Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ECOM) is soliciting proposals from individual consultant to conduct an assessment on MSM and trans* community participation in HIV decision making processes in Russian Federation within ECOM’s Regional Program “Right to Health” funded by the Global Fund.
Background
Eurasian Coalition on Male Health is an international non-governmental association, located in Tallinn, Estonia. We are a membership based association open for non-profits and individuals acting in the field of sexual health, including HIV issues, for gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender (trans*) people, in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA).
In January 2017, ECOM has launched a Regional Program “Right to Health” supported by the Global Fund which aims at increasing the access to HIV services for MSM and trans* people in the five target countries: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Macedonia.
Within the regional program the protocol and tools to assess MSM and trans* community participation in HIV decision making processes has been developed and used to obtain necessary information on situation in target countries.
Description of Services required and Timelines
ECOM is seeking expert assistance to conduct an assessment on MSM and trans* community participation in decision making in national HIV responses in Russian Federation according to protocol and tools provided by ECOM.
The goal for this research is to show the level and preparedness of MSM and trans* community participation in national HIV decision making processes.
The consultant is expected to:
(1) collect documents related to MSM and trans* community participation in national decision making in Russian Federation;
(3) review and analyze the documents;
(4) prepare an analytical report.
The consultant will work closely with the ECOM Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator.
Deliverables
- Collection of appropriate national documents
- Report with results:
- profiles of country:
- the gross socio-economic indicators (the population, the proportion of men, the level of urbanization, migration, state budget spending on health, GDP, per capita income, poverty, access to the Internet, etc.);
- situation with HIV, STI in general and among MSM / trans*populations in particular (including testing and treatment cascadefor MSM / trans* populations);
- NGOs and services for MSM: mapping, service package and its epidemiological and economic feasibility, scope, the role of the community and so on, number of initiative groups which received legal status; number of joint products (actions, position papers) created by/for the whole community; number of committees, with MSM/TG members; number of official documents which reflect the interests of MSM/TG); system of state-supported social contracting; number of joint projects with partner hospitals;
- level of coordination of the organization’s strategy and national AIDS-plans: mechanism of involvement of community organizations in decision-making processes (description of its working mechanism, if applicable); MSM/TGs dialogues with governments; community knows stakeholders, meets influences; allies/lobbyists in parliament, government; interaction of community representatives with decision makers;
- cooperation between communities: consensus on advocacy strategy; stronger regular voice, partnerships with parties and other NGOs; parliamentary group on LGBT;
- level of voluntary-based self-support in community;
- solidarity support between community-organizations on regional level.
- quantitative assessments the situation in every country on the following criteria:
- MSM or LGBT-community NGO have access to public funding for purposes of service delivery and core funding;
- transgenders are included to the National HIV Programs and funding for HIV-related activities and transition plans (social order) as vulnerable group which will need to receive all appropriate services;
- community representation in decision making agencies, influence in decision making;
- NGOs/experts/DM understand and use in documents and public rhetoric the concept of the cascade of HIV services (from prevention to care and support) for MSM/TG;
- services for MSM/TG and subgroups are particularly institutionalized in the standards and methodological documents;
- economic effectiveness of prevention services is clear for national DM on the basis of evaluation provided.
Budget
Budget allocation will cover the costs for implementing the desk review in the period between 30 April 2018 and 30 June 2018, maximum 5 working days.
Consultant(s) Qualifications
- At least Master’s degree in social sciences or relevant field
- At least 3 years’ experience as an analyst/consultant/project manager in social research
- Experience of social research in public health
- Experience of LGBT topics research in one or more CEECA countries
- Effective communication skills in Russian and English
This consultancy will be awarded to consultant with experience of effectively analyzing documents and knowledge of HIV and LGBT situation in CEECA countries, clear methodology, competitive rate and timeline.
Application Process
Applications must be submitted by email with a reference ‘Consultancy for Assessment on Community Participation in Decision Making in Russia’ at contact@ecom.ngo
Deadline for submission: 26 April 2018 at 23:59 EET.
Applications should include:
- Cover Letter outlining experience in conducting similar work along with CV
- Brief proposal (3 pages max.) outlining timetable and budget (number of days and daily rates).
Thank you for understanding that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
For more information, prospective consultants may contact Maxim Kasianczuk, ECOM Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, at maxim@ecom.ngo