A: ACTION AGAINST HUNGER AT GLANCE
Action Against Hunger is the world’s hunger specialist and a nonprofit leader in a global movement that aims to end life-threatening hunger for good. For over 40 years, the humanitarian organization has innovated better ways to treat and prevent hunger. It serves more than 21 million people annually across nearly 50 countries – with 6 countries within the Horn and Eastern Africa Region including Tanzania. In Tanzania, the organization was established in 2015, and has been intervening the areas of nutrition and health in Dodoma and Singida region supporting implementation of the National Multi-sectoral Nutrition Action Plan in close association with the Ministry of Health, PO-RALG and other sector ministries as well as local government authorities.
BACKGROUND
1.1 Country Background
Undernutrition and malnutrition among women of reproductive age (WRA), pregnant and lactating women (PLW), adolescent girls and children U5 is disproportionately high in the target districts of Bahi and Itigi due to a combination of community-based and systemic challenges rooted in gender inequality and discriminatory gender norms. The factors contributing to poor nutrition outcomes, include poor dietary diversity and sub-optimal Maternal, Infant, Young Child and Adolescent nutrition (MIYCAN) practices, open defecation and poor hygiene practices, household food insecurity, inadequate crop management and agricultural practices and discriminatory attitudes among health care providers cannot be adequately addressed without challenging the discriminatory gender norms that underpin and sustain poor nutrition practices leading to poor health.
Tanzania: The Tanzanian National Nutrition Survey (TNNS), supported by findings of Action Against Hunger (AAH) field level consultations (2017&2022) with local stakeholders and WRA, PLW and adolescent girls in the two districts show a high prevalence of stunting: Itigi 31.7% boys and 27.8% girls, and Bahi 36.9% boys and 37.5% girls with the national average at 32%. In addition, both districts report high rates of wasting: Itigi 5.7% boys and 4.6% girls and Bahi 4.3% boys and 3.2% girls, with the national average at 4% (TNNS 2018, USAID, 2021). Exclusive breast feeding (EBF) is low at only 47.7% of infants under 6 months. Only 35% of children in Bahi and 10% in Itigi are reported to consume complimentary foods that meet minimum dietary diversity and anemia among WRG is 17% in Igiti and 24.3% in Bahi (TNNS, 2018). Furthermore, Tanzania National Health Sector Service Plan V (HSSPV, 2020-2025) identifies persistent inequalities in rural vs. urban nutrition and health indicators, with rural areas requiring urgent attention. For the period November 2021 to September 2022, Bahi and Itigi districts were classified as IPC Acute Malnutrition Phase 2 (stressed) whereby many households face seasonal food shortages or continuous scarcities that contribute to acute malnutrition and stunting. The districts are also reported to have high rates of adolescent pregnancy, driven by unmet SRH needs, which are in turn linked to poor nutritional outcomes for newborns.
Following the membership in the Scaling Up Nutrition global initiative, Tanzania developed national multi-sectoral nutrition action plans to reduce malnutrition among women, children and adolescents through life cycle approach. However, the government has not matched her commitments with action. In most sub-national plans, approved budgets allocations either remain un-disbursed or diverted to other issues. This project seeks to improve and sustain nutrition outcomes for the most marginalized women, adolescent girls and children in Bahi and Itigi DC in Tanzania through comprehensive and integrated nutrition-specific and nutrition-determining strategies targeting individuals, communities, health service providers, and the broader health system.
Adopting a gender-transformative approach at every stage, the project will address gender-based power imbalances, challenge harmful gender norms and practices, and empower women and adolescent girls to control the factors that influence their own, and their children’s nutrition, with the support and partnership of male power holders and government decision makers. As such, all nutrition, food security, WASH and Health Systems Strengthening programming is based on a thorough analysis of gendered roles, responsibilities, inequities and vulnerabilities, with women and adolescent girls as key informants and partners for change.
The project will contribute to lasting improvements in nutrition, particularly among PLW, adolescents girls and children U5 through the adoption of optimal MIYCAN practices, improved capacity on management of acute malnutrition, increased production of nutrient-rich foods using climate-smart agriculture, increased uptake of WASH practices that support improved nutrition, strengthened delivery of gender-responsive integrated health and nutrition services and improved effectiveness and accountability of the health system to work, design, fund and deliver quality health and nutrition programs and services in collaboration with local feminist organizations.
1.2 Project Overview
Gender Equitable Nutrition in Tanzania and Uganda (GENTU) Project is a 5-years grant funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The ultimate goal of the project is to improve nutrition for the poorest and most marginalized, especially women, adolescent girls, and children in Bahi and Itigi DC in Tanzania” through the adoption of a multi-sector, gender-transformative, human rights based approach that addresses the key determinants of malnutrition through WASH interventions, Climate Smart Agriculture initiatives and health system strengthening. Working at multiple levels simultaneously, Action Against Hunger will address the individual, collective, and structural factors that impact the nutrition of women, adolescent girls and children.
To make such impact, the program focuses on three interconnected intermediate outcomes; (Intermediate Outcome 1100) Improved gender-transformative nutrition practices among pregnant and lactating women, children under 5 and adolescent girls in target districts; (Intermediate Outcome 1200) Strengthened delivery and utilization of quality gender-equitable integrated nutrition and health services for the poorest and most marginalized, especially women, adolescent girls, and children in target districts; and (Intermediate Outcome 1300) Improved coordination and effectiveness of gender-focused NGOs and government stakeholders to provide community-based, nutrition-specific initiatives for women, adolescent girls, and children in target districts.
Intermediate Outcome 1100 will contribute to community members’ empowerment, particularly PLW and adolescent girls, to adopt optimal nutrition practices, including those related to gender-responsive MIYCAN and management of malnutrition. Malnutrition will also be tackled in part by improving gender-responsive WASH practices and by scaling up women’s capacity for nutrition-sensitive agriculture. These nutrition supporting practices will be adopted at both the household and community level with the support of local power holders including husbands, fathers, and community and religious leaders, leading to improvements in the nutrition outcomes of PLW and adolescents, as well as their U5 children.
Intermediate Outcome 1200 will improve nutrition among target beneficiaries by strengthening the quality and delivery of equitable health and nutrition services in an integrated fashion. The project’s emphasis on improved integration between nutrition-specific interventions and primary health care is based on evidence that integration has been associated with improvements in early breastfeeding initiation, exclusive breastfeeding, vitamin A supplementation, and recovery from and reduced relapse of children with SAM and MAM. In addition, intermediate outcome 1200 will see more women, children and adolescents utilizing health services and receiving nutrition related services due to the removal of gender and age-based barriers.
Deadline for the submission of the offers
The offers both technical and budget proposal for undertaking this assignment must be received by 16th May 2023 at 5:00 pm, local time in Tanzania. Late submission of offers leads to their disqualification.
Modalities for the Submission of the Offers
Offers should be submitted in electronic format via email at [email protected]. In the subject line indicate – “GENTU Project Baseline Study” addressed to;
Country Director,
Action Against Hunger, Tanzania
P.O Box 17031, Dodoma
