Consultancy To Train Healthcare Providers On The Sexual And Reproductive Health Rights Of Women And Girls With Disabilities.

Terms of Reference for HealthCare Providers Trainer

Status-Closed

Introduction

This Ability Trust is a women-led nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the sexual reproductive health and rights of women and girls with disabilities in Kenya and across the region. We envision a society in which women and girls with disabilities have access to quality dignified healthcare with their rights respected and upheld. Our model focuses on leveraging various forms of technology to increase access to sexual reproductive healthcare services and information, build the capacities of healthcare providers on disability rights and inclusive healthcare and collect disaggregated data to inform and strengthen collective multi stakeholder advocacy on sexual reproductive health for women and girls with disabilities in Kenya.

Background

Access to health is a fundamental human right as outlined in Article 43 (1) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 which states that: Every person has the right-to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care. Despite this provision in the law, women and girls with disabilities in Kenya, still face numerous challenges in access to sexual and reproductive health. The myths and misconceptions attached to their sexuality often hinders them from acquiring quality sexual and reproductive health services, they are denied the right to express their sexuality through forced and arranged marriages, forced sterilization, forced and unsafe abortion as well as denial of sexual and reproductive health information and education which creates a gap in their health and increases the susceptibility of untreated sexual and reproductive health illnesses.

Problem Statement

Women and girls with disabilities experience increased stigma and discrimination when accessing sexual and reproductive health services and information. They are often discouraged from exercising their sexual and reproductive health and rights as their sexuality is often overlooked and a lot more emphasis is placed on the need to “heal” from their disability before expressing their sexuality. They may often be considered a low priority, or may not be provided with accessible education and information material. 

Negative attitudes from healthcare providers also hinder women with disabilities from accessing the right information on their sexual and reproductive health. Inaccessibility to health facilities remains a challenge from lack of ramps, lack of support for alternative modes of communication, such as sign language, Braille, and simplified easy-to-read and adaptive tools. In the context of sexual and reproductive health and rights, women with disabilities may experience attitudinal barriers relating to the expectation that they are not sexually active and therefore not in need of such services.

Any person with a disability may be sexually active and in need of services; women and girls with disabilities may need such services even more, as they have less decision-making power and autonomy to negotiate safer sex. The combination of discrimination based on disability, gender, sexual orientation may compromise access to services.

Overall Objective: 

To strengthen disability inclusive sexual and reproductive healthcare, centered on the needs of women and girls with disabilities.

Specific Objectives:

  • To coordinate the training for 130 healthcare providers through our Skills eLearning platform by the end of 2024, from 13 counties (Kakamega, Kisumu, Uasin Gishu, Nairobi, Narok, Kajiado, Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Mandera, Isiolo, Wajir and Marsabit) in Kenya.
  • To ensure healthcare providers are better positioned to address the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities and address current gaps of existing healthcare infrastructure 
  • To strengthen disaggregated data collection within healthcare systems and support community engagement.

Deliverables:

  • Revise the educational materials to include relevant subjects based on emerging needs and best practices.
  • Facilitate a six-week interactive training session for healthcare providers using Zoom.
  • Assess the assignments submitted by healthcare providers.
  • Issue a course completion certificate only after confirming that all participants have fulfilled the requirements to a satisfactory level and submitted a comprehensive report.
  • Administer the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) survey, compile the findings into a report, and submit.

Responsibilities:

  • Work in partnership with This Ability Trust to train on the knowledge of sexual and reproductive health rights for women with disabilities in Kenya 
  • Periodic meetings with This Ability’s team to discuss challenges and adjustments.
  • Provide accurate and timely feedback throughout the training process. 

Required Experience:

  • Relevant experience in training on sexual and reproductive health rights of women and young people with disabilities.
  • A Postgraduate Degree in Public Health, Clinical Health or Medicine with specific focus on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
  • At least four years of proven experience in designing and delivering training programs for healthcare providers.
  • Knowledge of the Kenyan social, economic and cultural context on issues of accessibility to healthcare for women and girls with disabilities.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information in an accessible manner.

Application Instructions:

Please send your expression of interest to consultant@this-ability.org on or before 18th June 2024. Late applications will not be accepted

N.B. Qualified women with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Exclusion Clause 

  1. This Ability Trust has zero tolerance for corruption and fraud. You are required to go through the anti-bribery policy to get a better understanding of this and the other policies that the Trust’s operations focus on.
  2. This Ability Trust has a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment. The Trust makes available annual sexual harassment prevention and response training for all supervisors, managers, and Contractors. You are required to go through the Safeguarding policy
  3. The Trust affirms its established policy of non-discrimination in employment and its commitment to affirmative action in being an equal opportunity employer, particularly in the employment of women with disabilities.
  4. This Ability Trust reserves the right to offer comparable assignments to those qualified candidates that may not have been selected for this consultancy assignment which they applied for. These offers will be based on the needs of the organisation, appropriateness and relevance to the candidate’s educational backgrounds and work experience. Only those candidates in whose qualifications and experience the Trust has further interest will be contacted for subsequent interviews.