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Terms of Reference for an Endline Survey for the Integrated Emergency Drought Response in Kenya (Turkana County)

1.0 Background of the Integrated Emergency Drought Response in Kenya (Turkana County -) Project

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been implementing a 6-month project funded by the Office of Foreign Assistance (OFA) in Turkana County since October 2025. The project aims to save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen the ability of communities affected by the drought crisis to recover from shocks and stresses. IRC has been providing services to 47,424 beneficiaries across several key sectors, including Nutrition, WASH, Protection, Agriculture, and Food Assistance. Out of the total beneficiaries reached, 1,376 are Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

IRC is the main implementing partner for the project, which includes a 6-month cost extension following the initial 12-month implementation period that began in October 2025. The organization has worked in partnership with TUPADO (Turkana Pastoralists Development Organization), which supported agriculture and livestock interventions in Turkana County.

Nutrition served as the main entry point for the project. Since other organizations were also implementing programs in the same areas, IRC actively participated in coordination forums to align its activities with those of other actors and reduce the risk of duplication. IRC maintained strong collaboration with humanitarian and UN agencies, government departments including the Turkana County Ministry of Health (MoH), and other implementing partners across the county. These partnerships were strengthened through participation in technical working groups at the sub-county, county, and national levels.

IRC also worked closely with local NGOs and community leaders to strengthen cooperation with the communities being served. In addition, the organization supported advocacy efforts at the sub-county level to help mobilize resources more effectively.

The nutrition interventions focused on managing acute malnutrition in line with national Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) guidelines and the Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition in Emergencies (MIYCN-E) framework. The program aimed to improve nutrition outcomes by strengthening the IMAM model, promoting early detection and referral of cases, and supporting inpatient care for severe acute malnutrition. Other activities included surveillance, hotspot mapping, and strengthening the capacity of county health systems through training, data quality improvement, and supportive supervision. The program also prioritized maternal and infant nutrition by promoting better maternal nutrition and improved infant and young child feeding practices.

Under the WASH component, interventions focused on providing essential services to people seeking nutrition and health care at static health facilities and outreach sites. These activities aimed to reduce the risk of waterborne diseases among households with children under five and pregnant and breastfeeding women who were receiving treatment for malnutrition or were at risk of becoming malnourished. Beneficiaries gained improved access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services through a minimum WASH package delivered at outreach sites, health facilities, and targeted households. The program included hygiene promotion with targeted messaging, distribution of non-food items (NFIs), and the installation and maintenance of handwashing stations. Water quality was ensured through treatment at service delivery points. To promote sustainability, the program also provided training on the operation and maintenance of WASH infrastructure and rehabilitated sanitation facilities in schools and health centers. Capacity building was further supported through training of water management committees, Public Health Officers (PHOs), and Community Health Promoters (CHPs), as well as participation in coordination meetings at national and county levels.

To address food security needs, the project prioritized food assistance interventions that enabled households to access food through local markets. A market-based approach was adopted, with cash transfers used as the main assistance modality. Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCTs) were provided to help households meet urgent food needs.

In addition, IRC through its partner TUPADO implemented agriculture interventions in Turkana County to improve livestock survival, reduce mortality among core breeding stock, and prevent destitution among pastoralist communities. These interventions aimed to strengthen household food security by protecting livelihood assets and improving opportunities for livestock sales in the market. Recognizing the importance of building long-term resilience, the project also focused on improving animal health and strengthening disease surveillance systems at both community and county levels. IRC aligned these activities with the systems established by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (DoALF) and partner organizations.

The program further supported food security and livelihoods through unconditional cash transfers, market monitoring, and financial literacy training for mother-to-mother support groups. Livestock health was strengthened through mass vaccination campaigns, animal treatment services, and training for pastoralists on animal health, zoonotic diseases, and livestock marketing practices. Participatory disease surveillance and refresher training for Community Livestock Disease Reporters also helped strengthen community-based early warning and response systems.

Protection services were integrated across all project sectors. Protection risk prevention and mitigation through information services, risk screening, individualized support to survivors of violence and those at risk through psychosocial support (PSS), case management and cash for protection assistance was offered to clients with  coordination of activities to strengthen the protective environment for children, women, girls, men, and boys. In Turkana County, the project prioritized beneficiaries receiving nutrition, WASH, Livelihood and food assistance services for additional protection support.

These multisectoral interventions were designed to increase the effectiveness of the response across all targeted sectors and support sustainability, resource sharing and transition beyond the project period. All activities were implemented in Loima, Turkana Central, and Turkana South sub-counties.

The endline data collected during the previous 12-month phase of the project will serve as the baseline for this phase. The findings from the current endline survey will be compared with the earlier results to measure progress, short-term impact and achievement of targets set at the beginning of the 6-month project extension.

2.0 Project Objectives

The integrated emergency drought response project aims to realize the following objectives:

Objective 1: To provide high impact nutrition assistance through MAM and MIYCN-E interventions integrated within County health systems and other sector areas.

Objective 2: To reduce the risk of WASH-related diseases, with a focus on children U5 and PLWs receiving health and nutrition services at outreach sites, by increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation and promoting safe hygiene practices

Objective 3: To address the immediate food needs of the most vulnerable beneficiaries through the provision of Unconditional Cash

Transfers (UCTs) for food assistance to improve the nutritional status of targeted beneficiaries. individuals

Objective 4: To protect and enhance the food security, livelihoods, and nutritional outcomes through animal health services.

The expected outcomes of this project are:

• Nutrition: Children under five years and pregnant, breastfeeding women are well nourished and protected from all forms of malnutrition and County systems are strengthened for improved service quality.

• Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH): There is improved access to safe drinking water, hygiene, and sanitation services, in health and nutrition facilities for families with undernourished children and communities with high prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM).

• Food Assistance: Food insecure households with malnourished children or children at risk of malnutrition are provided with sufficient resources to meet their basic needs, including the ability to purchase adequate, nutritious and diverse food within households

• Agriculture: Communities that rely on pastoralism are provided with resources, including animal health services, to protect their core breeding livestock, preserve their assets, and safeguard their income sources during emergencies.

• Protection-That all interventions across the sectors observe centrality of protection; by adopting the principles of safety & do no harm, respect and dignity, non- discrimination, inclusion and meaningful access of services by all regardless of age, sex and disability status amongst other diversities; client centeredness while prioritizing  the most at risk clients for care and services. For children the best interest of the child and survivors of violence receive safe immediate and follow up support.

2.1 Target Group

Through this action, the IRC has reached a total of 47,424 beneficiaries in the 3 sub counties in Turkana County as highlighted below:

• The nutrition sector served as the entry point for this project, targeting 8,248 direct beneficiaries, i.e., 6,968 children under five and 1,280 pregnant and Breastfeeding women (PBWs) through outreach efforts. To date, the project has reached 18,970 individuals (3,669 PBWs and 15,301 children under five—7,957 males and 7,344 females). This notable achievement is attributed to county-wide vitamin A supplementation efforts and comprehensive mass screening

• A total of 47,424 individuals (22,764 males and 24,660 females) have been reached with WASH interventions. These interventions were based on the 8,248 individuals initially targeted due to malnutrition and reached at the outreach sites as well as through household follow-ups by 142 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) across Loima, Turkana South, and Turkana Central Sub-counties.

• Food assistance has so far reached 18,594 individuals (9,209 Males and 9,385 females), while 4,000 individuals (2,080 males and 1,920 females) so far have benefited from the agriculture (livestock) component implemented by TUPADO.

• To date the program has reached a total of 47,424 clients out of 27,872 clients targeted by the project in Loima, Turkana South and Turkana Central Sub Counties.

• Of all the clients reached by various sectors and interventions across the three sub counties, 47,424 individuals received additional protection services which ranged from information-services that empowered them to make informed decisions including access to the available services; screening of the most vulnerable clients for protection risks and concerns plus client centred targeted assistance to address the risks identified, prevent further harm and address service access barriers.

Computation of the total beneficiary numbers minimizes double counting of the beneficiaries that will be reached through different interventions.

3.0 Endline Survey Consultancy

The survey is a summative study that seeks to measure the extent to which the project produced its intended outcomes. The survey should therefore adopt both qualitative and quantitative methodologies that would measure the outcome indicators that were measured at baseline and concisely articulate the project’s progress. It analyses the post-project situation using methodologies that provide results for comparison against the baseline evaluation conducted at the start of the project.

3.1 Rationale

The endline survey will provide in-depth information on the main target groups in the project locations. This information will be used to gauge the project’s success, identify areas that may need improvements on, and guide the next phase implementation to ensure the project has maximum impact on the target groups. The survey report will be a vital component of the project Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) system and will inform the results-based management approach of the next phase of the project

3.2 Survey Objectives

To provide endline data that will guide project planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting on the follow-on integrated emergency drought response in accordance with the project outcomes. Provide endline data for all current project interventions, including the outputs and outcome indicators and endline data for the follow-on phase to facilitate tracking of project performance; and Provide comprehensive recommendations on high impact and sustainable design and implementation of project.

3.3 Scope of Work 

In consultation with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) team at IRC, and based on the available donor guidance, the consultant will be expected to carry out the following tasks:

Participate in briefing and consultation meetings to discuss the assignment and agree on the design and implementation plan for the Endline survey. Provide a short description of the methodology that will be used to conduct the Endline assessment. This should explain the overall approach, such as using a mixed-methods approach that combines both secondary and primary data collection. It should also explain the context of the target intervention areas and highlight the planned project activities. Describe the secondary data sources that will be reviewed as part of the Endline assessment. These may include project reports, government documents, and other relevant literature. The consultant should also explain how this information will be collected and analyzed, for example through literature review, content analysis, or comparing information from different sources. Explain the primary data collection methods that will be used to gather information about the current situation, needs, and challenges related to the project. This may include surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, or site visits. The consultant should clearly describe the sampling approach, data collection tools, and analysis methods to ensure a good understanding of the situation. A representative sample should be drawn from the 47,424 people reached by the project (22,764 males and 24,660 females) across the targeted sub-counties and sectors. Develop data collection tools that will gather enough information to report on all indicators in the project document and capture the key needs of the targeted beneficiaries. Work closely with IRC to develop a detailed plan for data collection and analysis. This plan should include the development or adaptation of tools, recruitment and training of research assistants, pre-testing and revision of tools, sampling methods, field data collection processes, quality control measures, ethical considerations, analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data, and reporting. Lead the field data collection process, including designing and facilitating key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Analyze the collected data carefully using appropriate statistical and qualitative analysis methods. Prepare a high-quality report written in clear English, including detailed analysis of the findings and clear interpretation of results for each target group and location. Present the draft Endline survey report to IRC and other stakeholders for feedback and validation. Revise and submit the final Endline survey report to IRC.

3.4 Deliverables / Outputs

An inception report that explains how the survey will be conducted. This should include the methodology to be used, the data collection tools, the proposed report structure, and a work plan that clearly shows the timeline and process for delivering the assignment. A comprehensive draft report, not more than 25 pages, presenting the key findings of the survey. This should also include all raw data collected, provided in Excel, Word, or any other appropriate format for the relevant areas of interest. A final report that highlights the progress of the project implementation, the main challenges currently faced, and the priority needs of the target groups, especially those worsened by the drought situation. The report should also identify opportunities to reduce further vulnerability among the target groups, highlight innovative approaches that can improve their opportunities, and provide practical recommendations and best practices to achieve better results. A PowerPoint presentation that clearly summarizes the key findings and results of the survey.

4.0 Date and Duration of Consultancy

The consultancy will last for not more than 20 calendar days beginning from mid-April 2026, or as agreed by both parties.

5.0 Consultant Qualifications

The ideal consultant should have: -

A post-graduate degree in social sciences or another relevant field with training in the field of health, nutrition, food security, WASH and protection. Over 7 years of experience conducting evaluations, assessments, or studies, with evidence of publications or field reports in the thematic areas of health and nutrition, WASH, and protection. Experience conducting assessments funded by BHA, USAID, EU, and UN donors, and familiarity with their indicators and definitions, is an added advantage. Experience in working with marginalized and vulnerable populations in

multidisciplinary setting i.e. the government and development partners;

Ability to communicate in English and Kiswahili. Ability to communicate using local languages in Turkana is an added advantage.

The successful candidate will be required to:

• Ensure ethical consideration when engaging with all participants in the survey.

• Adhere to organization policies of different partners involved in the assessment.

• Ensure collaboration, cooperation, partnerships, and meaningful engagement of marginalized people, vulnerable, persons living with disability among others.

6.0 The IRC Role:

The IRC will fully engage the project lead consultant for a period of 20 calendar days to conduct the assessment in specific sub-counties within Turkana County. The IRC will provide guidance on the proposed project, expected deliverables and key contact persons within the areas of study. The IRC will support in availing some of the available secondary data that will be integral for this survey.

7.0 Application Requirements

• Interested individual consultants should submit the following:

• Technical Proposal clearly outlines:

  • Understanding of the assignment

  • Proposed methodology and approach

  • Sampling strategy

  • Work plan and timeline

  • Team composition and roles

• Financial proposal/ Budget
   A detailed budget in Kenya Shillings showing professional fees and any other relevant costs.

• Lead Consultant Profile or CV(s)
   CVs of the lead consultant and key team members, highlighting relevant experience.

• Sample of Previous Work
   At least one similar evaluation, assessment, or survey report previously completed.

• References
   At least three recent professional references for similar assignments.

• Legal Documentation
   Relevant individual tax compliance documents.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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