Terms of Reference

Situation and Gap Analysis for Integrating Climate-Resilient, Gender-Responsive, and Inclusive WASH Indicators into the Health Information System (HIS) of the Sindh Health Department.

Assignment Information

About WaterAid

WaterAid is an international NGO working in 28 countries including Pakistan. Our vision is of a world where everyone everywhere has access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Our mission is to transform the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people by improving access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. We support local organisations and government authorities to design and demonstrate appropriate, climate-resilient, inclusive and sustainable WASH programmes. WaterAid also seeks to influence policy change to secure and protect the entitlements of marginalised and vulnerable people to safe, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation services.

For more information, please visit www.wateraid.org.

Background

WaterAid Pakistan’s new Country Programme Strategy (2023–2028) aims to accelerate WASH progress in the country, with a focus on making water, sanitation, and hygiene services more resilient to climate change. It also prioritizes the integration of WASH into the health sector to improve public health. These objectives are interconnected, as the effects of climate change on WASH services directly impact the health of vulnerable populations, particularly women and girls.

System strengthening in the health sector is a key priority of WaterAid’s Health and WASH programme under the new strategy. A major focus is to provide technical support to the Health Department in strengthening WASH-related policies and systems. Access to gender-responsive and inclusive climate resilient WASH services is essential for achieving health equity and improving public health outcomes. However, Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) often lack comprehensive WASH indicators that reflect gender and inclusivity, limiting their effectiveness in monitoring and addressing disparities. This assignment aims to enhance the HMIS by integrating robust gender-responsive and inclusive climate resilient WASH indicators, ensuring the system can better support equitable health service delivery and policymaking.

Purpose of the assignment:

The objective of this assignment is to assess the existing WASH indicators within the Health Information System (HIS) and to identify gaps with regard to climate resilience, gender responsiveness and inclusivity. The assignment also aims to develop and propose a set of climate-resilient, gender-responsive, and inclusive WASH indicators as per best global practices and guidelines.

Scope of the work

The consultant/consulting firm will conduct a review of the Sindh Health Management Information System (HMIS) in collaboration with the Health Department at the provincial level and the Directorate General Health Office based in Hyderabad, Government of Sindh. Based on this review, they will identify gaps and propose a set of gender-responsive, inclusive, and climate-resilient WASH indicators for integration into the HIS.

Methodology:

The consultant/firm will perform the following tasks:

• Examine global and national frameworks for gender-responsive and inclusive climate resilient WASH indicators.
• Review the current HIS structure and existing WASH indicators.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders, including provincial and divisional health officials, RMNCH (Reproductive, Maternal, and Newborn Child Health) staff, and representatives from organizations involved in health, WASH, women’s empowerment, and the empowerment of persons with disabilities (PWDs), to gather their insights and perspectives on the review and proposal of new indicators.
• Develop a comprehensive set of climate resilient, gender-responsive and inclusive WASH indicators, customized to the local context.
• Ensure the proposed indicators are aligned with global best practices and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Compile a comprehensive report covering the review process, proposed indicators, and recommendations for the integration process of the newly suggested indicators.
• Provide strategic recommendations for the integration and sustainability of the newly proposed indicators for monitoring processes and informed decision-making.

Deliverable:

• Inception report detailing the methodology, work plan, and timeline.
• A comprehensive gap analysis report on existing WASH indicators in the HIS.
• Proposed set of climate resilient gender-responsive and inclusive WASH indicators with justifications.
• Final report including an integration roadmap and long-term recommendations for the sustainability.

Duration of assignment

WaterAid intends to receive the services of a selected consultant/firm with total level of efforts of 16 working days spreading over almost 2 months commencing from the agreement signing date.

Deliverables and timeline

Supervision

Gender Advisor, WaterAid Pakistan will be the focal point for this assignment with inputs from WASH technical experts in WaterAid Pakistan.

Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual Property Rights in all documents/ information/ other materials prior to the date of execution of an agreement pursuant to this bid shall vest in the Party to which such document/information/materials belong. 

All Intellectual Property provided by WaterAid Pakistan to the Consultant for performing the obligations under the agreement with WaterAid shall remain the exclusive property of WaterAid Pakistan.

Any video produced/ data collected, or any other Intellectual Property generated by the Consultant pursuant to or under the agreement with WaterAid shall be the exclusive property of WaterAid Pakistan.

WaterAid will hold the intellectual property rights for the final animated video and any and all assets developed during the project.

Evaluation criteria

1. Each candidate shall submit technical and financial proposals in two separate sealed envelopes. Technical offers will first be evaluated according to the “Evaluation criteria” below and the technical qualification threshold is “70%”. Financial offers of ONLY successful candidates will be opened.
2. Selected vendors will be invited to participate in pre-award meetings to ensure a mutual understanding of the project's requirements, clarify any queries, and discuss expectations before the bid is awarded.

a.                                   Technical Evaluation criteria

b.    Financial offer

For Financial offer, each deliverable must be included in the financial offer. All deliverables MUST be completed within the assignment duration.