Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Development of Technical Assistance Guideline for Disability Mainstreaming in Health Programs

Organizational Background

Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD) is an Ethiopian Development Organization established in 2005 and registered at Agency for Civil Society Organizations as Ethiopian Development Organization with Certificate no. 0321 under the Proc. No. 1113/2019.

ECDD is working with other organizations to promote and facilitate the inclusion of persons with disabilities and disability issues in mainstream service delivery and development programs envisioning an Inclusive Ethiopia where persons with disabilities exercise the same rights and have access to the same services and opportunities enjoyed by other citizens.

The Yene Raey project aims to ensure that children, adolescents, and youth have control over their bodies and future in a healthy, safe, and supportive environment within the intervention areas. The project is implemented by ECDD with funding from Plan Finland National Office (FLNO), while Plan International Ethiopia serves as the lead donor. Yene Raey is carried out in the Amhara Operational Area (AOA) across two districts: Fagita Lakuma district in Awi zone and Bahir Dar Zuria district in North Gojam Zone. In the Oromia Program Area (OPA), the project operates in Kersa district of Jimma zone.The project follows a consortium-based approach with implementation partners, including the Family Guidance Association-Ethiopia (FGA-E), the Professional Alliance for Development (PADet), and Plan International Ethiopia (PI-E).

ECDD is seeking a professional consultancy firm/company to develop a Technical Assistance Manual for Disability Mainstreaming in Health Programs. Technical Assistance (TA) for organizations on disability mainstreaming plays a critical role in supporting the inclusion of persons with disabilities and their issues into their policies, practices, and programs by providing specialized expertise and guidance to organizations. The development of the Technical Assistance guideline is required to address the gaps in knowledge and skills in relation to mainstreaming of disability issues in the designing and implementation of health-related programs. This guideline will serve as a framework to enhance disability inclusion within the Yene Raey project and other health-focused projects and programs in the future. The guideline further aims to build the capacity of healthcare providers and implement partners to deliver inclusive health services. Additionally, it will support stakeholders in their efforts to strengthen disability inclusion across health programs. By ensuring accessibility and equity in health services, the guidelines will contribute to a more inclusive healthcare system for persons with disabilities in the country.

Purpose of the Guideline

The purpose of this Guideline is to create a consistent project-wide understanding of the basic concepts related to disability, the provisions of international conventions, treaties and domestic laws, and promotion of disability-inclusive supports and services specific to health focused programs and projects. In doing so, the guidelines provide overall guidance on how to maintain disability throughout a given health focused Project/programs cycle management and health services. This guideline can also be used to monitor and evaluate whether the Yene Raey project successfully includes persons with disabilities.

Scope of the Guideline

The Guideline should provide comprehensive guidance on key components including training on disability inclusion awareness and rights, conducting disability audits, developing inclusive policies and procedures, and mainstreaming disability issues in program design and implementation. The specific elements of the guideline include:

Capacity Building

• Training: The TA guideline should provide guidance on how to build the capacity of the organization/IPs through training, content tailored to the needs of various organizations or IPs and delivery methodology of the training. The content of the training must ensure that organizations are equipped to address the needs of persons with disabilities.
• Disability Audits: The TA Guideline should consist detailed step-by-step guidance on how to conduct audits to assess an organization’s accessibility and inclusivity in terms of policies, practices and adherence to disability-related laws and regulations.

Policy and Program Development

• Developing Inclusive Policies and Practices: The TA guidline should enable ECDD to mentor organizations in developing disability inclusive policies, procedures, practices and programs ensuring equal opportunities and access to services. The manual should provide an exhaustive list of policies and procedures required to make the organization disability inclusive and real-world examples.
• Mainstreaming Disability: The TA guldline should support ECDD to provide advisory services on how organizations can integrate disability mainstreaming into their overall strategic planning, budgeting, program development and implementation, provisions of services and MEL.
• Identifying and Addressing Disability-Specific Needs: The TA guideline should guide ECDD on how to build the capacity of the organization on identifying the specific needs of persons with disabilities and tailoring programs and services accordingly.
• Advocacy and Influence: The TA guideline should incorporate content on advocacy and lobbying methodologies and policy influencing strategies enabling ECDD to provide appropriate support for organizations in advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities and influencing policy development processes.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: The guideline should enable ECDD to support organizations in designing monitoring and evaluation systems or tools that measure the progresses made and areas of improvements in their disability mainstreaming initiatives.

Objectives of the Guideline

• To strengthen the capacity of health service implementers to design, plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate inclusive health services that are responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities.
• To provide practical tools and strategies for identifying and addressing physical, communication, attitudinal, and systemic barriers faced by persons with disabilities in accessing health services.
• To promote the application of disability-inclusive approaches in health policies, programs, and service delivery in alignment with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and national disability and health strategies.
• To ensure meaningful participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations (OPDs) in all stages of health project implementation, including planning, decision-making, and evaluation.
• To standardize inclusive practices across health programs by offering technical guidance that aligns with international best practices and promotes equity, non-discrimination, and universal health coverage.
• To support data collection and analysis systems that are inclusive of disability-disaggregated data, ensuring evidence-based planning and evaluation of inclusive health services.
• To foster intersectoral collaboration among health, disability, social protection, and community stakeholders to promote comprehensive and sustainable inclusive health services.

Target groups

• Persons with disabilities and their organization (OPDs).
• Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs)
• Civil Society Organization (CSOs)
• Government, specific to health sector
• Yene Raey Project Partners

Qualification of the Consultant

Consultancy firms, companies, or consultant professionals with the following competencies, skills, and capacities are eligible to apply for this short-term consultancy service:

• Extensive knowledge and experience in developing health and disability related guidelines, manuals, and other similar documents
• Strong background and experience in training manual development, directly or indirectly related disability inclusive health service.
• Proven expertise in working with organizations of persons with disabilities, specifically addressing barriers to inclusive health service for persons with disabilities.
• Valid license and VAT certificate as required.
• Commitment to meeting deadlines, with sufficient resources and a professional team to manage logistical arrangements effectively.
• Consultancy firms or consultants with disabilities are highly encouraged to bid

2. Duration of assignment

The consultant is expected to deliver the final guidelines within 1 month of signing the consultancy contract.

Deliverables

The consultant shall perform the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Inception Report: Detail the proposed methodology, data collection tools, and work plan.
• Desk Review: Conduct a review of existing national and international resources in the area and share a list of referenced and studied resources.
• Stakeholder Interviews: Supplement the desk review with interviews to gather stakeholders’ expectations regarding the guideline.
• Technical and Financial Proposal: Provide a detailed technical proposal (outlining applicable methodologies) along with a financial proposal.
• Final Training Manual: Develop a comprehensive Disability Inclusive Health Service Technical Guideline that meets all required content and quality standards.

Roles and responsibilities of both parties

1. ECDD:

• Consult the firm/professional consultant and provide input at all stages of the process, as necessary
• Monitor the whole process of the technical guideline development stages
• Provide all the necessary support to the realization of the technical guideline development as per the contractual agreement
• Pay the agreed amount of remuneration to the contracting firm, deducting income taxes

2. Consultancy firm:

• Ensure that all processes are ethically sound (e.g., abiding by the Safeguarding Policy of ECDD and obtaining written consent from participants/persons with disabilities involved in manual development).
• Ensure that adequate and qualified professionals are engaged throughout the program.
• Seek feedback and incorporate it into the final technical guideline.
• Submit the draft technical guideline to ECDD for constructive comments.
• Review and edit the feedback from ECDD, then submit the final technical guideline in both soft and hard copies.
• Submit the final technical guideline

Mode of Payment

• 40% upon signing of the contract and submission of an inception report
• 60% upon satisfactory completion and delivery of all the deliverables and acceptance by ECDD.

Selection Criteria

The Technical and Financial Proposals will account for 70% and 30% respectively of the selection criteria, broken down as follows:

CRITERIA	SCORES
TECHNICAL PROPOSAL:
Experience related to the task	30%
Qualifications of team member(s)	10%
Disability Inclusion experience	20%
Methodology	10%
FINANCIAL PROPOSAL	30%
Total	100%

 

Time Schedule

No.	Activity/Sub-activity	Time
1.	Submit a detailed Inception Report	5 days after signing the contract
2.	Submit draft technical guideline	20 days after signing the contract
3.	Submit the final technical guideline	30 days after signing the contract

Mode of Payment

• In ETB via bank transfer or Cheque payment.