The Lusangazi district in Eastern Province faces significant health challenges, particularly in maternal health, where a troubling number of maternal deaths have been recorded. In response, traditional leaders have enacted by-laws to reduce home deliveries and emphasise the urgent need for a district-level hospital to improve healthcare services and reduce maternal mortality.
To address these challenges, the Zambia Red Cross Society (ZRCS), with support from the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC), is implementing a three-year Community Based Health and Resilience II (CBHR II) project in Chibale, Chikowa, Sandwe, Refugee and Satellite 30 of Lusangazi district. The project aims to sustainably improve maternal and child health and wellbeing, empower women through increased access to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) services, and enhance access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities.
Aligned with ZRCS's strategic goals, the CBHR II project has already made positive steps in achieving this goal by the construction of mothers’ annexe, drilling and rehabilitating boreholes, training Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAGs) in nutrition and cooking demonstrations, raising health awareness, and supporting district health campaigns. Additionally, the project has collaborated with the ZRCS branch structure and local traditional leaders to strengthen community participation, promote ownership, and ensure accountability.
The project outcomes include the following:
Outcome 1: Women and children have increased access and uptake of RMNCH services, including child spacing and nutrition, by the end of 2025.
Outcome 2: Women and children in the targeted communities in the targeted district have improved access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation facilities and hygiene practices by the end of 2025.
Outcome 3: Women (pregnant & Lactating) in the targeted communities in the targeted district with support of SMAGs have the financial means to take care of themselves and their families’ health needs by the end of 2025.
Outcome 4: Capacity of ZRCS, MOH, community and other stakeholders for project implementation is strengthened, and a sustainability plan is in place.
At halfway, the ZRCS PMER department assessed the progress of the project cycle by conducting a midterm evaluation from 28th October 2024 to 21st November 2024. This period included development and review of data collection tools, review of project documents, Field visit for data collection in Lusangazi district and report writing and dissemination.
Now that the project is coming to an end, PMER, with support from the Health and Care department, seeks to engage an external consultant to help evaluate the project life cycle.
PURPOSE OF ENDLINE EVALUATION
It will serve as important accountability for the National Society and its partners for the purpose of identifying the extent to which the project goals and objectives were achieved.
MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE ENDLINE EVALUATION.
The final project evaluation aims to assess progress toward achieving the overall and specific objectives outlined in the operational strategy. It also seeks to identify gaps, challenges, and lessons learned to inform future programming.
KEY FOCUS AREAS
During the evaluation, the consultant should consider the following key areas:
Health Outcomes:
The evaluation should assess changes in Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (RMNCH) service uptake, including reductions in home deliveries, improved antenatal bookings, and increased malnutrition detection rates.
Hygiene and Sanitation Practices:
The evaluation should review the impact of WASH interventions, such as borehole rehabilitation, hygiene promotion, and the construction of new water points, on community health outcomes.
Community Engagement and Accountability:
The evaluation should show ZRCS mechanisms used to engage community members, gather feedback, and ensure accountability were analyzed, including the role of toll-free lines, community meetings, and SMAGs.
Infrastructure Development:
The evaluation should examine the effectiveness and utilization of newly constructed or rehabilitated facilities, such as mothers' annexes and boreholes, in supporting project objectives
Coordination and Partnerships:
The study should assess the collaboration between ZRCS, local councils, health facilities, and community structures in achieving project goals within the implementation period.
Sustainability:
The evaluation should provide an analysis of measures in place to ensure long-term sustainability, including the integration of project activities into MOH systems, the use of existing structures like SMAGs, and local authority contributions through CDF.
THE SCOPE OF ENDLINE EVALUATION
The scope of the evaluation of the CBHR 2 (Community-Based Health Resilience) project will be based on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) principle.
Originally developed by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), these criteria aim to provide a comprehensive way to assess the effectiveness and impact of interventions. The criteria were updated in 2019 to reflect contemporary needs, resulting in six key evaluation dimensions:
A. Relevance: Examines whether the intervention aligns with the priorities, needs, and policies of the target population, stakeholders, and the broader development context.
Questions:
· To what extent does the project respond to the real needs of women and children in the targeted communities?
· Is the project design aligned with national health and water policies, and does it address local priorities?
B. Effectiveness: Measures the extent to which the intervention achieves its intended outcomes or objectives.
Question:
· To what extent has the project achieved its goals?
C. Efficiency: Assesses how economic resources (inputs) are converted into results (outputs/outcomes).
Questions:
· Is the project delivering results in a cost-effective manner?
· Are there any factors or inefficiencies that are affecting the implementation of activities? If yes, what are these factors
D. Impact: Looks at the broader, long-term changes (both positive and negative) produced by the intervention, directly or indirectly.
Questions:
· What positive or negative changes have occurred in Lusangazi district as a result of the project in Lusangazi district?
· Are there any factors or inefficiencies that are affecting the implementation of activities? If yes, what are these factors
E. Sustainability: Considers whether the benefits of the intervention will continue after the external support ends.
Questions:
· What specific plans or commitments do the government, or local authorities have in place to ensure the continued provision and maintenance of services after the project concludes?
· What is the community’s capacity to independently maintain water point facilities delivered by ZRCS?
F. Coherence: Evaluates the consistency of intervention with other policies, programs, or initiatives and its ability to complement other efforts.
Questions:
· Are Implementation activities conducted in compliance with donor regulations and organizational policies?
· Are there controls in place to prevent fraud, corruption, or other irregularities in implementation processes?
· Is the project design aligned with national health and water policies, and does it address local priorities?
Additionally, the consultant should take note of the following:
· Geographic Coverage
The evaluation will assess project activities implemented in the designated catchment areas, including health facilities and surrounding communities within Lusangazi District.
· Timeframe
The evaluation should review the entire project implementation period, analyzing progress from the project's inception to the end.
· Target Beneficiaries
The evaluation focused on direct beneficiaries, including pregnant women, lactating mothers, children under five years, SMAGs, health facility personnel, and community leaders. Indirect beneficiaries, such as household members and the wider community, were also considered during the implementation.
· The consultant(s) is expected to propose his/her methodology for the consultancy, which should include but not limited to:
o Work-plan: This must be a detailed step‐ by‐ step plan of work that specifies the methods the evaluation will use to collect the information needed to address evaluation criteria and answer the evaluation questions, analyze data, interpret the findings, and report the results.
o Evaluation Matrix: An evaluation matrix which includes at least analysis dimension, evaluation question, indicators, means of verification, source, methodology, and space for comments.
o Budget: The evaluator will provide a detailed budget showing how much each stage of the evaluation will cost.
KEY DELIVERABLES
· Evaluation inception report: A consultant will prepare an inception report before going into the technical mission and full data collection stage. It must detail the consultant’s understanding of what is being evaluated and why, showing how each process will be developed and how each evaluation question will be answered by way of: proposed methods, proposed sources of data and data collection/analysis procedures. The inception report must include a proposed schedule of tasks, activities, and deliverables, designating the person with the lead responsibility for each task.
· Presentation of preliminary findings to the ZRCS: The consultant will develop and deliver a presentation to the ZRCS team, summarizing preliminary findings and providing a debrief on the methodology used.
· Draft evaluation report to ZRCS for which ZRSC and its partners will provide feedback.
· Submit Final Endline Evaluation Report to ZRCS: The final report submitted by the consultant should include a clear comparison of the findings from the baseline to the endline and recommendation for future programming. The consultant will submit the final report with comments addressed and must meet the minimum requirements specified in this TOR. He or She must accompany the final report within an appropriate format, for dissemination among various levels of stakeholders.
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES REQUIRED
The consultant must be able to demonstrate the following skills, knowledge, and experience:
Education:
· Master’s degree in Public Health, Development studies, population studies or related.
Experience:
· At least 5 years’ experience in public health field
· At least 5 years’ experience conducting evaluations of projects.
· Previous assignments in conducting endline studies and evaluations for public health projects.
· Experience with participatory assessment
· Experience with qualitative and quantitative methods
· Knowledge or expertise in statistical data analysis software in the case of conducting the endline survey.
· Experience conducting similar works with Red Cross (RCRC) is an advantage.
SKILLS
· Fluency in English
· Ability to write concise, yet comprehensive reports.
· Ability to meet deadlines.
· Knowledge of mobile data collection.
· Competences in qualitative and quantitative data software is desirable.
KNOWLEDGE
· Technical knowledge in Emergency and Disaster Management, Public Health and Community-Based Surveillance
PROPOSAL BY CONSULTANT TO ZRCS
The consultant is expected to submit to ZRCS the following in view of the selection process.
a) Technical offer/ Expression of Interest.
b) Technical proposal describing how evaluation should be carried out.
c) Financial proposal (consultancy fees).
d) List of the previous studies/research developed by her/him, including the link to be able to review them (if this is already included in the CV, it wouldn’t be necessary to attach it separately).
Follow https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1He5BGLJRnN7ceOjfccnJ9CBy06E9HbFt?usp=drive_link for Terms of Reference and other tender documents.
NOTE: All bids should be deposited in the tender box at ZRCS Reception located on Plot No. 2308 Los Angeles Boulevard, Longacres, Lusaka and a copy should be submitted through this link https://ee.ifrc.org/x/P3f6bVSK
For any additional information, please contact the Procurement and Logistics department by cell +260 0977377737 Email: caroline.makala@redcross.org.zm or +260 963335283 and Email: noble.phiri@redcross.org.zm
CLOSING DATE: 30th October, 2025.