Consultancy for undertaking Birth Registration Equity Analysis, Accra

Closing Date: Monday, 13 August 2012

Background

Birth registration in Ghana Ghana was the first country in the world to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the First World Summit on Children in 1990. However, the country's performance in terms of meeting the goals of the Convention is yet to be fully realized. For example, many children do not have a birth certificate although the Government has made provision of birth registration and provision of an 'instant' certificate free for children under the age of 12 months. Birth registration rates have varied over the past years with 67% registered in 2005, 51% in 2008 and 65% in 2011.

A birth certificate is a fundamental human right and is indeed the "first right" the child enjoys and without a birth certificate, many other rights are denied the child. Children whose births are not registered are more susceptible to abuse, trafficking and exploitation. Also, national and sub-national planning for social services (education, health etc) is difficult as inaccurate data can affect forecasts which will in turn affect adequate provision of services including immunization and post-care services for babies and children. In Ghana, non -registration of births of children is more pronounced in communities where access to birth registration facilities is not readily available. Other reasons cited for the poor coverage include ignorance of parents and the populace about the importance of registration and the cost involved for late registration (registration in the first 12 months is free but begins to attract a penalty fee thereafter). Inadequate personnel and logistics remain central to the Birth and Death Registry's challenges and also often cited for fluctuating coverage rates in birth registration in Ghana. Improvements in the system has, however, been noted in recent years with a combination of strategies (use of community-based population registers managed by volunteers and supervised by the Chief in communities; birth registration volunteers; collaboration with health professionals in conjunction with growth monitoring centers and immunization campaigns and birth registration volunteers 'attached' to health posts and hospitals etc). An improved process of national computerization, covering seven out of the ten regions, ensures rather speedy processing of entering birth registration information collected through these processes, verification and printing/signing of birth certificates. However, despite these improvements, a significant approximate 35% of children remain 'outside' of the system and are not registered at all. Children from poor families and those in rural areas are least likely to have a birth certificate. In Ghana, while about 80% of children's births in urban areas will be registered, only 40% of children will have their births registered in rural areas. With UNICEF's and partners enhanced quest for 'development with equity' it is important to develop concrete strategies and tools that will enable the system to reach these 'un-reached/hard to reach' and thereby bring the registration rates up significantly. Increased focus on equity and proposed bottleneck analysis In recent years, UNICEF has embarked upon a process of better understand and acknowledge disparities and how these impact on the overall development and achievement of expected results. In Ghana, UNICEF Education and Health Programmes have been successful in undertaking 'bottleneck analysis', drawing out structural barriers and impediment for change . Such analysis has proven useful in driving programme interventions in the most strategic direction with the aim of reducing disparities and assisting more monitoring with an equity focus.

The commitment to reduce disparities has also been clearly articulated by the Government of Ghana. The Ghana shared Growth and Development Agenda (2010-2013) acknowledges the existence of disparities – especially between the north and the south of Ghana - and outlines strategies for reducing these.

It is recognized that equity monitoring can help the Government of Ghana to: 1) Achieve national development goals and international development commitments with equity; 2) Prioritize issues which need urgent action; 3) Assess existing monitoring and evaluationsystems and consider adaptations of these to produce more frequent, quality data at decentralized levels to help drive programme interventions in the most strategic direction; 4) Assess whether priority interventions actually work and deliver concrete results for the most vulnerable/marginalized populations; 5) Report on successes achieved and leverage resource of scaling up priority interventions.

Barriers and bottlenecks to programme progress may be rooted in social norms, delivery systems, capacity constraints, public policies or budgets, or other enabling factors . So long as these bottlenecks exist, programmatic interventions will fail to reach those in need. Removing the bottlenecks becomes an important first step towards universal coverage of any intervention and for achieving any type of higher level result.

In relation to birth registration, several countries have already undertaken bottleneck analysis of the system, including Nigeria which identified key system barriers along with recommendations for future work. In Ghana, it has been agreed with partners to undertake similar bottleneck analysis of the birth registration system as a way to improve overall birth registration rates, in particular registration of children below the age of 5 years with a focus on those under 12 months of age. The expectation is to raise birth registration rates to 90% by the end of 2016.

Justification UNICEF Child Protection Programme is seeking to engage an individual to lead the process of undertaking the bottleneck analysis of the birth registration system in close collaboration with Government partners, i.e primarily the Birth and Death Registrar under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and writing up the final report of the analysis, including recommendations for the way forward to achieve expected results.

This required tasks and process goes beyond that which could be undertaken by existing staff of the Child Protection Programme team, hence the need to engage a consultant (SSA).

Specific Tasks Under the supervision of the Chief of UNICEF Child Protection Programme, with the guidance of the Child Protection officer and in close collaboration with Government stakeholders (in particular Birth and Death registry, the research unit of Birth and Death; Ghana Statistical Services) the consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

1) Based on previous work undertaken by other countries on birth registration bottleneck analysis; equity literature; results, indicators and targets as defined by the UNICEF/Government of Ghana Child Protection Programme; other studies and reports on the status of birth registration system in Ghana, design a simple framework of analysis, identifying key 'determinants' which will be subsequently assessed and analyzed. At a minimum, the determinants should include: a. Social norms, behavior, understanding and attitudes related to birth registration, including demand (or lack of demand) for birth registration services by marginalized populations; b. Legislative and policy framework for birth registration ; c. Capacity, coordination and resources (human and financial) of stakeholders involved in the process of birth registration, ensuring high quality of the birth registration system. The framework for analysis will be discussed with UNICEF, Government and civil society stakeholders for input and finalization. If appropriate, this could happen through a 'design' workshop.

2) Using the agreed framework of analysis, undertake qualitative and quantitative data and information gathering through desk reviews , key informant interviews and focus group discussions with stakeholders at national and sub-national levels to reveal the bottlenecks and analyse why and where (geographic areas, economic and social status, household composition and profile of children not being registered etc) bottlenecks exist and how to overcome them. All 10 regions are expected to be visited and at least 4 registration centers in each of the regions (mix of urban/rural/peri-urban districts) . The various strategies employed in support of birth registration (computerization, use of community population register, use of birth registration volunteers, collaboration with health programmes/professionals etc) are expected to be analysed for effectiveness.

3) Present findings and recommendations for actions to remove bottlenecks at a national stakeholder birth registration workshop, with participation from national and sub national levels . The workshop is expected Validate the analysis and generate input needed for finalizing the analysis and prepare the final 'roadmap' with actions for the period until 2016.

4) The process as outlined above is expected to have an element of 'capacity-strengthening' ensuring future ability to monitor and document birth registration results of key Government stakeholders at various levels. For example, as a result of the assignment, it is expected that simple tool(s) for on-going/routine equity monitoring will be established (sentinel site monitoring, dash boards indicating birth registration rates and actual numbers etc) thereby strengthening the research unit of the births and deaths registry. Regular discussions with UNICEF and key staff of Birth and Death Registry will be held to assess overall progress of the assignment, address any challenges and agree on next steps. Formal written reports shall be submitted by the consultant on a monthly basis to UNICEF and the Birth and Death Registry.

Expected Deliverables As a result of the assignment, the following deliverables are expected to be achieved:

Tasks Expected deliverable Timeframe 1.Design framework of analysis 1. Draft analysis framework developed and presented to key stakeholders; 2. Based on stakeholder feed-back, a final framework will be prepared. 2 weeks 2. Qualitative and quantitative data and information gathering Draft bottleneck analysis report prepared based on completed field research and region/district visits 12 weeks 3. Presentation of findings and recommendations 3. Workshop conducted to review/validate draft report; 4. Final bottleneck analysis report prepared along with a 'roadmap' of actions for 2013-2016 to achieve expected results of 90% of children registered by the end of 2016 2 weeks 4. Capacity-strengthening and monitoring systems and tools established 5. Demonstrated capacity of key stakeholders; 6. Simple monitoring tools and resources established for on-going equity monitoring. Through-out contract

Duration and timeframe The assignment is expected to commence in August 2012 and be of a total duration of 4 months.

Payment schedule 30% of payment upon submission of final analytical framework (deliverable 2 above); 30% of payment upon submission of draft bottleneck analysis; 40% of payment upon submission of final bottleneck analysis and 'roadmap' of actions for 2013-2016. The report shall be made available electronically as well in at least 2 hard copies for UNICEF and partners. All raw data shall also be handed over to UNICEF.

Required Background and Experience

 Advanced degree in Social Sciences, Community Development, Law or a related field.  At least 10 years professional experience insocial development , human rights and areas related to the field of research and project management and development.  Sound knowledge of the situation of children and general social and economic development in Ghana.  Experience in undertaking bottleneck analysis, monitoring and evaluation work, in particular equity monitoring is required.  Superior analytical and writing skills.  Excellent communication skills, including ability to present data and statistics in a user-friendly manner;  Highly organized and developed self-management skills.  Proven ability to negotiate and work with Government and non-Government machinery and dynamics.  Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships, both within and outside the organization.  Excellent knowledge of children's rights and child development issues in general.  Proven ability to keep to deadlines.  Fluency in English  Ability to operate computer Microsoft office programs (MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Access), is essential.

General Conditions: Procedures and Logistics

 The assigned duty station for this assignment is Accra, Ghana, with frequent travel to the field.  The consultants will work from the UNICEF office while in Accra, with limited office support. In particular, the consultant will have their own computer facilities and transport facilities for commuting to office.
 The assignment cost will include international professional fees, based on senior consultant level by the UN, reimbursement of DailySubsistence Allowance s (DSAs) while in Accra and while on travel outside of Accra at the prevailing UN rates. UNICEF will also cover the cost for local travel required for the assignment and international travel to take up the position at Economy fare.  It is expected that the Consultant will be available at the designated duty station for the entire duration of the assignment.  The Consultant will have access to UNICEF transport along with UNICEF Security Radio when in the field on official travel Transportation will also be provided for official meetings (within official working hours) within Accra, based on prior notification.  Consultant is not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.

Policy all parties should be aware of:

 Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 21 working days, and fees are prorated accordingly. Consultants are not paid for weekends or public holidays.  Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement. Consultants are also not entitled to paid leave.  No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant or Contractor.  For international consultants outside the duty station, signed contracts must be sent by fax or email. Signed contract copy or written agreement must be received by the office before Travel Authorisation is issued.  No consultant may travel without a signed travel authorization prior to the commencement of the journey to the duty station.  Unless authorized, UNICEF will buy the tickets of the consultant. In exceptional cases, the consultant may be authorized to buy their travel tickets and shall be reimbursed at the "most economical and direct route" but this must be agreed to beforehand.  Consultants will not have supervisory responsibilities or authority on UNICEF budget.  Consultants will be required to sign the Health statement for consultants/Individual contractor prior to taking up the assignment, and to document that they have appropriate health insurance, including Medical Evacuation.  The Form 'Designation, change or revocation of beneficiary' must be completed by the consultant upon arrival, at the HR Section.

How to apply: 

If interested, please complete the attached United Nations Personal History form (P11) and send applications directly to: email: HRghana@unicef.org
OR mail to : The Human Resources Officer, UNICEF, P.O. Box 5051, Accra-North. The P11 form can also be downloaded from: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc Applications submitted without the P11 form will not be considered.