Consultant to scope HelpAge International’s regional gender and ageing advocacy in Africa

Background

HelpAge International is a global network of organisations working towards a fairer world for older people so they can live safe, healthy, and dignified lives. In addition to working with more than 150 network members in 56 countries, HelpAge operates country programme offices in 13 countries across Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

HelpAge has a longstanding organisational commitment to gender equality and has developed a Gender and Ageing Framework to build on this commitment as articulated in the 2030 Strategy. HelpAge’s position is that all older people should be recognised and respected as individuals with equal dignity, to be embraced equally and treated fairly and without discrimination, whatever their diverse and overlapping identities, values, beliefs or needs. This includes supporting older people ‘to exercise their right to speak as they wish and to have their voices heard and their issues included in laws, policies, programmes and services.’ Older people are rights holders; they have a right to be heard and their voices are valuable.

The 2030 strategy recognises the complexity, diversity, and varying contexts of older age, that gender intersects not only with age but with race, class, geography, disability, and sexuality, and indeed, that ‘gender is increasingly viewed as being on a spectrum and the need for sensitivity to gender identities that are not expressed within binary (man and woman) categories.’ The 2030 Strategy commits HelpAge to achieving impact on the wellbeing, dignity, and voice of older people in their diversity, noting that:

Gender should therefore not be treated as a separate issue, but rather as a “lens” through which HelpAge views and plans all work. As a minimum, gender-sensitive work is about redressing imbalances and tailoring activities to the specific needs and interests of women, men, and people expressing other gender identities. At HelpAge International, our aim is for our advocacy to be gender transformative.

The Gender and Ageing Advocacy Framework has three overarching objectives:

1. To promote a gender lens in all HelpAge’s advocacy work on ageing.

2. To advocate for an ageing lens with specific organisations working on gender advocacy.

3. To advocate for a gender lens with specific organisations working on ageing advocacy.

Under these objectives, HelpAge International has developed a regional sub-objective to include older women’s rights in the implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and leverage this towards the ratification and entry into force of the African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa.

It is within this context that HelpAge International now seeks a consultant to undertake a scoping, mapping and analysis of actors, data/evidence, policies, and processes to advance HelpAge’s regional gender and ageing advocacy in Africa. To do this, HelpAge seeks to tap into the broad human rights space at the African Union while referring to the ongoing processes at the global level and making the necessary linkages where possible, in advocacy to advance the rights and wellbeing of older persons in Africa at the national level.

Purpose, objectives, and scope

The purpose of the consultancy is to scope, identify and recommend the opportunities for advancing HelpAge International’s gender and ageing advocacy in Africa and building an evidence-base to support this. The consultancy will highlight opportunities and constraints and provide recommendations for HelpAge International’s engagement on advancing gender and ageing advocacy in Africa.

Objectives

1. To undertake an analysis of the status of implementation of and reporting on Article 22 of the Maputo Protocol in the treaty monitoring processes in Africa.

2. To identify the gaps and opportunities for advancing gender and ageing advocacy in Africa through an analysis of the strategic partnerships with regards to the situation of older people, HelpAge’s work, stakeholders’ views, regional and global legal and policy frameworks that are relevant to ageing, and available data/evidence that currently support these with the AU mechanisms, or gaps that would need to be addressed to support these.

3. To make recommendations for HelpAge International to bring the voice of older women into actual advocacy spaces in the African Union (participation of older women, network members and OPAs in the advocacy initiatives) to embed ageing in the AU gender and human rights agenda.

Scope

a) Thorough desk review of the policy framework on gender and ageing at the African Union with due reference to global and sub- regional gender and rights frameworks.

b) Review and mapping of existing actors and processes on and relevant to gender and ageing in Africa within the context of the Africa Union.

c) Analysis of the overlaps between the Maputo Protocol, the AU Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons and other related human rights instruments at regional and sub- regional level with a specific focus on the Regional Economic Communities.

d) Analysis of the inclusion of issues of older women to cover discrimination and rights in the recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) in their last three reports to the African Union Commission. e) Analysis of the opportunities for embedding ageing in the gender and human rights agenda of the African Union including the human rights frameworks, policies, and guidelines.

f) Analysis of the opportunities for linking gender and ageing advocacy at the African Union to global spaces such including but not limited to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW67 and 68), Open Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA), the High-Level Political Forum and the Women Deliver Conference 2023, and the advocacy for a UN convention on older persons.

Methodology and process

The scoping will include a desk review and key informant interviews with external stakeholders, and HelpAge selected staff across the team. Where applicable, the Consultant may hold focus group discussions (FGDs). Detailed methodology will be discussed and agreed with the selected consultant. Consultation shall be with HelpAge staff and at least 10 network members in at least 5 countries the details shall be agreed on with the consultant at the inception meeting.

Deliverables

1. Inception report with clear methodology inclusive of mapping and analytical tools.

2. Desk/literature review and contextual analysis of the current gender and ageing policy outlook in Africa.

3. Draft scoping report, according to an agreed outline/template, providing a summary of information collected through desk review and consultations (FGDs and key informant interviews), as well as triangulation and analysis of all information received.

4. PowerPoint presentation at a validation with a clear analysis of the issues, actors, targets, gaps, opportunities, and draft recommendations for HelpAge’s engagement in gender and ageing advocacy in Africa.

5. A final scoping (consultancy) report documenting whole process, with a clear analysis of issues, policies, actors, opportunities, strategies for embedding ageing in the AU gender and human rights policy agenda, and recommendations for HelpAge International’s engagement in gender and ageing advocacy in Africa that is responsive to our 2030 Strategy, and the Gender and Ageing Advocacy Framework.The recommendations should include targets and strategic champion countries to catalyze gender and ageing advocacy for HelpAge International. (The outline of the report will be agreed on after the Inception Report is approved)

Timing and timeline and budget

The consultancy is for 20 days and is expected to be completed by November 30, 2022, in line with the following proposed timeline.

Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policy

The consultant will be working on behalf of HelpAge and will be required to sign and adhere to the HelpAge Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Policy. The consultant will assure the respondents, and all engaged in the consultancy, of the confidentiality and will assure that data is protected and used for agreed purposes only. The documentation, the title rights, copyrights, and all other rights of whatever nature in any materials used or generated under the provisions of this consultancy will exclusively be vested with HelpAge International.

Qualifications/requirements of consultant

• Degree in Law, Humanities and Social Sciences, International Relations, or related fields.

• Minimum of 7 years’ relevant professional experience in social sciences, human rights, gender, and research.

• Excellent knowledge of the African Union human rights treaty monitoring and policy landscape.

• Demonstrable background and experience, preferably gender advocacy experience, in engagement with the African Union, its mechanisms and its constituent institutions.

• Demonstrable experience, technical skill, and expertise in high level rights and / or policy analysis and/or advocacy at the regional and, or international levels.

• Broad based knowledge of legal reform advocacy methods and tactics at the regional, subregional, or country level.

• Knowledge and experience on working on ageing and issues of older persons will be an added advantage.

• Excellent skills in research and analysis.

• Excellent facilitation, communication and report writing skills in English. Knowledge and ability to work in French will be an added advantage.