A AD DV VE ER RT TI I S SE EM ME EN NT T

Request for consultancy services

(REF: CD-KN-LC-068)



Terms of Reference

Cost of diet consultancy

Reference: ACF Cost of Diet in Kasai occidental
Area of Interest: Food security, economics, health or a related field
Position Type: Consultancy
Duration: 35 working days


1. Background
1


ACF, funded by The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), is undertaking an
innovative and comprehensive program in Kasa Occidental Province, and in particular the Kalomba
Health Zone, an area which has a total population of 143.964 people. This project will focus on service
provision through detection, referral and treatment of severe acutely malnourished under-5 year old
boys and girls in collaboration with Ministry of Health. Additionally, ACF will study determinants of
under-nutrition and community dynamics for the targeted areas, with the aim of developing necessary
knowledge and insights into the problem of under-nutrition at various levels in order to inform long-
term impact nutritional programming in the DRC. ACF will translate its findings in a proposed multi-
sectoral strategy providing the basis for a long-term impact response towards under-nutrition in the
DRC. Through the adoption of a community-based approach and close involvement of local authorities,
ACF will lay the foundations for sustainability.

As part of the first phase of this project (during year one) a number of assessments and studies a Cost
of Diet (CoD) , a Nutrition Causal Analysis (NCA), a Rapid Socio Cultural Assessment (RSCA) and an ACF
Participatory Capacity and Vulnerability Assessment (PCVA) will be carried out in order to understand
the direct and indirect drivers of unde-rnutrition, and also gather information about which actions are
most appropriate to bring about the desired change, and at what level.

The information from these studies in phase one will inform context specific and long-term impact
strategies and programming and will be the basis for the development of a multi-sectoral, integrated
approach to be presented at the end of year one. ACF will share the results of the different surveys
and its strategic recommendations to fight effectively under-nutrition with all relevant actors and
donors, and will evaluate with them the opportunities for next phases programming.

2. CoD Rationale and Methodology

The Cost of the Diet (CoD) is an innovative method and software developed by Save the Children UK to
estimate the amount and combination of local foods that are needed to provide a typical family with a
diet that meets their average needs for energy, as well as the recommended intakes of protein, fat and
micronutrients. The CoD provides key knowledge about the local diet needed in relation to available

1
This section is taken largely from the ACF DRC proposal submitted to SIDA in 2014.
foods and those foods that could be made accessible. CoD moreover can help determining the minimum
income needed for a household to access an adequate diet. This is particularly important as it has been
noted that economic barriers often prevent families from accessing adequate diets.
2


The CoD will identify seasonality patterns of diets, collect market price data on the cost of food items,
calculate the minimum cost of a diet for an individual child / pregnant or lactating woman and the
whole household (taking into account seasonal variations in food price and availability). The CoD will
also assess availability of a nutritious diet, based on local consumption habits and given local incomes.
3


Overall, results from the CoD will be used to inform appropriate and context-specific integrated
programming, with the aim of targeting under-nutrition and its underlying causes in Kasa Occidental.

Study Design:
Initially, information on household income must be gathered. The CoD will document dietary
preferences and consumption patterns (taboos/most preferred and less preferred foods etc. through a
literature review, which will include other studies conducted in the same zone prior to the CoD).

Then, information on food availability and prices will be collected by speaking with different key
informants, including local families and vendors. Following data collection, data about food price and
availability will be entered into the CoD program. An analysis will then be conducted that will
estimate the local diet that would meet a familys nutritional needs.

3. Primary Responsibilities of the Consultant

The consultant is expected to oversee the CoD, with the input and approval of ACF.
Primary responsibilities include the following:
Review of relevant HEA data and reports from the assessment areas (livelihood zones, wealth
ranking, household composition and income data) (Note: depending upon the availability of
secondary data, primary data collection may take places at the outset of the consultants time in
the DRC), and collection of HEA data on the ground.
Secondary data review of nutritional status and feeding practices of children in the assessment
region.
Support the team in organizing the training logistics and selecting villages and markets for data
collection.
Develop training and field work schedule
Assist with hiring of researchers for CoD Study and assist with logistics as necessary
Undertake in-country training on the cost of diet method and analysis program (including
development of food list, market choice, pilot market survey)
Provide support (distance or in person) to field teams during data collection (including checking
data quality)
Train the team to use the CoD software to analyze the data collected and how to summarize the
results using the prepared Microsoft Excel spread sheets.
Train the team in how to estimate the proportion of households that cannot afford the diet, and
estimate the gap between income and expenditure using HEA data
Train the team in how to model food security and nutrition interventions that aim to improve the
affordability, reduce the cost of and improve the quality of the diet using the CoD software.
Provide an overview of the initial findings to the national team (record feedback and determine
interventions that should be modeled)
Produce a final report (see below for more information) that includes all information and
analyses, which incorporates feedback from the initial presentation and draft report

2
The Cost of the Diet: what is it and what can it be used for? Hunger Reduction team, Save the Children UK, September 2009
3
A number of these sections come directly from or are heavily influenced by ACFs CoD Consultancy position for Sierra Leone
with the starting date of 2013-09-19, and by the Terms of Reference for the CoD Study in Sindh, Pakistan.
Present findings to stakeholders.

Primary Deliverables:
At the end of the COD study, the consultant will have produced a final report. It will include an
executive summary as well as sections on the background and context, the methodology of work, all
analyses, relevant models and descriptions of diets calculated, (including their costs and affordability)
and recommendations that can be used to direct future integrated programming, including detailed
ideas on how families in the area studied can access nutritious diets, as well as conclusions, a
bibliography and necessary annexes etc.

In addition to the written report, the consultant will share findings with ACF and other stakeholders at
the local level and the national level.


For more information on the estimated timeline, please refer to the schedule below.

Profile consultant
Masters degree in food security, economics, health or a related field
Proven experience leading successful Cost of Diet (CoD) Assessments
Team training, capacity building and management skills
Skilled in Cost of Diet Software and proficient in Microsoft Office
Excellent written and spoken French or willingness to work with an interpreter. Comprehension
of written English is an asset.
Strong communication and presentation skills
Previous experience working in low-resource settings
Flexibility, cultural sensitivity and adaptability
Previous experience in the DRC and previous experience with ACF desirable

Budget and contract
Budget allocation will cover the cost of the cost and diet over a 3 months period in 2014.
The assignment will be contracted by Action Against Hunger.
Installments and conditions to be determined based on profiles and applications.

The Consultant is responsible for the following:
His or her own health insurance.
Any international transportation and accommodation, as needed.
The consultant is responsible for ensuring he/she has a valid visa before entering DRC.
The consultant is responsible for acquiring and paying for their entry visa(s) to DRC
prior to arrival. The cost of the visa(s) will be reimbursed by ACF DRC, upon
presentation of receipt(s). An invitation letter will be provided and paid for by ACF DRC
to assist the consultant in acquiring the entry visa. Be aware the DRC visa process can
be long and requests anticipation (1 to 3 weeks for invitation letter, up to 2 weeks for
the visa itself).
If there is no DRC Embassy in the consultants country of residence, the mission will be
responsible for acquiring and paying for the entry visa (visa volant). The process for
acquiring a visa volant is complicated and time consuming.
Once in DRC, an accord de dploiement or a work permit will be facilitated, acquired
and paid for by ACF DRC.
The consultant is responsible for any and all administrative costs that do not derive from ACFs
responsibility (for example: passport renewal, photos, penalties or administrative fees related to
prior stays in DRC, among others.)
His or her own equipment including a computer and telephone.


Application Process
Interested parties must submit their applications by email referenced under title
Cost and Diet Consultancy
at consultancies.lsc@acf-international.org
Deadline for submission: Wednesday 25
th
June 2014 at 17:00 (GMT+3).

Action Against Hunger will consider applications from both individuals and teams. Applications shall
clearly identify a team leader, who will be the sole responsible to deliver the outputs of the
assignment.
Applications should include:
- Up-to-date curriculum vitae,
- The financial expectations,
- One supporting document of max 3 pages outlining core competencies in line with the
assignment, the proposed methodology of work including timeframe and location
- Evidence of past experience in undertaking similar assignments (One most recent document
preferred) of similar works done,
- Three (3) references of previous assignments.
Only shortlisted applications will be contacted.
The final selection will be done by Action Against Hunger USA

For more information, prospective consultants may contact Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm
(GMT+3) at the following email address or by phone:
Email: consultancies.lsc@acf-international.org or tel: +254 721 126 481.


















1. Annex 1: Schedule
The CoD is planned for a period of 35 working days. The following estimated timeline may change in function of needs identified on the ground.

Principal Activity
Day
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Literature review and compilation of HEA
data
Preparation and validation of detailed,
specific methodology for CoD
implementation and selection of villages

Hiring of staff

Training on HEA and HEA data collection

Training of staff on the cost of diet
method and analysis programme
(including development of food list,
market choice, pilot market survey)
Data collection

Data entry and analysis

Preparation of draft report

Preparation of final report after
incorporating feedback

Presentation of CoD to stakeholders