MEAL consultant

1. Background:

La Chaîne de l’Espoir (CDE) is an international NGO headquartered in Paris, France, whose office in Lebanon is located in Zalka, Metn, Mount Lebanon. Its mission is to strengthen health systems to give everyone, especially children, the same chances of survival and development. It works in 27 countries with a global approach, focusing on the child but also on mothers and disadvantaged communities:

• Prevention and screening from the earliest age, particularly in the context of school health programs.
• Care and surgery to meet the most urgent needs of children and their mothers.
• Training and capacity building of local teams through our international network of experts in all areas of surgery.
• Construction and equipment of hospital structures adapted to local needs.

Access to secondary pediatric healthcare, including specialized surgeries such as cardiac surgeries, congenital orthopedics, and general surgeries, is a critical challenge in Lebanon. Barriers to healthcare access need to be systematically identified and understood to inform future interventions. This assessment will provide an evidence-based understanding of the current situation and help address healthcare gaps.

2. General Terms:

The selected candidate will be responsible for initiating the annual needs assessment of the mission for programmatic decisions.

Position Title: Needs Assessment consultant

Location: Zalka, Meten, Lebanon / Remote

Reporting to: Head of Mission  

Consultancy Duration: to be discussed

3. Objective

To conduct a comprehensive needs assessment focusing on secondary pediatric healthcare in Lebanon, including the availability and barriers to access healthcare services in pediatric cardiac surgeries, congenital orthopedics disorders, and general pediatric surgeries.

4. Scope of Work and Qualifications

Key Responsibilities:

• Review existing literature and secondary data on pediatric healthcare services in Lebanon, with a focus on epidemiology, trends, service availability, barriers to access, and unmet needs. This includes reviewing data related to pediatric healthcare in general, and specifically pediatric cardiac surgeries (including prevalence of cardiac disorders and congenital malformations requiring surgical care), congenital orthopedic conditions, and general pediatric surgical needs.
• Develop and implement a methodology for primary data collection, incorporating quantitative and qualitative approaches, including the design of all necessary questionnaires and tools.
• Analyze collected data to assess the current state of healthcare services, barriers to access, and gaps in service delivery.

5. Deliverables

• Inception Report: Outlining the methodology, work plan, and timeline for the assignment.
• Secondary Data Review: A comprehensive review of available literature and data sources related to the mission's focus.
• Primary Data Collection Methods and Tools: Design and execution of tools for collecting data, including surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions, with a detailed report summarizing the findings.
• Handover report for the MEAL manager