UNICEF recrute un consultant pour l’évaluation sommative de l’impact de l’utilisation de drones sur la santé de la population et autres résultats, Malawi
Job Number : 534285 | Vacancy Link
Locations : Africa : Malawi
Work Type : Consultancy
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Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, good health
Background :
Malawi is a landlocked country with a population of nearly 18 million people – which is estimated to surpass 20 million in the next five years.[1] Malawi has 28 administrative districts, which are further divided into traditional authorities (TA) and villages, the smallest administrative unit. Malawi’s economy has expanded over the past 30 years, with real GDP growth estimated at 4.4% in 2019. It remains predominantly an agricultural country, with agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributing 28% of GDP. Currently, GDP per capita is approximately $380, and given that inflation and population growth currently outpace economic growth, average living standards are falling. About 70 percent of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.90 per day (WDI, 2018). Poverty remains particularly prevalent in rural areas, where more than 80% of the population live.
Health Outcomes :
Despite recent achievements, Malawi has not yet achieved optimal health outcomes. Life expectancy remains low at 61 years. Over half of the country’s total disability-adjusted life years are a result of the top four leading causes– HIV/AIDS, lower respiratory infections, malaria, and diarrheal diseases. Malawi has reduced its child mortality rate, leading to achievement of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4. However, other indicators remain stagnant or even face declines. The leading cause of morbidity in under five children are Malaria (29%), diarrhea (22%) and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) (5%) (MDHS, 2015).
The Malawi health sector operates under a decentralized system guided by the Local Government Act (1998). The Act delegates authority and funding from central government ministries to district assemblies, who guide health sector planning, budgeting, procurement, and service delivery at district and community levels. At central level, the Ministry of Health (MoH) sets strategic direction and formulates sector-wide governing policies. 29 district health offices oversee services provided in and outside of the district hospital. Five Zonal Health Support Offices (ZHSOs) provide technical support to districts in planning, delivery, supervision, and monitoring of health services. In total, the percent of government expenditure going toward public health averaged 10.4% from 2012-13 to 2014-15, well below the Abuja target of 15%. Therefore, donors have contributed most resources for the health sector in recent years.
Disaster Management and Preparedness: Climate variability, Rainfall, and Floods.
Malawi is highly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events given its location along the great African Rift Valley, rapid population growth, unsustainable urbanization, climate variability and change, and environmental degradation. The most common weather-related shocks affecting Malawi include floods, drought, stormy rains and hailstorms. Over the past five decades, Malawi has experienced more than 19 major floods and seven droughts, with these events increasing in frequency, magnitude and scope over the years.
In early March 2019, heavy rains developed from a Tropical Depression 11 that formed offshore central Mozambique. Heavy rains hit Malawi, causing severe flooding in the Southern and, to a lesser extent, Central Region of the country. These disaster events have had a significant impact on people’s lives, livelihoods and socio-economic infrastructure in the affected areas, pushing many people into poverty and food insecurity. In total, an estimated 975,000 people were affected, with 86,976 displaced, 60 killed and 672 injured. The devastating heavy rains and floods caused substantive damage and loss across the social, productive and infrastructure sectors, with the social sector experiencing most of these effects. The housing subsector experienced the greatest damage, with 288,371 houses being partially or destroyed. Most affected people were accommodated in temporary internally displaced people (IDP) camps, mostly located in classrooms and school facilities, with limited access to safe water and sanitation facilities. This resulted in significant disruptions to learning and teaching activities at the school. In addition, the 2019 floods affected roads, bridges, power supply lines, irrigation infrastructure and mature crops. Power supplies were interrupted for more than two days across the country.
The extent, time, and impact of natural disasters such as Cyclone Idai could be predicted and the damage to sectors, assets, facilities and infrastructure could be mitigated or reduced, if geographical information systems would be supported by necessary accurate flood modelling and prediction analysis. Subsequently, such analysis would significantly improve disaster preparedness plans and early warning systems, ensuring that affected and vulnerable communities get all the necessary support and commodities in a timely manner, without big delays.
Currently, early warning systems and innovative disaster preparedness practices in Malawi are developing; however, much of the evidence used to make informed decisions is scattered, not optimized, and not even hosted on geographic information systems. This makes the preparedness process complicated and inconsistent, which ultimately leads to the situation of vulnerable communities not getting necessary humanitarian help.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) :
In the wake of the above context, the UNICEF Malawi Drones Program has been operational since 2016 and has proven to be a successful intervention in delivering development and humanitarian aid. Drones in Malawi are used as a transportation modality, to conduct site surveys and aerial monitoring, acquiring images, mapping, and remote sensing. The uses have been singular in their operations: drones technology application in Malawi up until now has been used for a single purpose at a time in their execution. As the use of drones is maturing, there is a need to understand ways in which the efficiency, efficacy, and versatility of the use of these drones can be increased.
How can you make a difference?
The primary objective of evaluation is to answer the fundamental question: Did the DFID-funded drone transportation project, on health service provision and flood mapping, succeed in achieving its desired results. The evaluation will also determine whether the pilot was able to find answers to the four key research questions: (1) Does the project have a positive social impact? (2) Do users engage with it? (3) Does the technology of drones work? (4) Will this use of drones grow after the pilot? The summative evaluation also seeks answers to what extent did this project make a difference, its sustainability and scalability (for future funding opportunities); and has the execution of the project been efficient.
The specific objectives of the summative evaluation are therefore to :
- Assess the extent to which project activities were implemented in the cost-efficient manner across genders and all socio-cultural groups including the vulnerable in the targeted communities ;
- Assess effectiveness of the drone project in producing the expected results for both men and women, boys and girls across all socio-cultural groups including the marginalized and vulnerable in the targeted communities ;
- Assess the outcomes of drone operations and to which extent the project has contributed to improving the health outcomes and disaster preparedness in Nsanje and Chikwawa ;
- Evaluate whether the drone transportation was relevant to address the main bottlenecks across all socio-cultural groups including the vulnerable in the targeted communities ;
- Assess the extent to which the intervention promoted observance of HR and GE and how stakeholders regardless of sex, geographical location, disabilities, age have benefited from the intervention ;
- Document lessons, key challenges/gaps, strengths, good practices ;
- Assess how sustainable the drone program is at the district and national levels
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
The evaluation consultant will not have been involved in the design or implementation of the project to be evaluated or have any other conflicts of interest. It is expected that the consultant will disclose any potential conflict of interest :
- The consultant must have an advanced University degree in one of the following disciplines (or related) Decision Science, Operations Research, Policy Analysis, International Development, Social Sciences, or Management Science(s) ;
- The consultant must have at least 8 years of experience leading, designing and conducting impact evaluations ;
- Expertise in designing methodology and data collection tools and demonstrated experience in leading similar evaluations ;
- Must have leadership, analytical and communication skills, including a track record of excellent writing and presentation skills ;
- Proven experience evaluating Technology and Innovation dependent programs ;
- Experience and good knowledge of gender issues and tools for integrating human rights and their link with the innovation ;
- Exceptional data analysis skills for both qualitative and quantitative data ;
- Proficiency in English and/or local languages (Chichewa) for a national consultant.
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
View our competency framework at : UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
View full details of the assignment in the attached ToRs : 
Final TOR Multipurpose Drone Summative Evaluation_02_09_2020.pdf
To submit your financial proposal, use the attached sheet : Financial Proposal Template.xlsx
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
Remarks :
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.
Closing Date Sun Sep 13 2020 16:00:00 GMT+0100 (heure normale d’Afrique de l’Ouest).