Consultancy: Review of the Botswana Revised National Population Policy of 2010 to accelerate progress towards achievement of SDGs, Botswana

Consultancy: Review of the Botswana Revised National Population Policy of 2010 to accelerate progress towards achievement of SDGs.

Looking to hire: An international consultant and local consultant.

Duty Station: UNFPA Botswana Country Office

Duration of contract and timelines: September - December 2022. The lead and local consultants will be engaged for 32 and 20 working days respectively.

Deadlines for applications: 27 September 2022, 17h00 NY time

Background

In 1994, 179 Governments, including the Government of Botswana, endorsed the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt. The ICPD Programme of Action (PoA) highlighted clear linkages between population and development, and the integral role of women’s empowerment in attainment of sustainable development. Prior to the ICPD, population policies were narrowly defined towards achieving societal demographic goals, an objective that was met through coercive policies and expansive access to family planning. The ICPD PoA represented a paradigmatic shift that recognises demographic trends as being influenced by a complex and interconnected set of social, cultural, economic, environmental and political factors and therefore requiring comprehensive, holistic policy responses that are based on evidence and allow all people to exercise their full range of rights, including reproductive rights. Thus, the ICPD PoA called on governments to implement population policies that assumed a more holistic approach to women’s reproductive health while promoting the rights and choices of women as a basic tenet of development, including addressing issues of sexuality and gender relations, fertility and family planning preferences, empowerment and gender equality. The ICDP framework also emphasised that acknowledging and integrating population dynamics and social development considerations into population policies is critical to achieving lasting development outcomes.  

The Government of Botswana (GoB) launched its first National Population Policy (NPP) in 1997, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life and standard of living of all people in Botswana. The policy was revised in 2010 to incorporate emerging national and global issues, of key were the HIV/AIDS pandemic, internal and international migration, and urbanisation. Significant changes have occurred in the national, regional and global development environment since 2010 to which the revised NPP has to respond to. These include; the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its underlying goals, ICPD+25 National commitments, the African Union Agenda 2063 as well as the National Vision 2036. 

Since the policy revision in 2010, no comprehensive review of implementation progress has been conducted. Further, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with UNFPA support, commissioned the 2018 Botswana Demographic Dividend (DD) study and the National Review of Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development that revealed valuable demographic intelligence. The DD study yielded results that highlighted a time-limited opportunity for the country to harness a demographic dividend by making strategic investments in education, health, governance and economic reforms. Additional analytical studies that have been conducted since the DD study include evidence briefs on preparing for an ageing society and capitalising on young people. Other population-based analytical briefs underscoring the demographic prospects in the country have also been supported by partners, including the World Bank. The National Review of Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development revealed areas that still required heightened implementation and also contributed to the evidence that informed Botswana’s position to the Nairobi Global Summit that focused on the unfinished business of the ICPD where the GoB made four commitments targeted at accelerating progress towards ending: a) preventable maternal deaths; b) unmet need for family planning; c) gender based violence; and d) improving availability of data. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on development efforts, as underscored by analysis and assessments on the socio-economic impact of COVID in Botswana. In some instances, reversals of hard-won gains particularly for women and girls have been recorded, suggesting an urgent need to recalibrate policies and programmes to be responsive and resilient to pandemics and other shocks. In addition, with UNFPA’s support, the country in 2021 undertook an investment case analysis to define the scope and scale of investments and interventions required to end the unmet need for family planning in the country by 2030.  The foregoing developments mean that the current national population policy may not be adequately positioned to assist the country to respond to current and potential population dynamics in national sustainable development efforts. Given the anticipated development of the NDP 12, the near final National DD Roadmap, and results of the 2022 Population and Housing Census, the time is opportune for a thorough review of the NPP, which will be an additional analytical contribution to the NDP 12. The review is expected to not only galvanise actions of high-level bodies such as the National Council on Population and Development (NCPD), but to also inform the development of a new population policy, planned for 2023. 

Rationale for the Assessment 

Consistent with the principles of evidence-based policy formulation and programming, while lessons and recommendations can be drawn from experiences in the implementation of the RNPP over the last twelve years, a detailed understanding of the situation of the population is also necessary to inform the envisaged development of a new population policy. Traditionally, this would be in the form of a comprehensive population situational analysis. However, recognising the already existing thematic analyses and surveys on population issues and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), an analysis of the situation of the population, SRHR and other national, regional and global mega-trends is envisaged. It is against this background that the Ministry of Finance is seeking the services of a team of consultants to conduct a review of implementation of the 2010 RNPP in light of the current and projected population situation, SRHR as well as other key national, regional and global mega-trends, such as climate change, urbanisation, rise of technology and inequalities, among others.  The evidence generated from the review will inform the successor National Population Policy. 

Objectives

The specific objectives of the review and analysis are to:

Assess the progress made towards achieving the RNPP objectives, targets and strategies taking into consideration the recent development, socio-economic issues, changes in the Long-term Vision, National Development Plans and the transformation agenda.
Synthesize the findings of existing assessments, reports and other documents and provide an integrated appraisal of population dynamics, sexual and reproductive health, including the shifts in population age structure, and their relationship with social, economic, political and cultural processes in the country.
Critically review megatrends shaping national, regional and global development and their implications for future casting Botswana’s national population policy.  
Synthesise key successes, lessons learnt and major gaps in the current RNPP to inform the process for developing a new population policy. 
Recommend key areas for strategic, programme and policy actions or directions that can be integrated or considered in the development of a new population policy. 

Scope of Work:

Activities to be carried out by the consultant are as follows:

Review available literature on various policies, guidelines, programmes on population and development and document successes, gaps, strengths and opportunities.
Document achievements made towards attaining the targets and indicators of the RNPP.
Identify and analyse the role of different stakeholders and conduct interviews with those relevant for population and development to determine the needs and challenges of the various population groups.
Synthesize the findings of existing assessments, reports and other documents and provide an integrated appraisal of population dynamics.
Review megatrends shaping global, regional and national development and document their implications on Botswana’s future population policy.
Make a presentation on the findings to the stakeholders and the National Council on Population and Development. 
Incorporate outcomes from the stakeholders and recommend strategies, targets, programmes and policy actions for the next population policy.

Methodology and approach:

• The assignment is expected to use a mixed methods approach including an extensive review of strategic documents and secondary data analysis as applicable. 
• An inclusive and participatory approach is anticipated that will be informed by a detailed stakeholder analysis. 
• The consultancy team will be required to propose a detailed methodology for addressing the stated objectives, which will be reviewed and approved by the Population and Sustainable Development Coordination Section within MoF, UNFPA (CO and ESARO) and the technical working group overseeing the assignment. 
• The consultancy team will be required to present the findings to the stakeholders and the National Council on Population and Development for validation and endorsement. 

Deliverables:

• Inception report detailing the methodology and approach, stakeholder analysis and workplan.
• Draft RNPP review report covering all areas identified in the objectives. 
• Final RNPP review covering all areas identified in the objectives.
• Summary presentation on key highlights covering all areas identified in the objectives 

Duration of consultancy: September - December 2022, the lead and local consultants will be engaged for 32 and 20 working days respectively.

Place where the services are to be delivered: Predominantly home-based, but the consultants may be required to undertake missions at the district level.

Draft work plan:

The assignment will be completed between the months of September and December 2022 where the lead and local consultants will be engaged for 32 and 20 working days respectively. Below is an indicative workpan of how the workload may be distributed across the team, however, it is expected that the team will develop a detailed work plan for the approval of the Ministry of Finance and its partners.

 

Required expertise, qualification and competencies:

NB: The team conducting this assignment will comprise two consultants one of which will serve as the Lead consultant, while both consultants will have expertise and experience in relevant fields and thematic areas required to successfully undertake the review of the policy.

The Lead Consultant will possess the following:

• An advanced university degree in demography, statistics, economics, social science, public health or other related fields. A PhD will be an added advantage
• Minimum of 10 years of increasing professional experience in population, demography, or public health-related research. 
• Practical experience in developing and reviewing the National Population Policy in sub-saharan Africa region.
• In-depth knowledge of population dynamics, national population policies, SRHR and development-related issues and challenges within the context of a developing country. 
• Significant knowledge and experience of conducting meta-analysis in the field of development aid for UN agencies (with particular focus on population and development and SRHR) and/or other international organisations
• Excellent interpersonal and strong communication skills, in both written and verbal English.

The Local Consultant who will work under the supervision of the Lead consultant will possess the following:

• Advanced university degree in economics, statistics, demography, public health, development practice or equivalent;
• 5 years of progressive experience in social policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation, and human rights-based approaches to policy-making and programming.
• Demonstrated experience in applying both qualitative and quantitative techniques to develop evidence-based publications, strategies, guidelines, policy briefs and reports. 
• National experience working with government counterparts within the country context and all relevant stakeholders, including the UN system, CSOs, private sector, academia, etc will be mandatory
• Excellent interpersonal and strong communication skills, in both written and verbal English

Management of the consultancy:

The consulting team will work under the direct supervision of the MoF while also expected to work in close collaboration with UNFPA Botswana Country Office. Regional level advisory and technical support will also be availed to the consulting team as required. The consultancy progress will be monitored and submissions reviewed jointly by a MoF, and TWG composed of relevant line ministries, agencies and departments, UNFPA and other partners that will approve all submissions. The final product will be endorsed by NCPD and thereafter shared with the wider stakeholders. 

Expected Travel: Possible travel required, to be communicated on schedule

How to apply:

Interested applicants should send a short letter of motivation and a detailed CV with the subject clearly stated "Consultant, Review of the Botswana Revised National Population Policy of 2010 to accelerate progress towards achievement of SDGs" to email address:  bid.esaro@unfpa.org

Your CV should highlight relevant experience in delivering similar work with relevant links.
UNFPA will only respond to those applicants in whom we have further interest

Application closing date: 27 September 2022, 17h00 New York Time.

The United Nations does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application,interview, processing, training) or other fee, or request information on applicants’ bank accounts or HIV status.