REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR COSNULTANT

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

Formulation of a Pakistan Multisectoral National Nutrition Policy (PM-NNP)- 2023-30

Duration & Duty Station: 75 Days / Islamabad

1.       BACKGROUND

With a population exceeding 220 million, Pakistan is the 5^th most populous country in the world and is projected to become the fourth most populous by 2050[1]. Life expectancy at birth is about 66 years for men and 68 years for women[2]. Adult literacy stands at 58%, with a wide disparity between men (nearly 70%) and women (46%)[3].  Pakistan is ranked 150^th of 189 countries on the Human Development Index, indicating low human development at the country level[4].

The country is facing nutritional challenges. Malnutrition in all its forms including undernutrition (stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies), overweight/obesity and diet-related ill-health, is responsible for more disability-adjusted life years loss (20%) than any other contributor (Lancet, 2019). Poor diet contributes to 6 of the top 10 risk factors for the global burden of disease and for 5 of the 10 in nearly all countries (Lancet 2020). Yet, 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet (SOFI 2021). According to National Nutrition Survey (NNS 2018), more than 40 percent children are stunted, 17 percent wasted and 28 percent are underweight. The recent Global Nutrition Report revealed that Pakistan is not fully on track in reducing anaemia amongst women of ages 15-49 years. Anaemia remains prevalent at an alarming rate of 43 per cent.

To address the issue of malnutrition a multi-sectoral approach is needed. In this regard, the government established a multisectoral platform by joining the Global Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. This is followed by the establishment of high level multi-sectoral governance structure at federal, provincial and area level. Apart from the governance, key strategic documents have been prepared such as: Pakistan Multi-sectoral Nutrition Strategy (PMNS 2018-2025) and Pakistan Dietary Guidance for Better Nutrition (PDGN 2019) etc.

Furthermore, food systems are crucial for addressing problems of food insecurity, malnutrition, and diet-related health problems. Adequate nourishment in terms of quantity and quality is necessary for healthy living life. A set of challenges is identified during the preparatory phase of United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS-2021) (and are reflected in the shape of Pakistan National Food System Transformation Pathway,) which are directly and indirectly pertained to sustained access to safe and nutritious food for all. Importance of improved dietary diversity, access and presentation of food system data, nutrition awareness among consumers and Improved food governance of supply chains are some the key thematic areas needing urgent attention.

However, there is need of a multi-sectoral national nutrition policy to guide all the federating units to adopt context appropriate harmonized system approach e.g. food system, education system, social protection system, WASH system and health system etc. in line with the national and provincial priorities and evolving trends. In this regard, Government of Pakistan with the support of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has taken the initiative to formulate “Multisectoral National Nutrition Policy (MS-NNP)- 2023-2030”.

In order to facilitate the policy formulation process, GAIN seeks an experienced consultant/ firm to support this policy formulation process. The consultant/ firm will work under the supervision of Government concerned ministry focal person and Sr. Policy advisor, GAIN with the detailed terms of reference mentioned below.

2.       TERMS OF REFERENCE

• Ø Purpose 

The consultant/ firm will support the formulation process of the Multisectoral National Nutrition Policy for Pakistan in order to guide all the federating units to adopt context appropriate harmonized system approach e.g. food system, education system, social protection system, WASH system and health system etc. in line with the national and provincial priorities and evolving trends. The policy will also address the cross cutting themes such as climate change, youth engagement, gender and emergency.

• Ø Scope of work

The consultant/ firm will be responsible for delivering the following objectives through adopting the set of bulleted activities mentioned underneath,

1. Background analysis and secondary data review (this can include but not limited to all kinds of analysis that are mentioned in the scope of work)
2. Draft and present a concept/ working paper from reviews and policy sketch based on the analysis
3. National and provincial (area/regional) consultations including ICT
4. Writing a report / reflection on the whole process of policy development

                                      i.         Develop and agree an outline of the policy with the concerned ministry (the chapters to be included on various themes including the accountability framework)

                                    ii.         Conduct a comprehensive review and develop a detailed analysis of the current nutrition situation in Pakistan, including an assessment of the current initiatives taken by stakeholders, nutritional needs of the population and the availability of food resources, key barriers and bottlenecks which affect the scaling up of nutrition programmes in Pakistan.

                                  iii.         Facilitating the coordination and consultation process among government (federal, provincial and area/regional level), nutrition development partners and other stakeholders

                                   iv.         Individual meetings/ consultations with all relevant federal ministries to include multi-sectoral inputs in the policy, Provincial Consultations/ workshops in each P & D Departments/ Boards (with relevant stakeholders) for inputs on the draft policy document.

1. Writing the Policy Draft and presenting it to the concerned authority
2. Sharing/presenting the final Draft Pakistan Multi-Sectoral National Nutrition Policy - PM-NNP and incorporating the feedback of all the relevant competent authorities
3. Developing an implementation strategy for the PM-NNP to ensure the successful implementation. 
4. Preparing a final report on the completed project.

• Deliverables

The consultant/ firm shall deliver the following:

                                      i.      A comprehensive analysis of the current nutrition situation in Pakistan

                                    ii.      Submission of a detailed work and complete approach/ methodology through inception meetings (PPT & Word Doc)

                                  iii.      An assessment of existing nutrition programs and policies and those that impact on nutrition outcomes in Pakistan.

                                  iv.       Conduct/ arrange national, provincial & area/regional consultation meetings and submit minutes & reports.

                                    v.      Submission of summary report based upon the takeaways of whole consultative deliberations.

                                  vi.       Presenting the initial 1^st, 2^nd & final draft of the multisectoral national nutrition policy document to the stakeholders

                                vii.       Presenting the final draft of the multisectoral national nutrition policy to the stakeholders in national level dissemination workshop

                              viii.       Submission of final report on the completed project.

                                  ix.       Presentation of the report at a higher forum

• Timeframe & Reporting
  • The duration of the project is estimated to be 75 days (starting from April 3^rd, 2023).
  • The consultant/ firm will report to the Government concerned ministry focal person and GAIN Senior Policy Advisor and Will submit a progress report at the end of every month.

• Payment the payment for the consultant/ firm services will be deliverable based.                                            

• Qualifications

The consultant/ firm must have:

ü   Minimum a Postgraduate degree in nutrition, public health, or a related field.

ü   A minimum of 10 years of experience in multi-sectoral nutrition-related projects (At least 5 years of experience at country, regional or global level with nutrition specific and sensitive programmes/policy work based on systems approach

ü   Proven experience in working with nutrition policy/ strategy, planning & programming data

ü   Excellent Coordination and communication with federal, provincial government, private sector and development partners.

ü   Ability to work independently as well as collaborate with stakeholders

ü   Proven analytical, negotiation, communication and advocacy skills

ü   Fluency in Urdu, English and other regional languages

ü   Familiarity with Pakistan nutrition Landscape

3.       MEASURABLE OUTPUTS OF THE WORK ASSIGNMENT- Payments

Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment (e.g. end products) including qualitative & quantitative expectations:

*Subject to change- Dates/Time schedule will be approved/provided by the concerned Government Focal Person of the Ministry

4.       PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

The deadline for submission of Technical and Financial  proposal by the consultant/firm is (23:59 hours) March 26^th, 2023, in the shape of soft copy at [email protected]. Please submit your financial proposal in PKR inclusive of all taxes.

Mention Pakistan Multisectoral National Nutrition Policy in the subject line.

5.       ANNEX 1: CONSULTANT/ FIRM WORK PLAN

To be Submitted by the consultant/ firm during Inception Meeting

*Schedule: Dates/Time schedule will be approved/provided by the concerned Government Focal Person of the Ministry