Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide.
IMC started operations in Nigeria with a focus on building the capacity of local health system and communities and ensure the provision of quality, accessible health and nutrition care for children under five years. The Government of Nigeria declared a state of emergency (SoE) in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states in the northeastern part of the country in 2013. Since the SoE was declared, there has been a significant increase of internally displaced persons in the northeast, approximately
868,235 to date. International Medical Corps is launching an emergency response in Northeast to assess and address the needs of the affected populations.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Position: Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) Survey (Consultant)
Job ID: #1145151
Background
International Medical Corps has been implementing nutrition interventions in Binji and Wamakko LGAs in Sokoto state since November 2013. The interventions implemented include CMAM, IYCF, WASH and food security. The program supports 10 OTP/health facilities and 2 stabilization centres alongside community outreach services. The key components of the activities carried out include screening for malnutrition, admission and treatment of those with malnutrition, weekly follow up of children enrolled in the program, provision of routine medication to the children in the program, defaulter tracing, nutrition and hygiene health promotion activities across the project location, counseling on IYCF through care group model and cash transfer to address food insecurity and food diversity in the household of beneficiaries with SAM and MAM children.
With this background information and in order to gain insights on the current nutrition situation of children and the communities, International Medical Corps would like to conduct a SMART and Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey in the areas of IYCF, Health, Hygiene and Sanitation. The SMART survey will determine the prevalence of malnutrition among children 6 to 59 months in Binji and Wamakko while the KAP survey will assess the WASH, health seeking behaviour and IYCF practices among children 0-23 months of age.
The SMART survey will inform about the impact of the program and the need to adjust or scale-up the CMAM program whereas the KAP survey will provide results that will be used to compare with the baseline data for IYCF, health and WASH practices. The results obtained will enable International Medical Corps to design an intervention that will address the gaps identified.
Objectives
The proposed surveys have the following objectives:
To assess the community’s knowledge, attitude, practice and beliefs regarding water, sanitation and hygiene
To establish the source of drinking water and water management at household level as well as at health facilities and presence and use of latrines
To provide additional qualitative information on the likely causes of under-nutrition and barriers to optimal child health and nutrition practices in the area. (E.g. through focus group discussions)
To determine the prevalence of acute malnutrition among children aged 6 to 59 months
To estimate crude and under five mortality rates in the three months preceding the survey
To assess the recent morbidity patterns among children 6- 59 months
To assess the immunization coverage for BCG, Measles and Polio / DPT 3 and Vitamin “A” among children 6-59 months
To determine mothers/ caretakers knowledge and feeding practices of children 0-23 months.
To determine the effectiveness, relevance and appropriateness of the current nutrition programs (CMAM, IYCF, cash transfer)
To formulate and provide practical and sustainable recommendations based on the survey findings.
Duties and Responsibilities of the Consultant
The consultant will, in coordination with the International Medical Corps team and under direct supervision by the Country Director and Nutrition Program Coordinator:
Daily supervision of survey teams and daily data quality assurance
Supervise data entry and assure data entry quality
Be responsible for data cleaning and analysis using anthropometric software for the core anthropometric and additional indicators, including analysis using WHO 2006 Growth Standards, PROPAN & UNICEF field manual process for the promotion of child feeding 2nd, edition PAHO 2013.
Present Preliminary findings at the state, and present the final findings at nutrition working group upon sharing with IMC
Present the draft report of the findings in a stakeholder forum for comments and feedback
Design the survey and develop comprehensive data collection tools in line with internationally acceptable standards. The consultant will do this in consultation with the IMC team
Be responsible for preparation of the two surveys, including review of population statistics, calculating the sample size, selecting clusters, and developing an efficient survey schedule
Train the survey teams (including pre-testing questionnaire)
Assume overall responsibility for implementation of the two surveys, including recruiting (in collaboration with HR and senior management at country level) and training of enumerators, data entry clerks
Revise and submit a final copy of the survey report including recommendations to International Medical Corps
Lead the synthesis and sharing of findings during meetings and discussions with International Medical Corps and relevant field team members as well as other relevant stakeholders.
Expected Outputs:
Two final survey reports: Consultant submits these for review and then based on the feedback, revises and submits the final reports including conclusion, recommendation outlined per each sector to International Medical Corps.
Feedback on findings:
The Consultant gives a briefing on the preliminary findings from the surveys to International Medical Corps & SMoH staff in Sokoto and / or in Abuja.
Timeframe:
The whole assignment is expected to take no more than 28 days starting September 7th – 5th October, 2015.
Qualifications
Knowledge of the socio-economic and health development issues in relation to Northern Nigeria is desired.
Excellent interpersonal, communication, training and report writing skills
Master’s Degree in Public Health or Nutrition or related fields training in research methods is an advantage
Extensive experience in health program preferably in Nutrition and WASH research demonstrated by assignments conducted
Experience in conducting KAP and SMART surveys including training teams, analysing data and writing up reports
Experience in the Nutrition assessment in Northern Nigeria is an advantage
Must be computer literate with undoubted proficiency in analytical packages such as ENA for SMART (2013), SPSS, CSPro, STATA, and SAS
Fluent in both oral and written English. Hausa language skills are desirable but not essential.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their applications to the “Human Resource Officer, International Medical Corps” via the email:imcnigeriavacancy@gmail.com
Note: Interested Consultants should state “SMART & KAP SURVEY CONSULTANT”