Develop National Guidelines on Bio-fortification in Tanzania 22 views0 applications

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS for CONSULTANCY SERVICES

To Develop National Guidelines on Bio-fortification in Tanzania

About MI and ENRICH Project

Nutrition International is a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and nutrition of the world’s most vulnerable- especially women and children. Nutrition International is part of a consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) implementing the Enhancing Nutrition services to Improve Maternal and Child Health (ENRICH) project. The ENRICH project is funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and World Vision Canada, targeting five countries in Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) and Asia (Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar). The consortium includes World Vision, Nutrition International, and Harvest Plus. The project will be implemented over a four-year period, concluding in 2020.

The project is expected to increase the access to basic nutrition and health services to a total of 2.09 million people, including 835,000 women and 740,000 children. In Tanzania, ENRICH will be implemented in five districts of which three are in Shinyanga region (Kishapu, Kahama and Shinyanga District Council) and two are in Singida regions (Ikungi and Manyoni). The project is expected to directly benefit 707,000 pregnant and lactating women and children under two years, and nearly one million people in total.

Background and Rational for Developing National Guidelines on Bio-fortification in Tanzania

Micronutrient malnutrition is a major impediment to socio-economic development and contributes to a vicious circle of underdevelopment, to the detriment of already underprivileged groups. It has long-ranging effects on health, learning ability and productivity. Micronutrient malnutrition leads to high social and public costs, reduced work capacity in populations due to high rates of illness and disability. Micronutrient malnutrition is still one of the problems of public health significance in Tanzania. The major documented micronutrient malnutrition problems include vitamin A deficiency (VAD), iron anaemia deficiency (IDA), and iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). According to the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey data, around 33% of children under the age of five years and about 37% of women of child bearing age suffer from vitamin A deficiency. The Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey report of 2015-16 show that anaemia affects 58% of the children aged less than five years and about 45% of women of child bearing. The above prevalence rates are indicative of a severe public health problems.

In Tanzania the deficiencies especially of iron, vitamin A and folic acid is estimated to cost the country over US$ 518 million or more than TZS 800 billion annually, which is around 2.7% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) as reported in Tanzania Food Fortification Action Plan (2009). Beyond these economic losses, vitamin and mineral deficiencies are a significant contributor to infant mortality.

To address the problem of micronutrient malnutrition, the government, through TFNC in collaboration with development partners, has worked on efforts towards prevention of micronutrient deficiencies. In 2017, the National Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan (NMNAP) was released, which covers a five-year period until 2021. This Action Plan was designed in response to the 2016 National Food and Nutrition Policy. Scaling up prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies is one of the seven key result areas and is ranked among the top 3 priority interventions in the NMNAP. In the plan, bio-fortification is prioritized as an important interventions.

Bio-fortification is a nutrition intervention strategy that uses staple foods to increase micronutrient content through agricultural, agronomic or biotechnological means. The aim of bio-fortification is to contribute to reducing the high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies such as iron, zinc and vitamin A due to improved micronutrient density of the staple food crops that are produced and consumed by low-income populations. This means that the micronutrients are already in the crops when they are harvested, so they do not need to be added afterwards. When consumed regularly, bio-fortified foods will lead to increased micronutrient intake. Bio-fortification can complement the existing nutrition interventions and provide a sustainable, low-cost way of combating malnutrition.

Unlike traditional food fortification, bio-fortification does not require food to be processed centrally, as the micronutrients are already present in growing crops, making it more accessible to those who consume food that is grown locally. Bio-fortification can be used as a long-term strategy aimed at increasing the micronutrient intake of large numbers of people throughout their lives, contributing to an overall reduction in micronutrient deficiencies in a population. The introduction of bio-fortified crops will provide a sustainable and low-cost way of reaching people with poor access to formal markets or healthcare systems. Once the investment has been made in developing nutritionally improved varieties at central research locations, seeds can be adapted to the local growing conditions in numerous countries. Bio-fortified varieties can then provide benefits year after year at a lower cost than either dietary supplements or fortification through food processing.

Bio-fortification is aimed at reaching populations groups who consume most of the staple food they produce and are often missed with other nutrition interventions such as commercially fortified foods. It is anticipated that adoption of bio-fortified varieties such as beans rich in iron and zinc and orange fleshed sweet potatoes rich in vitamin A could prove to be a feasible means of reaching malnourished rural populations who may have limited access to diverse diets, supplements, and commercially fortified foods.

As a result, it is viewed necessary to develop a national guideline on bio-fortification which communities and other stakeholders can use in the process of promoting production and utilization of bio-fortified crops in Tanzania.

Objective of Consultancy

To develop a national guideline on bio-fortification in Tanzania.

Scope of Work

The consultancy team is expected to undertake the following activities:

1. Desk Review
   1. Review existing bio-fortification programs in Tanzania
   2. Review of existing bio-fortified crops data and information globally and in Tanzania
   3. Review existing guidelines on bio-fortification from international organization and/or Tanzania and neighbouring countries
   4. Include justification for bio-fortified crops and what they can contribute to micronutrient intake to vulnerable populations group
2. Develop a draft of the national guidelines on bio-fortification
3. Draft outline of the guideline on bio-fortification
4. Convene a meeting with the Selected Key Stakeholders in Tanzania to discuss the proposed outline for the draft guideline
5. Develop the 1st draft of a comprehensive National bio-fortification guideline for Tanzania with input from working group
6. Stakeholder Consultative meeting
7. Convene a 1-day working session with national and selected district-level stakeholders to review jointly and further refine the existing bio-fortification information and draft guidelines on bio-fortification in Tanzania. The stakeholders must include, but not limited to: MoAFS, Agricultural research institutions, SUA, CIP, TFNC, UNICEF, WHO, MI, HKI, TFDA, TBS, World Bank, PORALG, RNuOs (Singida & Shinyanga), DNuOs (Manyoni, Ikungi, Shinyanga DC, Kishapu DC, Kahama DC).
8. Produce a final draft with comments incorporated from the stakeholders consultative meeting
   1. Prepare a summary brief of the bio-fortification guideline (preferably one page) and a powerpoint presentation with the key components from the guideline
9. Share the draft guideline with the key stakeholders for the final feedback
10. Submit National Micronutrient guideline to government

Duration of Assignment: 6-8 weeks

Expected Deliverables

Taking a consultative, participatory approach the Consultant will undertake relevant tasks to produce the following deliverables:

1. Desk Review of information and guidelines on bio-fortification
2. Outline of first draft of the micronutrient guideline for Tanzania
3. Convene a meeting with the micronutrient working group; provide minutes and key recommendations
4. First draft of Guideline for micronutrients in Tanzania
5. Minutes and key recommendations from workshop with key technical stakeholders to review the draft
6. Final draft of bio-fortification guidelines plus summary brief and powerpoint presentation

Consultancy Team Profile and Collaborating Institutions.

For the purpose of this assignment, the indepth review of guidelines should be hosted by a nutrition, health or agriculture institution/consultant and is expected to work in close collaboration with TFNC and Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. At a minimum, the institution/consultant should have substantial experience in agriculture and nutrition programming or public health and in producing guidelines and/or manuals on bio-fortification.

At least one team member or the consultant should be a food scientist/crop scientist who He/she will hold a masters degree in the area of crop production with experience in bio-fortification, or a nutritionist with wide experience in using bio-fortified food crops.

Guidelines for Submission

Interested consultancy firms should send submit the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae (max 5 pages) and a description of the role of each team member (if applicable)
2. The consultant should fill out annex A in lieu of a full proposal.

Annex A: Consultancy Proposal Template

1. Consultant’s Proposed Overall Approach to meet the overall objective and sub-objectives as listed in the Terms of Reference (this should be no more than a page).
2. Key resources and previous experiences the Consultant is offering to the Consultancy (consultant should add 3-5 sentences or bullet points highlighting relevant qualifications and summarizing previous relevant experiences).

Table of Deliverables and Proposed Approach:

Deliverables

**Staffing and Operational requirement overview*** (number of working days workshop; travel etc.)

Proposed Approach : (3-5 bullet points to be added by the consultant for each deliverable)

Deliverable 1: Desk Review of information amd guidelines on bio-fortification

Working days:

Operational needs:

Deliverable 2: Outline of first draft of the micronutrient guideline for Tanzania

Working days:

Operational needs:

Deliverable 3: Convene a meeting with the micronutrient working group; provide minutes and key recommendations

Working days:

Operational needs:

Deliverable 4: First draft of Guideline for micronutrients in Tanzania

Working days:

Operational needs:

Deliverable 5: Minutes and key recommendations from workshop with key technical stakeholders to review the draft

Working days:

Operational needs:

Deliverable 6: Final draft of bio-fortification guidelines plus summary brief and powerpoint presentation

Working days:

Operational needs:

*Shortlisted candidates will be requested to provide a full budget.

How to apply:

Applications should be submitted via email to:

[email protected]

1. [email protected]

Deadline for submission of proposal is COB Tuesday 1^st August, 2017.

Question regarding this Terms of Reference may be sent via email to the following email address: [email protected]