INVITATION TO BID FOR CONSULTANCY
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Integrated SMART
Survey Consultancy Bardhere District, Gedo Region-Somalia
February 2024
Introduction
Somalia has faced persistent challenges with acute food insecurity and malnutrition despite some recent improvements. The country continues to grapple with the prolonged impacts of recurring droughts and floods, conflict and insecurity, poverty, and inadequate health and nutrition services.
Currently, According to FSNAU Post Deyr IPC analysis, approximately 4 million people, representing 21% of the total population, are facing Crisis or worse acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and higher). While projections for April-June 2024 indicate a slight improvement to 3.4 million people (18%), the crisis remains severe. Malnutrition, especially among children under 5, is also extremely concerning - around 1.7 million children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2024, with over 400,000 likely to develop severe acute malnutrition.
Several factors account for the high malnutrition in Somalia. Frequent droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall severely disrupt food production and access to nutritious foods. Ongoing conflict and violence frequently displace communities and limit humanitarian relief. Poverty forces families to cut down on quantity and diversity of foods. Somalia also has very low coverage of nutrition interventions, clean water, and sanitation services - all of which increase disease risk and undermine nutrition further. Harmful infant feeding practices such as sub-optimal breastfeeding are also widely prevalent.
Concern Worldwide has maintained programming in Somalia since 1986, working to save and transform lives in some of the worst-affected regions. Their operations concentrate largely in South Central areas like Mogadishu, Lower/Middle Juba and Gedo, where acute malnutrition prevalence remains well over emergency thresholds. Concern’s multi-sectoral programmes provide direct nutrition treatment for at-risk mothers and children, alongside integrated food security, health, hygiene and livelihoods assistance.
Bardhere town is located in the Gedo region along the Jubba River in southern Somalia. With an estimated population of 126,000 inhabitants, it serves as the center of Bardhere district as well as the main economic and transportation hub connecting Somalia to Ethiopia and Kenya. The town has historically depended on the Jubba River for water supply, irrigation and income generation through fishing and animal rearing
Torrential rains in October/November 2023 brought on by El Niño phenomenon caused unprecedented flooding across Somalia. The Jubba River burst its banks, inundating surrounding regions. In the riverine Bardhere district, the floods raged through the town washing away the main bridge that had spanned across the Jubba River for decades.
This bridge was a vital lifeline for Bardhere Town and its residents on both banks of the River. The bridge connected the two sides of the town enabling movement of people and goods and supported key infrastructure like water pipes and electricity lines. Its destruction has effectively severed the town into two disconnected parts with movement between them now only possible via scarcely available canoes at heavily inflated costs.
Justification
The impact of the recent El Niño event has been profound, particularly evident in the critical collapse of the Bardera bridge, which has had a devastating effect on the population of Bardera. With the bridge divided into two halves, the flow of essential supplies has been severely disrupted, leading to a rapid depletion of food stocks and a staggering increase in prices for basic necessities. Consequently, many families are now facing the harsh reality of unaffordable essentials.
Adding to the crisis, the town's primary water infrastructure, situated along the collapsed bridge, has been rendered useless, resulting in a complete disruption of piped water supply. As a result, residents are left with no choice but to retrieve water from the flood-contaminated Jubba River, risking their health and exacerbating the already dire situation.
This dire scenario has not only compromised food security but has also triggered a cascade of issues, including high prevalence of Malnutrition, deteriorating health conditions, and widespread economic devastation across Bardhere District. A recent malnutrition MUAC screening conducted by the Jubland Ministry of Health presented during the annual review meeting revealed alarming levels of malnutrition in Bardera on top of the recently published seasonal IPC Acute Food Insecurity And Acute Malnutrition Analysis on Feb 15th 2024[1], underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive assessment to accurately gauge the requirements of the affected population and guide to inform effective response.
Therefore, it it became necessary to initiate full fledged a SMART survey in the district promptly. This survey will serve as a crucial tool for gathering essential data on various critical aspects, including mortality rates, levels of malnutrition, outbreaks of diseases, and priority needs. The insights gleaned from this survey will play a pivotal role in informing and shaping targeted, life-saving interventions tailored to the specific needs of Bardhere's affected and vulnerable communities, thereby mitigating the impact of the crisis and facilitating the path towards recovery and resilience
Overall objectives
Estimate Nutrition status of children <5, retrospective Mortality rate (CMR and U5MR) and factors influencing nutrition status of children.
The survey will be a quantitative, cross sectional and descriptive by design. Standardized Monitoring and Assessment on Relief and Transition methodology (SMART) will be utilized in the assessment. The survey applies a two-stage cluster sampling.
Based on accessibility, level of vulnerability, and random sampling Concern World Wide will assess Urban and Adjacent rural villages from both Bardhere District. The study population will include the entire population in all selected survey areas. All (clusters/sampling units) in the selected population, which are accessible, secure, or not deserted, will be included in the sampling frame. The population estimates for the sampling units (villages) will be based on the UNFPA 2014 population census as well as data from the local authority.
The following assumptions (based on the given context above) will be used to calculate the sample size in number of children, which will then converted into number of households to survey. All calculations will be made using ENA Software (version Jan 11th, 2020).
Sampling procedure and data collection
A two -stage cluster sampling method will be applied, where Stage-I, involves selection of villages from all the accessible villages in Bardhere District. In Stage-II, households to be surveyed from the shortlisted villages, will be marked.
Stage I: The Selection of Clusters and Households
First stage sampling will be done based on Probability Proportional to Size Sampling (PPS) method using ENA (version 11th Jan 2020) software. Lists of all villages within Bardhere District and their corresponding population estimates will be obtained from District Commissioner office as well from CWW field team and entered in ENA software. Villages will be considered as the smallest geographical unit (cluster). The number of clusters to be surveyed in the selected villages will be generated by ENA software. The sample of clusters will be selected from an updated sampling frame (list of all accessible and inhabited villages in the district)
Second stage sampling will consist of HH selection and this will be done by the teams in the field. Upon reaching the selected village, all HH will be listed and then using the random number generator-a mobile software app- 17 HHs will be randomly selected. The selected HH will then be surveyed by the team of data collection enumerators. Regardless of the presence of children Under Five, all HH will be interviewed for mortality questionnaire. HH having a child 6-59 month of age will be administered for data collection around anthropometric and other household related aspects of data collection.
Time frame
The survey will be conducted within a period of 30 days including training, travel, data collection, analysis and reporting. The consultant should clearly articulate their ability to accomplish the required tasks within the specified timeline due to the urgent need to use the findings in the current response. The field data collection is expected to take place between February and March 2024. The first draft of the report should be submitted no later than 10 working days after data collection is completed
Survey Teams
The number of survey teams required for the SMART survey in Bardere district shall be determined based on the calculated sample size of children under 5 years and households needed to generate statistically reliable results at required precision levels.
As per globally validated SMART methodology protocols, each survey team for such nutrition and mortality assessments shall comprise of at least 4 members - 2 measurers, 1 team leader and 1 community guide. Team compositions may require adjustment accordingly to fulfill data collection timelines meeting quality standards.
Training of Enumeration Teams
5-day classroom and field training shall orient teams on:
A field pilot test shall enable identification of effectiveness challenges for further refinement before full data collection commencement.
Data Quality Assurance
The consultant is expected to put in place robust protocols in order to ensure high quality, reliable data including:
Consultant Roles and Responsibilities
The consultant shall:
Concern WorldWide’s Role and Responsibilities
Deliverables
The key deliverables from this consultancy shall include:
Qualifications & Experience
Application Requirements
Interested consultants shall submit the following documents which shall be evaluated to determine selection:
Interested applicants that meet the requirements should send their complete documents with the subject line: “Application for Bardhere SMART Survey” to: som.vacancies@concern.net by 4th March 2024 5pm Mogadishu Time (EAT).
Application submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization committed to the relief, assistance and advancement of the poorest people in the least developed countries of the world. Founded in Ireland in 1968, Concern Worldwide has nearly 4,000 pe... Read More
