Terms of Reference (ToR)

Organization: Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Mogadishu, Somalia.  www.mohadm.gov.so

Position Type: Temporary Assignment

Assignment/Topic: Development of Best Practices for EmergencyPreparedness and Planning within the Context of Somalia

Position Location: Mogadishu and Baidoa –Somalia

Duration: 45 days

Starting date: As soon as possible

Background /Introduction

Somalia population has faced recurrent shocks in past decades (including drought, flooding, cyclone). The country has also suffuredprotratedconflct and displacement. Somalia had faced the worst drought the region had seen for decades. In fact, since 2011, Somalia has had only one proper rainy season, in 2013, with all other years falling far short of the norm of two rainy seasons per year. Situated in the Horn of Africa, Somalia is mostly arid, as monsoon winds lose their moisture by the time they reach the area. However, the drought of 2010-11 was of a different magnitude than those that often come in due to the El Niño weather cycle. It was the worst drought for 60 years and triggered an official declaration of famine. International donors and governments were slow to release funds in response to the famine declaration and this hampered the humanitarian response.  While many lives were saved, an estimated 260,000 were lost during the famine between 2010 and 2012. Half of them were children under the age of 5. It’s hard to understate the importance of sustained investments in medium- and long-term interventions to reduce community vulnerability in the face of food insecurity. As countries like Somalia accept that many effects of climate change are irreversible (even though they often have the least to do with causing climate change). Preventative work is the only way to get out of the cycle of crisis-and-response.

Some of the worst floodings hit parts of Somalia in the late 2019. Moderate to heavy rains caused substantial flooding in low-lying areas along the Shabelle and Juba Rivers, resulting in several deaths and significant damage to infrastructure, crops, property, and livestock. The flooding affected more than a half-million people across 17 districts in ten regions in the three states of Jubaland, Hirshabelle, and Southwest, with 370,000 people displaced from their homes. In urban centres, sewage and flood water mixed, widely contaminating the shallow wells that provide drinking water and leading to repeated outbreaks of cholera. Heavy rains and flooding also damaged infrastructure in existing settlements for internally displaced people (IDPs), affecting at least 154 IDP sites. Economic growth for 2020 and beyond is expected to decline in the aftermath of the floods, with annual real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) projected to drop by 1.5 % out of an annual projection of 3 %. Economic losses as a result of the floods are projected to reach US$ 206 million over the next five years. The anticipated deterioration comes as a result of important losses in trade-related activities due to the significant damage to critical infrastructures, such as roads, buildings, and bridges, as well as losses in health and water and sanitation services. Along the Juba and Shabelle river systems, flooding caused displacement, shortages of food, and people’s lives and livelihoods were lost.

The experience of responding to the COVID-19 crisis in many countries around the world has highlighted the inadequate level of preparedness to this type of crisis. As the world copes with the challenges of COVID-19, emergency preparedness and response capacity will become more critical than ever. Countries will need to expand, develop and/or update their emergency plans and response protocols; prepare appropriate policy and legal instruments; improve internal and external coordination and communications mechanisms; improve engagement with local organizations and communities; and mobilize and stock resources, among other things. All of this will require further investments to enhance countries’ disaster risk management frameworks and capacities, alongside investments in the health sector. International support coordination, supply chains, networks and coordination should be considered in strengthening a countries’ preparedness.

Moreover, natural disasters do not halt during a pandemic, and numerous recent crises have highlighted the need to plan for dual emergencies with possible cascading effects. Health system preparedness needs to be closely coordinated with a country’s overall emergency preparedness and response systems. The need is most pronounced in post-disaster situations when multi-sectoral issues have to be addressed simultaneously – including meeting basic needs such as access to clean water, food and shelter, and the provision of essential public services such as protection and security, social safety nets, rescue and (mental) healthcare, inclusive of vulnerable groups. Effective coordination is particularly important at the interface of usually detached systems and agencies; for instance, the way in which first responders (e.g. fire and rescue) coordinate their dispatch and field operations with the capacity of health care facilities will be crucial to enable an effective emergency response.

Over the course of several decades, a large proportion of Emergency Preparedness and Paning (EPP) engagement took place to repeated cycles of crises has been conducted in ad hoc manner by a range of humanitarian and development actors, largely without close FGS and FMS engagement. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (MoHADM) was created in 2016 and is leading the development of a National Humanitarian Strategy and the implementation of the National Disaster Management Policy (NDMP). The FGS is also setting up a National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) led by an inter-ministerial Committee of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and MoHADM. FMS are also beginning to establish disaster mitigation and management systems, despite having limited to no discretionary financing through the member state budgets. The evolving institutional landscape is therefore both complex and often characterized by fragmentation of mandates and divergence across relevant FGS and FMS institutions, although the ongoing constitutional review process aims to clarify and codify coordination arrangements.

Therefore, there is a strong consensus to establish Best Practices for Emergency Preparedness and Planing which will be used to identy (1) existing EPP mechanisims at national and sub-national leves, (2) document challenges faced over the years for implementing EPP, (3) find out lesson learnt and key recommendations to sustain the effectiveness of national interventions addressing emergencies. The document will be developed in consultation with government, donors, and CBO stakeholders while ensuring the participation of the affected community at all stages. This document will be the main reference of development and humanitarian actors to plan their interventions.

Proposed Activities

• By utilizing a mixed-methods design, publicly available quantitative intervention data in Somalia to discern patterns or trends over time and by analyzing underlying socio-cultural and other contextual factors the consultant will develop Best Practices for Emergency Preparedness and Planning within the context of Somalia.
• In line with existing national and international standards effective communication to stakeholders on the nature and scope of a project is vital and a core component for a success story. The consultant is therefore to develop adequate and appropriate Best Practice communication methodology (up-to-date explanatory leaflet, meeting with different social groups, community leaders, youth and women's group etc.)
• The consultant will advise the project on cross-cutting issues and advocate for these issues during the implementation of the Best Practices for Emergency Preparedness and Planning within the context of Somalia that the consultant has developed.
• The lead consultant will be the focal person to maintain the relationship with the project and the MoHADM when required.
• The consultant will oversee the implementation of Best Practices of the Project related to Emergency Preparedness and Planning within the Somalia context.
• The consultant will contribute to the building of the national capacity through need identification, development and implementation of Best Practices for Emergency Preparedness and planning with the Context of Somalia. The consultant will also contribute to the training plan in the area.
• Based on the experiences made in recent, best practice strategies in Somalia and comparable contexts the consultant will structure an innovative and applicable deliverable in the field.
• Conduct regular and frequent coordination meetings with project beneficiaries and other relevant stakeholders.
• Liaise with national and international stakeholders, to improve and ensure that the developed Best Practices are in line with other proven initiatives.
• Engage with other relevant emergency preparedness actors to strengthen the positioning of MoHADM and its mandate.

Methodology

The consultant must undertake advanced methods and consultation sessions to draft the best practices(BP) toolkit to help organisations engaged in disaster risk management interventions and programming. The BP tool for emergency preparedness and planning is a strategic document that provides the essential set of practices performed during emergencies. The tool supports the existing frameworks and strategies including the national disaster management policy, national humanitarian strategy. The consultant will use qualitative data collection tools(FGDs and KIIs) and the desk review tool to cover large segments of data. The following are the key methodological approaches:

1. Inception report: the consultant will prepare this report to provide details of the proposed methods, approaches, tools, team composition and structure, and work plan.
2. Desk Review: The consultant will conduct a comprehensive review of all existing documents, including proposals, relevant literature and other national documents including policies, frameworks and plans. The desk review will collect existing documents, reports and research papers related to all aspects of emergency preparedness and planning in DRM. This will include analysis of public datasets from the government, World Bank and other sources of information.
3. Focus Group Discussion will be held with displacement affected groups and host members; FGDs capture local perceptions, feelings, views and insights of the migrants; they are one of the best ways to gather community data.
4. Key Informant Interviews: KIIs target authorities, international organisations, civil society leaders and other crucial informants. Participants will be identified using direct and purposive approaches.
5. Two Consultation Meetings with Displacement Affected Communities in three disaster prone regions. At least 20 participants from different community members will invited to comment and address their suggestions on

Ethical Consideration

The consultant should come with clear ethical procedures to design the BP Emergency Preparedness and Planning tool. It refers to the provision of training for the enumerators and researchers prior deployments, preserving the other research ethics including confidentiality, impartiality, and independence. The assignment should also outline the conditions of operations during the COVID19. The consultant should also indicate its commitments on gender issues and prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation(PSEA); it is preferred that applicants should send their policies on these issues.

Deliverables

The following are the key deliverables for this assignment:

• Inception report and workplan
• National Emergency Preparedness and Planning Toolkit
• First draft of report
• Presentation of the toolkit and report at the validation workshop event
• Circulating the tool to encourage its usage

The following are the essential requirements:

• The consultant should be legally registered and working in Somalia.
• In-depth knowledge of Somalia in general, FMS regions and Mogadishu environs in particular, and its governance structures.
• Valid Certificate of registration and Tax Compliance Certificate.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting researches in a similar subject. Experience in working in fragile and conflict zones.
• Excellent communication skills (both Somali and English languages)
• Knowledge of Somali government processes, national strategies, national plans for Gender and international frameworks. Knowledge and experience on the issue of state institutions relevancy to Gender and Disaster Risk Management.
• Proven track-record working with government departments and civil society counterparts over the formulation of previous similar research/study documents.

All applications should be sent to [email protected]  Deadline for Applications: 28th Feb 2022 .All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above, and those unable to meet these requirements will not be considered.

Each application package should include the following:

• An application letter addressing how the consultancy companies/firms previous experience matches the requirements for this position. The letter should be no longer than two pages;
• Technical Proposal detailing the proposed activities and work-plan.
• Updated profile for the consultancy company/firm including relevant work experience and qualifications;
• Sample of the previous study that is similar to this study.
• Contact details of at least 3 references that you have been contracted.

Applications not including all of the above information will not be reviewed.

MoHADM is an equal opportunity employer. Female-led consultant companies are highly encouraged to apply.