TBEC is pleased to re-announce a call for expression of interest to analyze the UN Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly in 2020 in the framework of the Challenge Facility for Civil Society (CFCS) grant, provided by Stop TB Partnership.

About TB Europe Coalition (TBEC)

Established in 2009, TBEC is a regional advocacy network of civil society organizations and individuals from across the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe region, comprising Western and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. The network aims to strengthen the role of civil society within the regional response on tuberculosis (TB), and ensure political and financial commitments to end TB. Currently TBEC has more than 200 members from more than 30 countries in the region. In 2017, TBEC was registered as a legal entity in the Netherlands to step up its regional and national advocacy, capacity building and support to country-led TB advocacy initiatives. The TBEC Secretariat is located in Kyiv and is responsible for the coordination, communication, administration, programmatic and policy management of the network.

Background information of the project:

The aim of Challenge Facility for Civil Society (CFCS) grants, provided by the Stop TB Partnership[1], is to transform the TB response so that it is rights-based, gender-transformative, people-centered and accountable. Strengthening community and civil society actors is an ethical and programmatic imperative in this pursuit. 

The CFCS grant for the EECA region supports community and civil society actors at national and regional levels to implement key actions to achieve the targets and commitments made in the Political Declaration on the Fight against TB (Political Declaration on TB) which was endorsed at the UN High-Level Meeting on TB (UN HLM on TB). This Political Declaration on TB was signed by UN member states in 2018 – it lays out a set of clear goals, guidelines and commitments that countries agree to take on and implement to combat TB by 2030. In particular, this concerns improving access to diagnosis and treatment; promotion and protection of human rights and overcoming stigma and discrimination against people with TB; introduction of treatment models focused on peoples’ needs; socio-psychological support for people with TB; support for research and efficient use of financial resources.

The CFCS grant aims to strengthen the engagement and effectiveness of TB affected, community-based entities at national level to progress efforts to identify and overcome human rights and gender barriers to access, and to advance partnerships between civil society and TB affected communities in neighboring countries to strategically contribute to national and regional efforts and reaching the targets of Political Declaration on TB.

The regional project “PRO-ACT TB 2022″, led by TBEC and funded by the Stop TB Partnership Challenge Facility for Civil Society, is focused on the European region (particularly Eastern Europe and Central Asia) to enhance civil society and community coordination and capacity to strategically contribute to national and regional efforts and reaching the targets of Political Declaration on TB. The project addresses the regional and national operational dimensions of the meaningful involvement of affected communities and civil society in the TB response and facilitate learnings between neighboring countries to share evidence on effective approaches of community advocacy for sustainable TB financing and rights-based, gender-equitable and people-centered TB services.

The objective of the assignment:

In 2018, UN member states signed the Political Declaration – a set of clear goals, guidelines and commitments that countries agree to take on and implement to combat TB by 2030. In particular, this concerns improving access to diagnosis and treatment; protection of human rights and overcoming stigma and discrimination against people with TB; introduction of treatment models focused on peoples’ needs; socio-psychological support for people affected by TB; support for research and efficient use of financial resources.

In 2020, an interim UN Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly (UNGA) with the support of WHO is expected.  It will assess how quickly countries are moving towards fulfilling their commitments to achieve the long-term target of “Ending TB” by 2030.

The objectives of this assignment are to analyze the UNGA in 2020, to review how the reflected data aligns with Communities, Rights and Gender – given that there are specific CRG targets and commitments, and to develop guidelines for civil society and affected communities on how to implement UNGA report and the Community Perspective Report recommendations, building on international and national TB policies.

The methodology should  include key informants’ interviews with WHO representatives, Stop TB Partnership, Secretariat of the Accountability Group on TB, National TB Programs (NTPs), a desk review and a survey through developed questionnaire targeting  TB affected communities and civil society in the Eastern Europe (Central Asia) countries (triangulation method should be used).

The scope of work:

Individual Consultant will be expected to:

1. In consultation with the TBEC Secretariat develop the structure / table of contents of the analytical report.
2. Conduct a desk review of the UN Secretary-General’s report, including the following aspects: alignment of provided data with CRG commitments and targets within the UN Political Declaration on TB, social determinants of TB, role of civil society and TB affected communities in TB response, multisectoral engagement mechanisms at the National level, and the use of people-friendly terminology of the report.
3. Develop key information guides with the support of TBEC Secretariat and conduct key informants interview with WHO representatives, Stop TB Partnership, Secretariat of the Accountability Group on TB, NTPs to see how the process of report preparation might be strengthened and how the meaningful engagement of civil society and TB affected communities in the process might be facilitated.
4. Developing a survey (questionnaire) for civil society and TB affected community to identify priorities and way forward advocacy and communication activities to implement recommendations of the UNGA report at the National level.
5. Develop recommendations with a focus on CSOs on how they can operationalize UNGA and the Community Perspective Report recommendations at a country level
6. Finalize the analytical report after comments received from TBEC secretariat, and regional partners.

Expected deliverables of the assignment:

• Draft 3 incorporating STBP feedback

Duration of the assignment and remuneration provisions:

• The work is expected to start after signature of the specific agreement with individual consultant.
• The duration of agreement is November, 2020 – December 31, 2020.
• Payment will be made based on the successful delivery of the submitted report, provision of all deliverables (above mentioned) to TBEC team and revision of report according to comment received from all TB-REP 2.0 partners.
• Remuneration will be paid in US Dollars, so Consultant shall have a USD bank account.
• The Consultant will be responsible for the payment of taxes according to the laws of his(her) country of residence

Conditions:

1. Individual consultants are invited to submit expression of interest for the consultancy services mentioned above.
2. TBEC offers the following type of cooperation:

• Consultancy Agreement with an Individual Consultant/Expert. The Consultant will be responsible for the payment of taxes according to the laws of his(her) country of residence. Remuneration will be paid in US Dollars, so consultant shall have a USD bank account.

3. The contract will be awarded on the competitive basis to a Consultant/Expert with the highest qualifications and meeting all requirements described in Terms of References. Consultant will be evaluated based on the qualifications.
4. Consultancy fee for a given assignment will be based on the cost of the final product and will be negotiated with a Consultant/Expert with the highest evaluation results.
5. Expression of interest should contain the following documents:

• CV with proven experience and qualifications (in English not more than 3 pages).
• Motivation letter (in English not more than 3 pages), clearly describing existing experience around the proposed assignment. Failure to meet these requirements will lead to automatic disqualification of application.

6. All documents for expression of your interest should be submitted electronically to Anna Medvedenko, Administrative Officer, TBEC, at the following address [email protected]
7. The deadline for receipt of your expression of interest: November 13, 2020, 6 PM, Kyiv time. Late proposals will be rejected.
8. Selected candidate will be contacted by November 18, 2020.
9. The evaluation and selection will be conducted through procurement procedures set out in the PRO-ACT TB 2022 grant agreement between TBEC and Stop TB Partnership. Questions regarding procurement procedures as well as other related to the topic of the current request can be addressed to Anna Medvedenko, TBEC Administrative Officer, at [email protected].

Qualification requirements:

Individual Consultant, providing consultancy services, is expected to have a strong background in TB and civil society, as well as good understanding of overall context of the TB programs specific to the country(s) environment.

Consultant should meet the following qualifications:

Experience/Knowledge

• Educational background in public health, health policy epidemiology, public administration and in other relevant fields (or commensurable working experience);
• Demonstrated experience in development of the analytical reports;
• Knowledge and understanding of the national and regional responses to TB, particularly on WHO recommended strategies for people-centred TB care in the WHO Europe region;
• Understanding of TB epidemiology, TB policies and interventions, and health systems in the region;
• Understanding of the policy context in the WHO Europe region, particularly on transition to people-centered models of TB care; communities, rights and gender; and multisectoral accountability processes;
• Familiarity with the civil society and TB affected communities’ actors in the EECA and the country-specific social context they operate in;
• Experience of collaboration with WHO entities, Stop TB partnership and other international organizations and technical agencies;
• Proven experience in developing recommendations for people-centred TB approach and public health interventions;
• Experience of providing consultancy services under regional projects is an asset.

Skills

• Ability to formulate conclusions, and recommendations for strengthening TB prevention, care and control activities and intersectoral cooperation between TB stakeholders;
• Good writing and reporting skills (in English);
• Cultural-sensitive communication skills;
• Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manner;
• Proven ability to meet deadlines.

Languages

• Knowledge of English is required.
• Knowledge of Russian is desirable.