Assessment of the Impact of the Changing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Funding Landscape in Sierra Leone

Hiring Office

UNFPA Sierra Leone Country Office

Background

Sierra Leone has made important progress in improving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) outcomes over the past decade through investments by the Government of Sierra Leone, bilateral and multilateral development partners, UN agencies, international and national NGOs, and private sector actors. These investments have contributed to improvements in family planning, maternal and newborn health, adolescent health, HIV prevention and treatment, gender-based violence (GBV) response, and broader health systems strengthening.

However, the global development financing landscape is undergoing significant transformation. The restructuring and closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with broader reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA) and changing donor priorities, are creating substantial uncertainty for health and development programmes worldwide. SRHR programmes are among those expected to be disproportionately affected due to reductions in bilateral funding and shifting emphasis towards humanitarian response, economic development, climate financing, and domestic resource mobilization.

In Sierra Leone, these changes are likely to affect the availability of SRH service delivery, commodities, health workforce support, civil society programming, community outreach, advocacy, data systems, and policy implementation. The evolving financing environment also presents an opportunity to identify more sustainable approaches to financing SRHR through government leadership, diversified partnerships, innovative financing mechanisms, and increased domestic investment.

Against this backdrop, UNFPA seeks to engage an individual consultant to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the impact of the changing SRHR funding landscape in Sierra Leone and provide strategic recommendations to inform future programming, advocacy and resource mobilization. The consultant will work remotely but coordinate with a national counterpart to accomplish this assignment effectively.

Objective of the consultancy:

To assess the implications of the changing SRHR financing landscape on programmes, systems and populations in Sierra Leone, and identify opportunities and strategies to strengthen sustainable financing and resilience of SRHR services.

The Specific objectives are to:

1. Track financial flow trends (bilateral, multilateral, domestic, private) directed toward SRHR in Sierra Leone.
2. Evaluate the scale of funding gaps across primary SRHR services, contraceptive supply chains, Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society capacity.
3. Map shifting priorities among remaining development partners to identify emerging funding channels or strategic realignments.
4. Evaluate the financial vulnerability and adaptive capacity of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and CSOs.
5. Identify opportunities to support financing mechanisms: Sustainable domestic resource mobilization; Alternative financing mechanisms; New donor engagement; Public-private partnerships; Philanthropic investment; and Integration of SRHR within Universal Health Coverage and Primary Health Care reforms.
6. Provide actionable policy and strategy recommendations for the Government of Sierra Leone, donor agencies, and civil society actors.

Scope of the review, Description of services, activities or outputs:

The consultant will undertake, but not be limited to, the following tasks:

1. Inception Report: Develop an inception report, that includes an assessment framework and data collection tools and a stakeholder engagement plan.
2. Desk Review: Analyze health expenditure trends, donor contribution shifts, and programmatic reports from 2020 to present. Track funding levels, grant cycles, conditionalities, and donor exits/shifts across key SRHR thematic areas.
3. Data Collection / Key Informant Interviews: Conduct structured KIIs with officials from the Ministry of Health, UN agencies, Development partners, international NGOs, civil society leaders, and health facility managers. Engage key actors through qualitative interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) across selected urban and rural districts - representing Western Area, Southern and Northern Provinces.
4. Field & Bottleneck Analysis: Analyze facility-level and community-level access disruptions, stock-outs, service rollbacks, or quality declines linked to funding changes. Evaluate how local feminist networks, youth-led organizations, and health-focused CSOs are adapting to changing funding streams.
5. Resource Mobilization Opportunities: Draft actionable strategies focused on domestic resource integration, joint funding pools, Scenario projections, sustainable financing and priority setting. Assess the alignment between donor resource allocation and national frameworks (e.g. National RMNCAHN strategies).
6. Validation: Present preliminary findings during a national validation workshop and incorporate feedback into the final report.
7. Final Report: Draft final narrative report, a power-point presentation summarizing the findings and recommendations, policy brief and infographics for high-level advocacy.

Duration and working schedule:

This assignment will be undertaken over a period of 30 working days spread over two months according to the following timeline:

• Desk Review and Inception: 3
• Data collection: 10
• Analysis and Report Writing: 10
• Validation and Finalization: 2
• Final Report: Narrative, Policy brief, PPT: 5

Total duration: 30

Place where services are to be delivered:

Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered

Deliverable Payment to be paid / Weight Milestone

1. Inception Report and Desk Review: Detailed methodology, stakeholder engagement plan, and a comprehensive desk review: 20%
2. Draft Report: Preliminary findings on funding gaps, facility impacts, and policy options: 40%
3. Final Validated Report and Policy Brief: Final report along with a concise 4-page strategic policy brief: 35%
4. Power Point presentation version of the Report including Infographics: 5%

Payments are strictly output-based and will be disbursed upon satisfactory completion and approval of deliverables.

Monitoring and progress control

Through emails and calls (phone or virtual meetings) coordinated by UNFPA Maternal Health Technical Specialist to discuss progress, share drafts and reports.

Supervisory arrangements

Operating under the overall guidance of the UNFPA Deputy Representative, the consultant will report to the Maternal Health/Midwifery Technical Specialist.

Confidentiality

The consultant must adhere to confidentiality and ethical guidelines in conducting the assessment, ensuring the privacy and rights of all stakeholders and participants are respected.

Expected travels

In-country travels to selected health facilities and districts as agreed upon with UNFPA in consultation with MoH.

Required expertise, qualifications, and competence, including language requirements:

• Advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Public Health, Medicine, Health Economics, Health Financing, Global Health Policy, or a closely related social science field.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in health system financing, SRHR policy, or development sector evaluation in Sub-Saharan Africa (Sierra Leone context preferred).
• Experience in working with the UN, Ministry of Health, NGOs and/or development partner institutions.
• Excellent technical writing skills and proven ability to draft high-impact policy briefs.
• Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills with experience engaging high-level government and donor stakeholders.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory.
• Ability to work in a team.

Inputs/ services to be provided by UNFPA

• UNFPA will facilitate:
• Introduction to key stakeholders.
• Provide relevant background documentation.
• Support scheduling of stakeholder consultations where feasible.
• Organize the validation meetings (Online)

Other relevant information or special conditions if any

The consultant is expected to deliver this assignment using his/her own equipment and workspace.

Consultant must undertake mandatory courses by UNFPA / or demonstrate certification of the same – eg. PSEA, BSAFE, etc.