Lead IYCF-E Assessment Consultant

Background

FHI 360 is harnessing its four decades of development experience to provide humanitarian assistance in crisis-affected countries. FHI 360’s Crisis Response Team (CRT) meets the urgent needs of people whose lives are jeopardized by conflict, disaster, or displacement. FHI 360’s Crisis Response Team currently provides life-saving interventions in the WASH, health, nutrition, and protection sectors. FHI 360 has an active emergency nutrition sector led by its senior emergency nutrition adviser. FHI 360 is an active member of the Global Nutrition Cluster, a co-chair of the Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group and a member of the Nutrition Information Working Group.

FHI 360 implements humanitarian programs in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ukraine, and Yemen, and recently completed projects in Afghanistan, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We systematically apply an age, gender, and diversity approach in our programs. We target the most vulnerable individuals: women and children, including unaccompanied or separated, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ persons, and internally displaced persons (IDPs). All CR programs observe humanitarian and safeguarding principles, including Do No Harm and the survivor-centered approach, as we seek to understand how our actions can affect people’s safety and respect the rights, dignity, and decisions of our program participants.

Emergency nutrition programming is an essential pillar of FHI 360’s integrated humanitarian assistance and works to both treat and prevent malnutrition, especially among children under five and pregnant and lactating women. One of the critical components of our crisis response programming is Maternal, Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (MIYCF-E). FHI 360 works with health facilities, mobile clinics, community health workers, communities, and women and men to protect, promote, and support recommended infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in emergencies. This mainly focuses on establishing IYCF-E services at the community and health facility levels to reach the most vulnerable populations and strengthen the capacities of national and subnational health workers and workers from other sectors in protecting, promoting and supporting IYCF-E. All activities are in line with the IYCF-E Operational Guidance and Sphere Standards and include a robust monitoring and evaluation component with relevant indicators aligned with the existing health management information system indicators.

In 2021, the Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group (IFE CG) and the Global Nutrition Cluster (GNC) Nutrition Information System Technical Working Group (NIS TWG) identified the need to review current Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) assessment practices to make recommendations based on consensus-driven evidence for field implementation.

The GNC Technical Alliance (the Alliance) and Technical Support Team (TST) (formerly Tech-RRT) supported Save the Children and ACF SMART Team Canada to conduct a mapping between February and March 2021 among members of nutrition clusters, governmental nutrition sectors, and other coordination mechanisms to identify the methodologies used when conducting IYCF-E assessments. The mapping identified the varying methodologies and approaches nutrition sector partners currently use to conduct IYCF-E assessments. While most ICYF-E assessments are integrated with other sectors, calculation of sample sizes, having unified sampling methodologies, tools for data analysis, and interpretation of results were found to be a major challenge. These variances and lack of standardized methodologies have prevented partners from drawing comparisons and conclusions on IYCF-E assessments.

The mapping showed approximately 15 methodologies were being used to conduct IYCF-E assessments; the preferred methods being KAP surveys, SMART, and qualitative assessments. Participating countries in the mapping highlighted the need to define a portfolio of preferred methodologies for subnational and local IYCF-E assessments—both standalone and integrated—for emergencies and humanitarian contexts. Additionally, the mapping exercise found that while standard IYCF indicators have been used, even in very small surveys, there is a limited use of some the IYCF-E indicators recommended in the GNC registry of nutrition indicators. The challenge with the recommended indicators, linked with sampling, is that generally, they do not provide the needed information, and do not provide a clear picture of the IYCF situation during emergencies. In short, the 2021 mapping exercise pointed to the need for a standardized methodology for IYCF-E assessments that can be easily followed, as there is currently no harmonized sampling methodology nor guidance on when to add IYCF into other assessments led by emergency nutrition partners.

Based on the results of the mapping exercise, the members of the IFE CG and the GNC NIS TWG agreed an IYCF-E Assessment Guide is needed, including how to select the most appropriate IYCF-E methodology, appropriate indicators, and how to adapt these to various contexts (e.g., standalone or integrated). With funding from USAID/BHA, FHI 360 is undertaking this endeavor to develop the first IYCF-E Assessment Guide for use in humanitarian settings. This guide will help to equip the nutrition sector and implementing partners in conducting assessments to better understand the nutritional status of targeted communities. As a part of the development, FHI 360 will conduct in-country on-the-ground piloting in two countries that will help to refine the draft tool prior to final publication and dissemination. FHI 360 is recruiting a lead consultant that will support the development process of the IYCF-E Assessment Guide.

Scope of Work

In close coordination with FHI 360’s Emergency Nutrition Advisor, the Crisis Response team is seeking a lead consultant to:

1. Organize and facilitate task force meetings.
2. Document meeting outcomes and recommendations.
3. Prepare and submit an inception report per proposed module
4. Develop the following modules in alignment with the existing IYCF-E Assessment Guide that account for technical task force’s inputs :
   1. Guidance Document on Utilizing available secondary data analysis to understand the IYCF-E situation pre-crisis. This component will highlight the importance of providing key guidance and principles for humanitarian agencies and governments on what secondary data can be used to define the IYCF-E situation pre-crisis and how to utilize them to inform an immediate emergency response.
   2. Guidance document on Conducting qualitative and rapid assessments through KIIs and FGDs to capture the effect of a crisis on women and their infant feeding practices. This component will provide concrete guidance on how humanitarian agencies and governments can initiate and support rapid qualitative assessments, including IYCF-E assessments, that will reduce the crisis’s effect on infant feeding practices and choices. This will contribute to guides, principles, and tools on if/how to conduct KIIs and FGDs (as well as the recommended minimum number of these needed to generate sufficient evidence for planning and response activities).
5. Share relevant drafts with FHI 360 senior emergency nutrition advisers for review and comments incorporating the various comments and suggestions from the task force members.
6. Engage the IFE Core Group and the NIS TWG to solicit inputs and recommendations on the proposed guidance documents.
7. Incorporate all the agreed comments and suggestions based on the various consultations.
8. Finalize and submit the final IYCF-E Assessment Guide to FHI 360 Senior Emergency Adviser for final approval and dissemination.

Deliverables:

• Taskforce meeting notes and recordings
• Monthly report with project progress updates
• A IYCF-E Assessment Guide with relevant tools illustrating:
  • What secondary data can define the IYCF-E during a pre-crisis situation.
  • The guidance should include clear recommendations on how to:
    • Select the potential source of data, how to select the most appropriate data sources, the data, the indicators,
    • Process, analyses, interpret and use the data/indicator/information at the various levels (national, regional, provincial or district levels).
    • Write a brief, pre-crisis IYCF-E situation based on the available data/indicators/information.
• How to conduct a) qualitative IYCF-E Assessments and b) rapid IYCF-E assessments.
  • Guidance framework with relevant assumptions, principles and recommendations based on selected scenarios.
  • Sample/suggested tools that could support qualitative assessment exercises like FGDs, transect walks, key information interviews, and others.

Location of Work

1. Remote

Travel

Level of Effort: No travel is required for this consultancy.

Period of Engagement: October 2023, to March 2024

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