National Media-Level Panel Discussion Consultant

Introduction

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with governments, businesses, and civil society, we aim to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious foods for all people, especially the most vulnerable.

Background

Ethiopia faces both types of undernutrition, macro and micronutrient deficiencies, especially among the most vulnerable group of the population such as children and women in reproductive age groups, which has negatively contributed to the overall productivity and economy of the country. Ethiopia loses 16.5% of its GDP (gross domestic product) annually, which translates to about 55.5 billion birrs.

The Ethiopian government identified directions and implemented including establishing industrial parks and facilitating agricultural processing technologies aiming to address the financial constraints of the country, which hosts several employees where most of them are women of reproductive age. However, 67% of the working-age (15-64) population in Ethiopia are stunted in their childhood and potentially have experienced less productivity. The country has had 1.1B USD and 53M USD losses in manual and nonmanual activities’ productivity as a result.

The Workforce Nutrition project is one of the projects implemented by GAIN in collaboration with employers and relevant government partners, focusing on improving the nutritional status of employees in large-scale companies that accommodate a high number of low-income employees to contribute towards improving the productivity of those employees.

In line with GAIN’s mission, this national media-level panel discussion aims to highlight the critical role of workforce nutrition in boosting national productivity and economic development and explore concrete steps that businesses, governments, and civil society can take to ensure a well-nourished workforce.

 

Objectives of the Panel Discussion:

1. General Objective

The general objective of the assignment is to raise awareness about the significant impacts of nutrition on workforce productivity, focusing on its implications for economic growth.

2. Specific objective

The panel discussion will seek to achieve the following key objectives

• Provide a platform for multi-sectoral dialogue between government agencies, the private sector, civil society, and development partners on improving workforce nutrition.
• Influence policy makers to integrate workforce nutrition into broader economic and labour policies, encouraging investment in nutrition-sensitive interventions for both formal and informal sectors.
• Highlight private sector best practices, demonstrating how businesses can effectively integrate nutrition programs into employee welfare and benefit from improved worker productivity.
• Generate public discourse on the importance of nutrition for overall national development and wellbeing, leveraging the media to amplify the message.
• Identify opportunities for collaboration across sectors, including potential public-private partnerships (PPP) and donor engagement to scale up workforce nutrition programs.

Scope of Work

The selected media partner will be responsible for designing, producing, and broadcasting the discussion on national media. The media partner will be expected to Conceptualize the Panel Discussion, Panellist Selection and Invitation.

Tasks and Responsibilities of the Consultant

• Collaborate with GAIN to develop a comprehensive concept for the panel discussion, ensuring it aligns with the theme: “The Power of Healthy Diets in Productivity and Economic Benefits for Ethiopia.”
• Ensure that the narrative addresses the broader social, economic, and health implications of malnutrition and its impact on Ethiopia’s economic ambitions.
• Work closely with GAIN to identify, invite, and confirm the participation of high-profile panellists from key sectors, including:
  • Government representatives from ministries of labour, health, and economic development.
  • Private sector leaders, particularly from industries with large labour forces, such as manufacturing, agriculture, and hospitality.
  • High Profile Nutrition experts and health professionals with deep knowledge of the links between nutrition and economic performance.
  • International organizations and development partners who are actively engaged in development agenda.
  • Media personalities to act as moderators or guest panellists, ensuring the discussion remains dynamic and engaging for a wide audience.
• Provide full event production services, including but not limited to:
  • Pre-production activities, such as ensuring the relevant participants are involved setting design, camera work, lighting, sound, and video equipment management.
    • Broadcast-quality production for national television and digital platforms, ensuring a high standard of visual and audio clarity.
    • Post-production services, including editing and packaging the panel discussion for rebroadcast or online dissemination.
• Manage all technical aspects of live streaming the event on social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, etc.), and ensure that the live stream is interactive, allowing real-time engagement from viewers.
• Develop a strategy to ensure high levels of audience engagement during the live broadcast.
• Conducting pre-event and post-event media campaigns to raise awareness and sustain interest.
• Design and execute a robust promotional strategy, leveraging multiple platforms to maximize viewership:
  • Three different television (national and regional channels), radio, social media, and print media to create awareness about the event.
    • Create high-quality promotional materials (e.g., trailers, posters, press releases) and manage their distribution.
    • Partner with other media houses, influencers, and public relations experts to extend the reach of the event.
• Monitor audience reach and engagement during the event using a variety of analytics tools.
  • Provide a detailed report on:
• Audience demographics and size, both for live and digital platforms.
• Engagement metrics from social media and other interaction tools.
• Media coverage analysis, including in TV, radio, and print.
  • Submit a final post-event report detailing key insights, lessons learned, and recommendations for future events of similar nature.

Key Discussion Themes

The panel discussion will explore the following themes, emphasizing the nexus between nutrition, workforce performance, and economic growth.

• Nutrition Role in Workforce Productivity
  • How malnutrition (including undernutrition and obesity) impacts physical health, cognitive function, and overall work performance.
  • The cost of malnutrition to businesses in terms of absenteeism, low productivity, and increased healthcare costs.
• Economic Implications of Workforce Malnutrition
  • The macroeconomic impact of malnutrition on Ethiopia’s GDP, productivity levels, and long-term economic potential.
  • Quantifying the economic return on investment for businesses that implement workforce nutrition programs.
• Policy and Legislative Environment for Workforce Nutrition
  • Review existing policies on nutrition, labor, and economic development.
  • Identify gaps and opportunities for policy makers to integrate workforce nutrition into broader economic plans and frameworks.
• The Role of the Private Sector:
  • Highlighting private sector initiatives that have successfully addressed nutrition challenges, such as healthy canteens, employee wellness programs, and workforce nutrition education.
  • Exploring how companies can build nutrition-sensitive practices into their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee benefits programs.
• Scaling Workforce Nutrition Interventions through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs):
  • Discussing innovative financing mechanisms and partnerships to support sustainable workforce nutrition programs.
  • Identifying opportunities for collaboration between the government, private sector, and development partners to drive scale.

Major Deliverables

No	Deliverables	Date Deliverable Due
1	Inception reports with the detailed methodology and flow of the tasks from preparation to post-event tasks are specified.	July, 2025
2	Pre-event promotion of the panel discussion through television (national and regional channels), radio, social media, and print media to create awareness. A well-produced panel discussion that provides actionable insights for both the public and private sectors aired on national television, streamed online, and distributed across various media platforms.	August, 2025
3	Audience interaction tools, including SMS, social media, and live engagement options used during the event.	September, 2025
4	A detailed post-event report with recommendations for future events, including data on media coverage, audience reach, and engagement levels.	December, 2025

Deliverables in depth:

Promotional Campaign

• Targeted promotional campaign across TV, radio, digital, and print to communicate the importance of workforce nutrition in improving productivity. Campaign messaging will be tailored to different media channels.
• • Develop and distribute 10+ promotional materials, including teasers, posters, digital ads, and infographics across channels to create awareness and build excitement ahead of the event.
  • Social media strategy with organic posts, paid ads, and collaborations with influencers to build a buzz about the event and ensure broad visibility across different demographics.
  • Platform-specific content (e.g., video snippets, polls, behind-the-scenes, interviews) will be created to encourage engagement across various channels, targeting different audience segments.
  • Reporting: Provide a pre-event media campaign report detailing the channels used, reach, and engagement levels (e.g., impressions, clicks, shares), including a breakdown of media spend and the effectiveness of different platforms.

Producing panel discussion

• 4+ expert panellists representing key government ministries, private sector leaders, nutrition experts, and international development organizations. This ensures a diverse, credible, and dynamic panel for in-depth discussions.
• • Provide actionable insights that link nutrition to economic benefits for the public and private sectors, demonstrating its importance for national growth and productivity.
  • Use real-world examples from sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and hospitality, including case studies and success stories from industrial parks or flower farms.
  • Include live Q&A and audience participation via SMS, social media, and live call-ins to make the event interactive and accessible to a wide audience.
  • Reporting: Create a panel discussion summary report covering key insights from each panellist, highlighting the major takeaways and actionable recommendations.
• High-quality panel aired on national TV and streamed on at least 3 digital platforms (e.g., YouTube, Facebook), ensuring maximum outreach across diverse audiences.
  • Duration: Each session will last for 90 minutes.
  • Frequency: The panel sessions will be held weekly for two quarters (approximately 6 months), totalling 12 sessions.
  • Reporting: Provide a broadcast quality report with details on technical execution, highlighting any challenges and how they were addressed, alongside audience feedback.
• Use interactive features such as SMS voting, live polls, and question submissions during the panel discussion to keep the audience engaged in real time.
  • Create dedicated social media hashtags for audience members to use when sharing their thoughts and engaging with the discussion, making it easy to track and amplify participation.
  • Develop a dedicated event website for live streaming, chatrooms, and real-time audience feedback to ensure an interactive and engaging experience.
  • Social media takeovers by panellists, influencers, or experts will engage followers before, during, and after the event, driving up interaction and engagement on key platforms like Instagram and Twitter.
  • Reporting: Provide a post-event engagement report showing audience participation in live interactions (e.g., SMS polls, social media comments/questions) and providing insights on how interaction tools impacted audience engagement.
    

    Post-event report

• Provide data on audience demographics (e.g., age, gender, location), viewership stats, and engagement metrics (e.g., likes, shares, comments, live poll results) from social media platforms, TV, and radio.
  • Measure media coverage (e.g., mentions in TV broadcasts, radio segments, online articles) to assess the broader reach and impact of the event.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the promotional campaign, audience engagement tools, and media reach during the event. Analyse the success of the live interaction features and pre-event buzz to determine areas for improvement.
  • Reporting: Submit a comprehensive post-event report that includes data on audience demographics, media coverage, engagement levels, and an analysis of the overall impact. Provide recommendations for future events based on feedback, performance metrics, and media insights.

Responsibilities of GAIN

GAIN will be responsible for following up on the implementation, processing payment for the consultant upon receiving the agreed deliverables and supporting in providing information/data about workforce nutrition and linking the consultant with the relevant government and other partners and individuals participating in the panel.

Reporting line

The Service Provider shall provide a written work status report using the template that will be provided by GAIN, detailing the Services completed, the progress made on the Services to be delivered, the meetings held, and their outcome and the number of days spent per Service to the Workforce Nutrition Senior Project Manager.

1. Interested and eligible firms with more a minimum of 5 to 7 years of relevant experience with renewed Trade License, VAT Registration Certificate and TIN Certificate.

• Proven experience in media production and managing national-level events with multi-stakeholder participation.
• Demonstrated ability to execute comprehensive media campaigns across diverse platforms (TV, radio, online).
• Expertise in producing high-quality panel discussions on public health, economic development, or similar themes.
• Strong partnerships with national media outlets for maximum outreach.