Final Evaluation on Preventing HIV and AIDS and alleviating its impact in Multigenerational households

Terms of Reference for Final Evaluation on Preventing HIV and AIDS and alleviating its impact in Multigenerational households

Consultancy Coordination: Nairobi, Kenya

1. Background

Population ageing in Africa is expected to accelerate between 2010 and 2030, as more people reach age 65. Projections show that older people could account for 4.5% of the population by 2030 and nearly 10% of the population by 2050 (UNDESA, 2011.) In many countries in Africa, the proportion of older people will be close to that of industrialized countries by 2030 and 2050. In a number of countries the figure will approach or exceed 20% of the total population, however, the contribution of older people as parents, care givers, farmers and wage earners, along with their rights as citizens continue to be under-played.

HelpAge International is a global network striving for the rights of disadvantaged older people to economic and physical security; healthcare and social services; and support in their care-giving role across the generations. In Africa, HelpAge has a network of more than 60 partner organizations. Our vision is of a world in which all older people fulfil their potential to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.

Through HelpAge’s work, health, income and food security have been named by older people as their critical issues, with the accompanying need to assert their rights and have their voice heard. In Africa HIV is a key issue for older people and one that challenges their health, rights, income and food security. Through its flagship portfolio of projects, Preventing HIV and AIDS and Alleviating its Impact in Multigenerational Households (May 2008 - April 2013), HelpAge is facilitating sustainable responses to the impact of HIV on older people in 5 African countries namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa.

The Portfolio comprises of 9 individual projects:

• Project 1: Mainstreaming Ageing into HIV and AIDS Responses
• Project 2: HIV and AIDS Data Disaggregation
• Project 3: Preventing HIV in Older People
• Project 4: Supporting Multigenerational Households through Economic Empowerment of OVC in Kenya
• Project 5: Supporting Multigenerational Households through Protection of the Inheritance Rights of OVC in Uganda
• Project 6: Strengthening the Role of Traditional Health Practitioners in South Africa
• Project 7: Strengthening Iddirs (Burial Societies) in Ethiopia
• Project 8: Improving quality of Home Based Care to PLHIV in Tanzania
• Project 9: Sharing Learning, Good Practice and Impact

Five of the projects (project 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) are country specific and are implemented in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ethiopia and Tanzania respectively. Three of the projects (project 1, 2, and 3) are implemented if four countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda). Projects 1 and 2 are advocacy focused while project 3 is focused on HIV prevention for older people. The ninth project is focused on generating and sharing learning across all the Portfolio projects and is coordinated from the UK.

The Portfolio aims to realise four major outcomes:

Outcome 1: HIV and AIDS policy changes in four East/Southern African countries will increase older peoples' access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services by the end of the portfolio.
Outcome 2: By the end of the portfolio 60% of the target group will have reported an increase in knowledge of HIV and AIDS and greater confidence to protect themselves.
Outcome 3: By the end of the portfolio 75% of people living with HIV in project areas report receiving improved quality of home based care and services.
Outcome 4: 50% of MGHs affected by HIV and AIDS in project areas have improved coping mechanisms to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS by the end of the portfolio.

1. The Assignment:

HelpAge International is looking for Consultancy servicesfrom an individual or firm backed by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals to submit an expression of interest for a final evaluation of the 5-year Portfolio of projects. The evaluation will be conducted in the five countries in which the portfolio is being implemented. The final evaluation will be one element of a comprehensive data collection and review of the portfolio being undertaken by the HelpAge team. The consultants will work with the team to map how the elements of this review will fit together and complement each other.

1. The purpose of the Final Evaluation

The purpose of the final evaluation is to assess, demonstrate and document the impact of the projects in the portfolio on the lives of older people. The final evaluation will build on and utilise the findings of the baseline survey and midterm evaluation undertaken for the portfolio and will make use of the existing survey templates. Other tools and methodology should be developed by the consultant in collaboration with the HelpAge team to collect additional information to complement and corroborate the findings of the final evaluation survey, including case studies and key informant interviews.

The main objectives of the final evaluation are:

i. Assess the extent to which the portfolio outcomes have been met by the individual projects including through project implementation processes and advocacy engagements, and demonstrate any unintended/unplanned results and outcomes achieved through the portfolio.

ii. Measure, document and demonstrate the impact of the portfolio at the individual, household and community level.

iii. Review the relevance of the portfolio outcomes and project activities in relation to: the HIV epidemic response trends; the needs of older people and their communities; country strategic plans and commitments on HIV and our support for their implementation; social and cultural issues in the project sites.

iv. Assess the value for money of the portfolio through reviewing the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of: the individual projects; the organisational management systems; the HelpAge-partner management and coordination structure; the portfolio monitoring and evaluation system and learning strategy and their role in improving project implementation and delivery; and mid term evaluation process and how the findings were used to influence the second half of the portfolio implementation.

v. Review the sustainability of the project activities and identify structures put in place and exit plans developed, to ensure appropriate closure of the portfolio and opportunities for continuation of activities on the basis of relevance.

vi. Establish how gender issues have been addressed by the portfolio and the effects of the portfolio on older men and women.

The Scope of the Final Evaluation

The final evaluation will be carried out extensively in each country and will examine as applicable the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability and coherence within the Portfolio on all cross cutting issues and standards. The task is expected to begin mid-January 2013 close by mid-April 2013 with the submission and acceptance of the final report and other deliverables.

Deliverables:
• Soft and hard copy of the final report
• 7 case studies i.e., one from each of country; 2 regional.
• Raw data sets

1. Experience and Requirements

All interested consultants/firms should have the following competencies and experience:

• Diverse team members with skills in various aspects of health and development, including HIV/AIDS, with demonstrable experience of working together across disciplines;

• Proven experience in evaluation and impact assessment of large scale, multi-country programmes, including knowledge and experience in using qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods, including basic statistical packages;

• Understanding of principles of rights based programming and issues of accountability to beneficiaries and stakeholders;

• Excellent facilitation skills and experience in use of participatory methodologies;

• Proven excellent presentation skills; written and oral.

How to apply:

1. Expression of Interest and Expected Results

All interested consultants/firms are requested to write an expression of interest by:

i. Explaining in detail the methodology to be used in carrying out the assignment; ii. Providing a detailed professional budget in British Pounds Sterling (indicating daily professional rates); iii. Explaining their competences to meet the requirements of the assignment; iv. Attachingbrief technical biographical data of the core team-members; v. Providing the duration of the assignment and when ready to undertake the assignment; vi. Providing evidence of similar work undertaken in the recent past (not more than 3 years). Deadline for application: December 6th, 2012: Please send your application by email to: jmuthoka@helpage.co.ke andwmanyara@helpage.co.ke