Drought protection needs assessment in Lamu County at HIAS Refugee Trust of Kenya

DEPARTMENT: PROGRAMS

HIRING MANAGER: MEAL COORDINATOR

SUPERVISOR: MEAL COORDINATOR

START DATE: September 14, 2023

END DATE:  October 30, 2023

POSITION SUMMARY:

HIAS Kenya seeks to hire a consultant to conduct a protection assessment in Lamu county, to understand the needs of the refugee and host communities affected by drought. The protection assessment will identify current protection needs, map existing protection services and mechanisms, analyze protection gaps, inform future HIAS programming, and determine HIAS’ value-add in drought response. This assessment will require travel to Lamu, and the anticipated length of the consultancy is one month.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Kenya is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years, with approximately 4.35 million people severely affected by food insecurity. In pastoral livelihood zones, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes persist, with Serious (Generalized Additive model (GAM) 10 – 14.9 percent) to Extremely Critical (GAM ≥ 30 percent) prevalence of acute malnutrition. More than4 million people are at risk of starvation, and many of them are children. The most affected counties are Garissa, Isiolo, Mandera, Lamu, Turkana, and Wajir.

In Lamu County, the recurrent drought has caused food insecurity and malnutrition. According to the June NDMA report, Lamu is in the normal drought phase, food is scarce due to poor production last season, and market prices have increased. These combined factors are likely to lead to increased cases in need of protection including, but not limited to GBV and Mental Health and Psychosocial support. If these challenges are not addressed, the resulting effect is severe malnutrition which will lead to an increase in morbidity and mortality. The poverty index levels are high, with over 80% considered to be below the poverty level.

OBJECTIVES & DELIVERABLES:

This assessment will inform HIAS’ protection-focused drought response plan in Lamu county. The Consultant will work in close coordination with the HIAS Kenya monitoring & evaluation and technical teams (MHPSS, EI, LP, and GBV), with support and guidance from the HIAS HQ Emergency Department. The specific objectives of the assessment are:

• Conduct a context analysis of drought affected Lamu, including food security, livelihood, nutrition, and existing feedback/response mechanisms.
• Identify existing protection services and gaps; evaluate challenges to access rights and services.
  • Map partner organizations’ contingency capacity and partner logistical capacity
• Identify protection needs and risks of vulnerable populations, particularly girls, boys, youth, women, GBV survivors, older persons, persons and with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ specific to the drought situation.
• Determine immediate/priority needs for the local community.
• Recommend immediate programming priorities for legal protection, MHPSS, economic inclusion (including cash & voucher assistance), and GBV for refugees, internally displaced persons, and host communities.
• To conduct an assessment on early warning system for drought.

SCOPE OF THE NEEDS ASSESMENT

The geographical scope of the study will be within Lamu county. The design and implementation of the needs assessment will align with the ethical and quality standards for protection, MHPSS, and GBV and foreground the voices of affected populations.

METHODOLOGY OF THE NEEDS ASSESMENT

The needs assessment methodologies will include:

• Secondary Documentation: A desk review of the available literature, contextual information, service provider mapping, relevant documentation from existing programming, and related studies targeting similar groups.
• Quantitative Approaches: Including survey data collection as required to provide information on the needs, access, and gaps of the target population. We are targeting two hundred respondents.
• Qualitative Approaches: Including focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs), observation as needed. We are targeting thirty-two respondents for focus group discussions and twenty respondents for the key informant interviews.

The Consultant will identify key informants and local representatives of Lamu community, ensuring that their inputs are considered during the identification of gaps in service delivery, emerging needs, as well as proposals to address the lack of access to protection services and rights for the affected population. The needs assessment is to be consistent with SPHERE standards through its emphasis on a rights-based and participatory.