CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR CONSULTANCY

RE: CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR CONSULTANCY

Evaluation of Yezingane Network

Save the Children Sweden hereby invites submission of proposals for the supply of consultancy services to undertake and evaluation to assess and analyse the impact of Yezingane Network as well as the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of  Save the Children support to Yezingane Network.

Interested applicants should submit a proposal which includes the following:

1.    Description of company/organisational profile

2.    Previous relevant experience – listing previous relevant projects and role

3.    CVs of professionals who will be undertaking the consultancy

4.    Contact details

5.    Particulars of three references

6.    Implementation schedule and budget in ZAR (South African Rands) equivalent indicating the daily fee, including all costs relating to the consultancy services.

Submission of proposals

Proposals should be addressed to Velephi Riba, Children’s Rights and HIV and AIDS, Save the Children, Southern Africa Regional Office at velephir@saf.savethechildren.se and copied to yollandas@saf.savethechildren.se

The deadline for the receipt of proposals is 27 July 2012 at 14h00 and will be valid until 30 July 2012 June at 16h00. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

 

Terms of Reference

Title:	Evaluation of Yezingane Network
Project:		Ref:
Date of issue:	18 July 2012	Time period:	August - September 2012

Background

The Southern Africa Regional office for Save the Children Sweden has cooperated with the Children’s Right Centre in Durban from 2007 as secretariat of Yezingane Network to support the network’s coordination, capacity building, engagement and advocacy of and with its members on children’s rights and HIV and AIDS in South Africa.

With the above support from Save the Children and from other donors, the network has worked in its capacity as the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC)’s civil society children’s sector to mobilise and coordinate its members for meaningful and effective engagement and advocacy within SANAC structures and processes in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of national HIV policies, strategies and plans in South Africa. Specifically it has worked to support implementation and monitoring of South Africa’s National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS; to improve the effectiveness and cohesion of civil society engagement on issues affecting children in the context of HIV and AIDS, to strengthen and sustain civil society platforms and their engagement in other children’s rights advocacy forums as well as to develop and implement child participation approaches and practice in relation to the implementation and monitoring of South Africa’s National Strategic Plan.

Save the Children’s cooperation from 2009 has had key focus on introducing children’s rights in relation to sexual and reproductive health and their rights to comprehensive sexuality education to support effective HIV prevention.

In the second half of 2011 Save the Children informed the network of Save the Children having embarked on global organisational changes that would affect the management of its operations at both regional and national levels during the course of 2012.  Formal discussions were initiated with Yezingane Network to explore and discuss future support within this new framework.

Purpose

Save the Children requires a consultant to review and assess Yezingane Network’s leadership and contributions to national engagements and advocacy as champion and defender of children’s rights and HIV and AIDS in South Africa. The evaluation should identify, analyse, discuss and make recommendations, including on Yezingane Network’s structures, operations and processes, for Save the Children support in South Africa. 

 

Scope of Work

1.    Evaluation assessment

1.1 Impact: To analyse and identify the impact achieved by the network in relation to the 2009-2012 cooperation project.  What are the policy changes that Save the Children Sweden supports through Yezingane Network achieved for children in South Africa so far?

• Regarding the cooperation’s objectives and expected annual outcomes 
• Regarding how the network has involved and engaged children in Yezingane Network activities and processes and whether it has made a difference in the lives of children in South Africa

1.2 Relevance:  Are the objectives of the support by Save the Children Sweden to Yezingane Network relevant to Save the Children Sweden strategy in South/ern Africa? Is this what Save the Children Sweden should be doing to make a difference to children lives in South Africa?

1.3 Efficiency: Is the partnership with the Children’s Rights Centre as Yezingane Network secretariat cost effective and efficient? Are there other and better options to improve the efficiency of our support to Yezingane Network with or without the Children’s Rights Centre partnership?

1.4 Effectiveness:  To assess whether the network offers the best mechanism for national advocacy on these issues of children’s rights and HIV and AIDS for children in South Africa. Is the support to Yezingane Network the best way of achieving Save the Children advocacy objectives for children in South Africa?  Has Save the Children voice and representation on behalf of children in South Africa been heard or is there a better way of making this representation more effective?

1.5 Sustainability:  Is Save the Children Sweden work with Yezingane Network sustainable? Does this achievement so far have long-term positive effect on children in South Africa?

2.    Preparation, drafting and presentation of evaluation report

Questions about HIV and AIDS terminology should be resolved by the January 2011 UNAIDS Terminology Guidelines available at http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/document/2011/jc1336_unaids_terminology_guide_en.pdf .

Duration

The assignment is to be carried out between August and September 2012 with a final report submitted by not later than 14 September 2012.

Deliverables and Timeframes:

Deliverables should be submitted in electronic format and in hard copy.

• Comprehensive workplan and budget-within 3 days of signing
• Draft and final evaluation reports, maximum 20 pages, excluding appendices
• Presentation of draft findings and recommendations to Save the Children in Pretoria on 7 September 2012
• Final report incorporating comments and feedback from Save the Children
• Specific timelines will be agreed with the selected consultant to be stipulated in the consultancy contract.

Budget and fees

• The consultant will be responsible for payment of all taxes and own travel within South Africa.
• The consultant will not be entitled to claim per diem for travel within and outside of South Africa

Competencies

• Interested individuals and institutions should include personnel with the following qualifications:
• Expert knowledge and practical experience in conducting network or organisational evaluations. Specific knowledge of civil society networks and their operations would be an advantage
• Excellent analytical skills
• Fluency and proficiency in written and spoken English
• Ability to travel within South Africa and to communicate with individuals.

Deadline for submission of applications

Friday 27 July at 14h00

Interested applicants should submit their bids to velephir@saf.savethechildren.se copied to yollandas@saf.savethechildren.se . Applicants should submit their bids in ZAR equivalent indicating the daily fee inclusive of all costs for undertaking the assignment.

What is the draft constitution promising for children in Zambia

The Media Network on Child Rights and Development hosted a discussion forum looking at the Draft Constitution and its provisions for children today, 5 June. The event was held at the Taj Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka and was attended by various players including children.

The different speakers presented their views on the provisions of the draft constitution, identified gaps,  proposed amendments in some areas and identified new issues that have been omitted. The speaker from the Human Rights Commission of Zambia noted that Article 55 of the draft constitution (which looks at children) falls short in a number of areas. He pointed out that it proposes that education should be free but there are user fees for pupils – that is not free. He emphasized that education must be easily accessible to children and proper infrastructure must be in place. There are health facilities but there is a need for services dedicated to children above five years. These could be allocated within existing facilities.

The draft constitution talks about the abolishment of corporal punishment. The feeling was that this needs to be strengthened by other clauses within the constitution and legislation e.g. how is assault dealt with. There was a concern with the clause that talks about the protection of children who come in contact with the law. The current situation is that children stay in prison with their mothers who committed offenses. The welfare of these children is not provided for under laws guiding prisons. The recommendation was that these children should not be exposed to these environments beyond 48 hours.

At the moment Zambia is in the process of amending its legislation regarding refugees which leans towards repatriation of people most of which have been staying in Zambia for over 60 years in the case of one man. Most refugees do not have access to many services as they are not citizens. The current draft constitution is silent on the rights of refugee children. It does not make any pronouncements about their protection or rights. A recommendation was made that children born before the draft constitution is effective or those who are already in the country on refugee status should be made residents if they so wish and or should have full access to all services like any other child in the country.

 There were also concerns raised about the ‘age girls can marry’. The majority of the participants felt that the constitution should encourage children to stay at school. Some people felt that when certain things are discussed and legislation developed, customary law is not taken into consideration. In rural areas children are married off at a young age and that is considered normal. Its good to have a progressive constitution, but the state needs to find ways of enforcing the law and make sure that society at large implements its provisions. The general view was that the draft constitution makes provisions for the protection of children. There are however concerns that this is too general and not substantiated e.g. it notes that children on the streets are entitled to state protection (while it should be addressing that they should not be in the streets I the first place).

It was pointed out that there are a number of international conventions and protocols that Zambia is party to. The government needs to find a way of domesticating the tools that are available like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). Some of the children felt that there has been no involvement of children in the review of the constitution. They felt that the draft constitution should be available in local languages not just English. The provisions on children should be linked to the UNCRC and the ACRWC. They pointed out that the protection of children is very vague especially the re-entry into school of girls who got pregnant. The protection of children from harmful content is not mentioned in the document. It is actually silent on asking the media to provide content for children.

MNCRD is planning more similar events on various issues affecting children.

SADC Regional Child Rights Reference Group meeting

The Regional Child Rights Reference Group (CRRG) is having its planning meeting in Pretoria on 31 May and 1 June 2012. Participants for the meeting are drawn from Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar and Lesotho. The objectives of the meeting are:

1. To develop the CRRG governance structure and mode of operations.
2. Develop advocacy and implementation plan for year 1. i.e. roll out of SADC minimum package of basic services for children
3. To discuss how to take forward the resolutions made in November 2011 during the Child Rights Conference.

The first day of the meeting is looking at the role of the CRRG. It is also to understand what is happening at country level. The discussions are very engaging and participation is high. In order for the network to function properly a number of questions were raised. These also helped in understanding the scope of its work. Some of the issues discussed and raiuse include: What networks exist, what is their status, the differences across countries and what is the understanding of ‘making a change in the children’s lives’? What is contained in the policy, budgets and operations of countries in relation to children? Who is involved in the process? Are the available resources accessible to those who implement programmes on the ground? What do we understand about minimum package?

The issue of child participation was discussed at length. The concern was: How do we ensure meaningful participation of children. Questions were asked: What is child participation? Does having children in a meeting constitute participation? How do we ensure that children are involved at local level? How do we solicit children’s views, voices and opinions? Is it easier to have children participate at national level so that their input is considered at regional level? Do we need parallel sessions for children?

The following resolutions were agreed to after amendments made during the plenary discussion of the 2011 conference:

   

1. Recognising that children’s rights will be realised by the active participation and contributions of all stakeholders, the conference resolves that civil society will collaborate and continuously engage with children and government and other regional & continental bodies, including but not limited to, SADC Secretariat, SADC Parliamentary Forum, African Union, the United Nations and the private sector.
2. Further noting the imperative of child participation in matters that affect them, the conference resolves to involve children in the regional child rights reference group, support their own initiatives and ensure that their views and voices are heard and considered.
3. The conference resolves to call upon governments in the region to do everything within their means and powers to support the realisation of child rights, particularly promoting the full implementation of the SADC Minimum Package of Basic Services for Children, African Charter on the Rights & Welfare of the Child and the UNCRC and its protocols.
4. Mindful of the need to monitor progress towards the realisation of children’s rights, the conference resolves that civil society and governments should work together in ensuring that country progress and monitoring reports are submitted to regional and international treaty bodies and recommendations are acted upon.
5. In order to implement conference outcomes and promote the co-ordination of children’s activities in the Southern African region, the conference established an interim civil society regional child rights reference group whose interim secretariat shall be Save the Children working with the SADC Council of NGOs.
6. The conference resolves that delegates will return home and consult with relevant stakeholders working with children in order to identify a representative to serve on the civil society Child Rights Reference Group and to ensure the involvement of these stakeholders in meaningful activity to advance child rights.
7. The conference acknowledges that in order to fulfill due process, focal people have been nominated from each country in order to take forward the process of establishing a regional child rights reference group.

Save the Children South Africa supports Government’s call to work together to protect children by investing in them

On Sunday the 27^th of May, President Jacob Zuma launched Child Protection Week in Galeshewe Kimberley and called on Government, Civil Society and Business to work together to protect children. Twelve million children out of a child population of 18 million are living in poverty in South Africa. This together with the high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, alarming incidences of violence against children and enduring levels of inequity make too many South African children vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation. “This is unacceptable” says Neven Hendricks, Chairperson of the Board of Save the Children South Africa. “Every child in South Africa has the right to develop to their full potential and must be protected against all forms of abuse, hunger and illness. Save the Children welcomes the call to work together with Government and other partners to protect children. I also urge us all not only to commit to the protection of our children but also to invest them. They are after all our greatest resource.” Social protection for children can be achieved by making sure all vulnerable children receive social security and can access social services to make sure children are free from hunger and violence. Investing in children takes this further by linking social security to adequate nutrition and healthcare and helping children to access a quality education.

The Child Support Grant is the most comprehensive poverty alleviation programme that has been embarked on in recent years by the State in South Africa. Research has demonstrated the positive link between grant access and the well being of the child as measured by improved nutrition, school attendance and access to health. Save the Children congratulates the Government of South Africa for reaching 10.3 million vulnerable children with the Child Support Grant. However two million or 17% of eligible children are not reached this is largely due to a lack of documentation such as birth certificates for children and identity documents for caregivers The Child Support Grant is the foundation to social security but must be part of a comprehensive package that will be able to protect poor children and their families together with social service interventions, particularly focusing on the restoration of the family and access to quality health and education. Additionally, the issue of violence against children must be addressed. Violence against children in schools and communities poses a real threat to their development and denies children the protection they deserve and the opportunity to fulfil their potential. This is unacceptable.

During this Child Protection week Save the Children in South Africa takes this opportunity to reassure the Government of its commitment to support them in their continuing efforts to fulfill the rights of all children in this country.

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For more information please contact:

Karen Allan, Advocacy and Communications Advisor, Save the Children UK

Call: +27 (0)12 430 7775

Email: kallan@savethechildren.org.za

SOUTH AFRICA DROPS IN WORLD RANKING AS BEST PLACE TO BE A MOTHER

ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT FROM SAVE THE CHILDREN

JOHANNESBURG Save the Children’s thirteenth State of the World’s Mothers report states that South Africa has slipped quite dramatically from a ranking of 19 in 2011 to a ranking of 33 in 2012, on a listing of about 80 less developed countries around the world[i] – showing that South Africa is no longer such a good place to become a mother. The ranking looks at factors such as mother’s health, education and economic status, as well as critical child indicators such as health and nutrition. The report also shows that Niger is the worst place to be a mother in the world, replacing Afghanistan for the first time in two years. Norway comes in at first place.

The slip in rankings for South Africa is largely due to its slipping performance relative to other countries on a number of indicators[ii]:  

The Good News

• Women hold 41 percent of parliamentary seats- the 5th highest share in the world
•  60 % of women are using a modern method of contraception.
•  90% of births are attended by skilled health personnel.
• South Africa does a good job of getting children into primary and secondary school, with gross enrollment ratios of 102 and 94, respectively.
• Girls can expect to receive 12 years of formal education.

The Bad News

• A girl can expect to live, on average, only to 54 years old – that’s the 5th lowest female life expectancy amongst the less developed countries. In fact, this is on par with or worse than many of the least developed countries in the world.
• Tragically, 1 woman in 100 will die from a pregnancy-related cause.
• At 57 under-5 deaths per 1,000 live births, 1 child in 18 will not live to see his/her fifth birthday
• Nearly 1 child in 10 (9%) is underweight for age.
• Nearly 10% (9%) of the population lacks access to safe drinking water
• Women earn only 60 cents for every dollar earned by men

The slip in ranking calls for a host of measures to improve the range of indicators listed under ‘the bad news ’ including better quality of obstetric care, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV and treatment of women with HIV, newborn care and exclusive breastfeeding, and combating under-nutrition and anemia for mothers.

New research for the State of the World’s Mothers Report, Save the Children found that the simple measure of supporting mums to breastfeed could save up to one million children's lives a year, globally. Only 8% of South African mums breastfeed – this is amongst the lowest rates in the world, and almost the same as Somalia at 9%. Dr. Joy Lawn of Save the Children says, ‘If the government and non-state actors had to together push a single strategy that would rapidly improve South Africa’s child mortality, we would recommend ensuring that, along with PMTCT strategies, babies are breastfed exclusively up to 6 months of age.’ Save the Children also advocates that breastfeeding counseling skills are a core part of health workers’ roles, especially at the community level. Several African countries have recently increased the percentage of babies exclusively breastfeeding to 6 months – for example in Ghana this is now at 63%, eight times higher than in South Africa.

Save the Children is working in South Africa to ensure that infants are exclusively breastfed, even when the mother is infected with HIV. “South Africa now has a great government policy on the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV that promotes breastfeeding,” says Dr. Joy Lawn of Save the Children, but infected mothers continue to believe that they should not breastfeed for fear that they will pass on the infection to their babies. “With the right treatment of antiretroviral (ARVs) breastfeeding is safe – and recommended because it protects the baby from a host of other infections, especially in areas where due to a lack of access to sanitation and clean water, for instance, the risk of diarrhea and other diseases is high.” Children not properly breastfed are also at risk of being short for their age (stunting), which is about 18-24% in South Africa despite relatively high income levels.

South Africa has the potential and the opportunity to do better for our mothers and children. On this mothers’ day, we need focus on going in the right direction, not slipping further.

Individuals wanting to join EVERY ONE, Save the Children’s Newborn and Child Survival campaign, can visit www.savethechildren.net and sign our petition to help world leaders commit to saving children's lives. This website will also host the charity’s live interactive video conference discussing Motherhood on the 8^th of May with high-profile Global Mothers.

For more information, a full copy of the State of the World’s Mothers’ report and interviews, please contact Ms. Lesego Mongale from INZALO COMMUNICATIONS on Tel: +27 11 646 9992; Fax: +27 11 646 9938; Cell: +27 73 266 6025.

ENDS

Notes to the Editors

·         One in 4 (24%) children under age 5 are stunted which is a high enough percentage to be a public health concern. Thus, South Africa is home to over 1 million stunted children, i.e. an estimated 1.2 million. This is related to both HIV/AIDS and to undernutrition and both need to be tackled urgently. 

·         South Africa is identified as a country which is underperforming relative to their national wealth[iii].  Although the country’s stunting rate is lower than that found in some other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including its regional neighbours[iv], it is much higher than that found in countries with a similar level of national wealth i.e. relative to its income peers like Bulgaria & Montenegro, both under 10%, and Romania, 13%[v].

·         The poorest South African children tend to have the poorest dietary quality, and the wealthiest children are almost three times as likely to consume meat, milk and other high quality foods, as the poorest children.

·         Although 61% of South African infants are put to the breast within one hour of birth ( i.e."good" coverage, according to WHO performance thresholds), only 8% of mothers are exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months, less than half (49%) of all infants are introduced to complementary foods on time and less than 1 in 3 (31%) infants are still receiving any breast milk at 2 years of age. This is similar to Somalia (9%). The only African countries with lower rates are Chad, Cote D’Ivoire and Gabon.

·         South Africa’s high infant, child and maternal mortality is to AIDS, in addition to birth complications and newborn conditions, as well as malnutrition, etc. In fact, there are 5.2 million people living with AIDS – which is 10% of the population.

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[i] The State of the World’s Mothers report compares three tiers of countries: Tier 1 are 43 more developed countries, Tier 2 are 81 less developed countries, of which South Africa is a part, and Tier 3 are forty least developed countries. [i]  We acknowledge that eachcountry has different development contexts.

[ii] Country performance on indicators for 2011 and 2012 are available on request, for comparison.

[iii] See page 20 of the State of the World’s Mothers Report 2012.

[iv]  E.g. 58% in Burundi, 39% Lesotho, 32% in Zimbabwe, 31% Botswana, 30% Namibia.

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Media monitoring training for children

A two day workshop on media monitoring is taking place on 16 and 17 April at Pelican Park Primary in Grassy Park, Cape Town. The workshop is attended by grade seven pupils from the school. The focus of the training is twofold: The first part looks at human rights, children rights and how they relate to the media. It also introduces the project to the children. The second part is about how news media work, how media can either promote or violate children’s rights in the way they report stories on children and how to do media monitoring.

In one of the exercises, children were asked to identify in pictures what they think are key problems facing children in South Africa. Issues that came up from group presentations include: substance abuse – children introduced to alcohol and drugs by other children and by parents, physical abuse, child neglect, teen pregnancy, child prostitution, rape, HIV AIDS, poverty, homelessness, children not heard, verbal and emotional abuse. They also identified what rights are affected by the problems. These were: the right to safety and protection, freedom of speech, right to shelter, health and access to education or school.

This activity is part of the Children and the Media programme which is implemented in South Africa and Zambia. In South Africa children in Cape Town and Johannesburg participate in the programme. The media monitoring is done by primary school children. Mrs Dudley, a teacher at the school, indicated that the children who participated in the programme in 2011 improved in their writing skills, their confidence levels had improved and also the way they communicate has changed. She noted that some of the new children in the 2012 group showed interest after interacting with the 2011 group.

The aim of the programme is to empower the media to utilise a rights-based approach towards reporting on stories involving children which will contribute towards the media’s positive portrayal of children. Assisting and encouraging media to provide spaces and support for children to express themselves and communicate their opinions through initiatives such as media monitoring of children in the news and how they are portrayed and these activities are carried out by children, adults and the civil society. The project also aims to build the media’s skills on children’s rights and reporting on children, through workshops, use of reporting guidelines and ongoing media monitoring.

The outcome of this project is that: Southern Africa society increasingly responsive to children’s rights. The main result for this area is an improvement in the coverage of children’s issues by the mainstream media. The number of articles posted on children, the quality of the articles, the voices of the children in the media and monitoring reports shared with the media on the quality of the reporting will be indicators. The programme is funded by the European Union.