regionally and internationally
A track record in Organizational Capacity Development
10 or more years’ experience working in Public Health, particularly in HIV and AIDS programs.
3 – 5 or more years in developing Capacity assessment and Technical Assistance plans.
Experience in working with governments, Regional Economic Communities, UN agencies.
Demonstrate technical expertise and a good understanding of HIV Prevention issues.
Knowledge of integrated SRHR and HIV programming is an added advantage.
Proven experience in working with a wide range of partners and reaching consensus and accommodating their critical inputs into the process; and
Excellent English writing skills.
Previous experience working in Lesotho is an added advantage
Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable: NAC, MOH and UNFPA will provide relevant background documents, convene meetings with partners, and write introductory letters outlining the purpose of assignment and other support as may be required to complete this assignment.
Other relevant information or special conditions, if any: None
The CVs with Expression of Interest should be sent to [email protected] cc [email protected] not later than the 3rd June 2019