Position: Consultant – Family Planning for Desk Research
Reporting Line: Lead-Concurrent Measurement Learning
Location: Patna
Number of Positions: 1
Duration – Till 31st December
About the Project
In Bihar, despite some significant progress there is a need to create a supportive environment for maternal health and family planning. This can be achieved through a twofold process. One, by empowering women to make informed choices to seek care during critical periods around their maternity and have awareness and agency to adopt suitable family planning methods. The other is by enhancing the accessibility, quality and utilisation of services related to respectful care in public health facilities around maternal health and family planning.
The Uttkristh Pariwar Niyojan aevum Matritwa Swasthya Abhiyan, or UPAMA, is the Hindi acronym for an “Exemplar Mission for Family Planning (FP) and Maternal Health (MH)” and seeks to develop and demonstrate critical metrics in the designated districts of Shiekpura, Katihar and Khagaria and Patna urban PHCs, which can become models of FP and MH, which, in turn, can be showcased, replicated, and scaled up in other geographies in the future.
This project seeks to optimise the use of a range of Government schemes, provisions and facility-level care around maternal health and family planning services by women and their families needing appropriate care by systematically working with Government health systems, Centres of Excellence (COE) and development partner forums. In the three districts of Bihar and Patna Urban, team PCI working closely with Government partners and counterparts seeks to develop exemplar districts with model facilities providing maternal and family planning services while engaging with the community and showcasing the entire process and results.
In order to assess the progress of the interventions a baseline study has been provisioned in the project.
Objectives
The proposed study aims to create a baseline for the SRHR and gender components of UPAMA project being implemented by PCI. The specific objectives of the study are to;
To undertake an extant desk research to understand the existing policies and programs pertaining to maternal health, family planning and women empowerment.
To explore the status of accessibility & availability of quality Family Planning (FP), Maternal Health (MH) & Adolescent Health (AH) services in recognised institutions and facilities in intervention districts of Katihar, Khagaria, Sheikhpura and Urban PHCs of Patna.
To ascertain the present quality of gender-sensitive maternal health and family planning services in the intervention districts. Additionally, understand barriers and challenges in delivering the services to the beneficiaries.
To find out the current reach of FP information and services to young people through engagement with community-level change agents in the Sheikhpura district.
Scope of Work
The study will largely adopt the qualitative approach of social research however some quantitative data may also be collected for ascertaining the existing status of facilities, capacity building measures, understanding of GBV etc. The process will comprise of following components;
Through desk review a comprehensive list of indicators will be classified for different respondents and sources of information related to GBV, FP, AH and MH based on key policies and programmes such as Women empowerment policy of Bihar, POSH Act, PC-PNDT Act, LAQSHYA, and SUMAN initiatives etc.
Further, based on the sources of data collection and corresponding indicators a set of tools will be developed.
Primary data will be collected from District Hospitals and block level health facilities (PHCs) in two sample districts- Katihar and Sheikhpura through in-depth interviews and focused group discussion with key respondents. Interaction with community members including Frontline workers -ASHA/ AWW\ ANM will be organized to understand the status of maternal deaths and its reporting at the community level. Besides, interactions and meeting with state level functionaries of PCI will be undertaken at each stage and even in-between as required.
The final report will be based on the key indicators/ milestones mentioned in the work plan of UPAMA project.
Key deliverables
Final report consisting the status of the following;
o existing policies and programs pertaining to maternal health, family planning and women empowerment
o accessibility & availability of quality Family Planning (FP), Maternal Health (MH) & Adolescent Health (AH) services in recognised institutions and facilities in intervention districts
o present quality of gender-sensitive MH and FP services along with the barriers and challenges in delivering the services to the beneficiaries including the incentives for various government schemes.
o occurrence of maternal deaths at the community level, mechanisms in place for reporting and its status.
Qualitative and quantitative data collected during the study
Interview and observation schedules used in the study
Locations of Study
Patna, districts of Katihar and Sheikhpura along with two blocks of each sample districts.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested candidates can apply for the position Consultant -Family Planning by 20th December,2023.
PCI India is an equal opportunity provider and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, and/or marital status. Due to the heavy inflow of resumes, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Female candidates are encouraged to apply.