Job Description
OVC Economic Strengthening Consultancy, Cote dIvoire
Context Since September 2008, USAID/West Africa through PEPFAR has funded Save the Children to provide care and support to orphans and children made vulnerable due to HIV (OVC). The programme focuses on building the capacity of state and civil society structures to better respond to the needs of OVC. It currently works through ten local NGO partners and in close collaboration with social centres in Abidjan, the West and North Cote d'Ivoire to deliver a range of services to support OVC. These services include promoting access to health care, education, protection and psychosocial support; improving food security and nutrition; and providing vocational training and income generating activities. An extensive network of community caregivers (CCs) perform basic social work tasks (e.g. regular home visits, basic listening sessions, and referral to services) and are supervised by the local NGO partners. Key results include free medical care for OVC through agreements with local health districts, up-to-date vaccinations for 100% of identified OVC, support for schools to ensure attendance by OVC, income generating activities and nutritional training for OVC family members, child-led HIV prevention activities, and support for obtaining birth certificates. Over the past nine months, Côte d'Ivoire has been through a period of socio-political turmoil which has affected project beneficiaries throughout the country. Many families are still displaced, and those who have returned often go back to destroyed or looted houses, and missed harvests. The conflict has exacerbated pre-existing levels of poverty thus increasing the vulnerability of families living with HIV. In such a context, the economic strengthening activities of SC's OVC programme require revision to ensure they are appropriately adapted to the emerging needs of OVC and their families.
Objective of the consultancy:
This consultancy is required to promote learning and development in the area of OVC economic strengthening for Save the Children and its partners in Côte d'Ivoire (the PN OEV, social centre staff and local NGO partners). Save the Children wishes to adapt and improve the economic strengthening component of its OVC programme and through doing so, identify new approaches that can be shared with its key partners. To this end, the consultant is required to firstly carry out an evaluation of the programme's existing activities, which have focussed on providing HIV-affected households with start-up funds for income generating activities. Having identified strengths and weaknesses of the current approach, the consultant is then asked to support the programme coordinator and her staff to develop an economic strengthening strategy for the OVC programme, identifying specific interventions which are best suited to the beneficiaries and the context for the remaining three years of the programme. He/she is also asked to provide training to OVC programme staff and partners on the implementation of the identified interventions. Following the consultancy, it will be the responsibility of Save the Children 's in-country team to ensure that learning is shared with key partners on an on-going basis as the strategy is implemented.
No Fee
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