RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTANT TO DEVELOP GENDER-EQUITABLE GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND REVISION OF NATIONAL DIGITAL HEALTH STRATEGIES IN AFRICA

ABOUT SPEAK UP AFRICA

Speak Up Africa is an African organization committed to building an Africa where growth and sustainable development are driven by African citizens themselves. We unite, inspire, and advocate. With a focus on strategic communications, policies, and advocacy, we are dedicated to helping African leaders and citizens actively participate in identifying and developing solutions to address major challenges on our continent such as malaria, neglected tropical diseases, vaccination, sanitation, gender equality, and global health research and development.

ABOUT THE AWiDH initiative

Despite having the highest percentage of adult women engaged in entrepreneurial activity globally, African women face significant challenges, including lack of financial investment and digital literacy, which impede their ability to fully benefit from digital transformation. For instance, in Senegal, 36% of women cited reading and writing as barriers to mobile access compared to 12% of men. Women are often excluded from digital jobs, networks, and business associations that connect job seekers to the tech industry.

The African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy has set a goal of digital inclusion, including digital health, for every African by 2030. Achieving this goal requires concerted efforts to remove barriers for African women and girls, enabling their full participation in the digital economy and fostering technology-oriented entrepreneurship.

The African Women in Digital Health (AWiDH) initiative, a flagship of the Africa CDC Digital Transformation Strategy co-chaired by Speak Up Africa, aims to address the digital health gender gap by creating a community platform that brings together stakeholders working on health and gender issues to collaborate on actions for meaningful engagement and leadership of women in digital health. The initiative relies on three strategic objectives:

1. Capacity strengthening: Increasing skill set by addressing digital capacity building needs for women to build a strong pipeline of talent
2. Enabling environment: Supporting the enabling environment for women entrepreneurship in digital health
3. Investment: Ensuring adequate investment for women entrepreneurs in the tech digital health space

For this exercise, the AWiDH initiative aims to support selected Member States to design or update their digital health strategy to include a gender lens. Therefore, the consultant will use an evidence-informed and participative methodology to develop Guidelines that will guide the development and revision of national digital health strategies to include a gender lens, for more inclusive digital health policies in Africa.

OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION

More specifically, the consultant will:

• Conduct consultations with Africa CDC staff, digital health focal point in AU countries, women digital health experts and key stakeholders to gather input and insights on the development of the guidelines.
• Draft detailed guidelines for integrating a gender lens into digital health strategies, ensuring alignment with the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy, the Member State’s priorities, and African Women in Digital Health (AWiDH) initiative goals.
• Review and finalize the draft Guidelines by gathering feedback and insights from all stakeholders
• Facilitate the validation process by engaging experts from AU Member States to review and validate the guidelines, ensuring they meet the needs and expectations of all stakeholders.

DELIVERABLES

The contract is anticipated to be executed over a period of three (3) months with the following deliverables:

• A comprehensive report on the consultations held with Africa CDC and stakeholders prior to the Guidelines development
• A detailed draft of the Guidelines for integrating a gender lens into digital health strategies
• A final draft of the Guidelines for integrating a gender lens into digital health strategies
• Best practices and recommendations for applying the Guidelines to new and existing digital health strategies

• At least seven (10) years of experience in Gender studies, digital health, public health, public policy, sustainable development, or other relevant fields in Africa
• Proven experience in conducting similar exercises
• Strong knowledge of data collection and analysis methods and tools.
• Proven experience in evidence-informed and participative information gathering methodologies
• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills in French and English

Consultants are invited to include the following in their proposals:

• Detailed CV(s) for each consultant participating in the exercise, highlighting relevant experience, qualifications, and specific skills related to the scope of this exercise.
• Examples of similar projects previously completed, showcasing the consultant’s experience and success in similar endeavors.
• A comprehensive description of the proposed methodology for the project, detailing the approach to achieving the objectives of the exercise.
• A timeline including all major milestones and estimated deadlines for each.
• A detailed financial proposal and budget, providing a breakdown of all expenses related to the exercise.

Proposals should be submitted via email to talent@speakupafrica.org before September 10, 2024.