Consultant to Develop a Draft of Comprehensive Regulations to Restrict Children and Adolescent Exposure to Unhealthy Food and Beverage Marketing in Kenya a at MAL Consultancy

Our Client is a human rights non-governmental organization working to promote and protect health-related human rights in Kenya by ensuring that by 2025, vulnerable and marginalized communities in Kenya will have access to available, accessible, acceptable, and quality health services. Their advocacy and mandate seeks to ensure that health-related human rights are protected and social justice for health is promoted. They intend to achieve these results through interventions aimed at promoting and strengthening rights-based, transformative and enabling legal and policy environments

BACKGROUND OF THE PROGRAMME

There is a rising burden of malnutrition in many low and middle-income countries including Kenya.  This is largely driven by unhealthy food environments especially as the food environment in Kenya is inadequately regulated, leading to a high level of unhealthy food consumption.

The Kenyan government is, however, committed to food systems change to address existing regulatory gaps. Some of the strategies are outlined in existing government policies including the Kenya National NCDs Strategic Plan 2021/22 - 2025/26.

This Plan sets out strategies to minimize exposure to modifiable risk factors (such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption and an unhealthy diet high in free sugars) that contribute to increase in non-communicable diseases. For instance, the Plan recommends strengthening relevant policy and legislative frameworks to minimize exposure to these modifiable risk factors by, for instance, establishing national regulatory and fiscal policies to promote healthy diets with proposed interventions being trans-fat regulation, regulation of marketing of unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic drinks to children, fiscal policies on Sugar Sweetened Beverages and front of pack nutrition labelling (FOPL) standards laws.

It is in this context that a Technical Committee on Marketing Restrictions of Unhealthy Foods was established by the Ministry of Health - Division of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2023. The Committee is tasked with the responsibility of developing a regulation restricting marketing of unhealthy foods to children and adolescents in Kenya.

PURPOSE & OBJECTIVES

The overall purpose of this consultancy assignment is to develop a draft of comprehensive regulations to restrict children and adolescent exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing in Kenya. The specific objectives of this consultancy assignment will be to;

1. Undertake a review of relevant national and international literature, policy recommendations and legal frameworks relating to the impact that the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages has to children and adolescents; and analyze the existing policy and legal space to restrict such marketing in Kenya.
2. From the above review and analysis, prepare a position paper with recommendations to guide the Technical Committee’s discussion of how to restrict marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children in Kenya.
3. Utilizing national and international best practices, propose the text of a draft regulation to restrict children and adolescents’ exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing in Kenya.
4. Facilitate discussion of the proposed text of the draft regulation with the technical committee, incorporate feedback.
5. Prepare and present to the Technical Committee the final draft regulations to restrict children and adolescents’ exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing in Kenya.

SCOPE OF WORK & MAIN TASKS

1. Develop an inception report outlining the methodology to be employed, the work plan, and timelines for the development of the draft regulations.
2. Undertake desktop research to inform a position paper and proposed text of draft regulations to restrict children and adolescents’ exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing in Kenya.
3. Facilitate the Technical Committee’s discussion on the review of the proposed text of the draft regulations and incorporate feedback.
4. Prepare and present to the Technical Committee the final draft regulation to restrict children and adolescents’ exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing in Kenya.

CLIENT ROLE

The consultant will report to the Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor as well as the Health and Governance Manager. KELIN shall provide supervisory support for the assignment and administrative support for the meetings with the technical committee. The roles will be further defined at the inception meeting. 

DESIRED COMPETENCIES

• Bachelor’s Degree in Law. A masters is highly desirable within the same field
• Minimum of seven (7) years’ experience in legal research & analysis, legislative or policy drafting, comparative legislative research & analysis, international and domestic human rights work, or related experience
• Proficiency in written and spoken English
• Expert knowledge on the policy measure to restrict children and adolescents’ exposure to unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing in Kenya
• Relevant experience in drafting regulations and/or other legislative proposals.
• Ability to research and write at an elevated level 
• Knowledge of human rights and legal frameworks
• Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and   anticipating the evolving client needs
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs
• Sound judgment, strategic thinking, and the ability to manage competing priorities
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling KELIN’s values and ethical standards
• Promotes the Vision, Mission, and Strategic goals of the organization.

DURATION OF THE CONSULTANCY ASSIGNMENT

The assignment should be completed within 75 working days after signing the Consultancy Agreement.