1. Background:
Every second, two people celebrate their 60th birthday around the globe. 1 in 9 persons in the world is 60 or over. This will be increased to 1 person over sixty in every 5 persons by 2050. Population ageing is a global phenomenon now and the world is experiencing a demographic transition. This is happening at a faster pace in Asia and especially in South Asia. Pakistan is one of the only 15 countries in the world which have a population of over 10 million older people. We estimate that 11.6 million people in Pakistan to be over the age of 60. With increasing life expectancy in country, which as a country we should be proud of, we need to be better prepared for coping with this demographic transition by making our policies and programs inclusive of all ages including the older people.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which Pakistan is a also committed to achieve, Goal 1 on eradication of extreme poverty for all people everywhere asks for implementation of ‘nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable’.
After the 18th amendment social protection is now a provincial subject. In line with the government’s commitment to SDGs, the federal government, in consultation with the provincial governments, developed a draft Social protection framework which is yet to be approved. Meanwhile, provincial governments are also developing their social protection strategies. The government of Punjab established a Social protection authority in January 2015 with an objective to formulate social protection policy for the province and propose legislation for the legal rights and welfare of the poor and vulnerable; consolidate and coordinate all public social protection initiatives including those by the Federal Government’s initiatives; execute social protection policies e.g. setting up ; and document, research, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the social protection interventions in the province.
The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has drafted a provincial social protection strategy with the support of ILO. Similarly, the government of Sindh is also finalising a draft strategy. However, the government of Baluchistan is yet to start formulation of a SP strategy. Recently, the federal government has also announced forming a new Social Protection ministry and implement a coordinated social protection programme across the country.
In addition, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government passed “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senior Citizen Welfare Act, 2014” followed by Sindh enacting a legislation “The Sindh Senior Citizens Welfare Act, 2014”. Both the legislations recognize older people’s rights to a secure income; age-friendly health facilities/provisions; shelter; protection from harm, abuse and neglect; and social inclusion.
Social protection programs and the strategies are key instrument to support implementation of these acts. Therefore, it is important that older people’s basic rights to income, health and wellbeing are reflected in these SP strategies. In this regard, HelpAge International is planning to carry out a situational analysis of social protection and older people in Pakistan. The findings of the situational analysis will be used to inform policy dialogues and advocacy for older people inclusive social protection in Pakistan.
Objective 1: To collect and consolidate information about the policies and programs on social protection in older age both at the national level and in Sindh province specifically for income security and better access to age-friendly health and care in old age.
Objective 2: To identify areas of improvement for social protection in old age and share recommendations for improving existing policies and programmes/schemes.
2. Methodology
The proposed methodology for this study is qualitative however, the consultant may propose alternative methodologies supported by a rationale.
The process should include:
- Review of secondary data including the development plans, social protection policies, annual budgets allocated for social protection schemes etc.
- Key informant interviews with the policy makers, officials from relevant government departments, older women, older men, care providers etc.
- Workshop with the senior citizen’s council and civil society network to validate the findings of the study and the recommendations.
3. Deliverables
The required outputs of this assignment will be as follows:
- An inception report (maximum five pages) outlining the approach/methodology and execution program/timetable. This report shall be submitted for review and approval by HelpAge International before commencement of the work.
- Data collection tools which shall be submitted after acceptance of the methodology for review and approval by HelpAge International.
- Draft review report which shall be submitted within 5 days after completion of the field work and shall be accompanied with the raw data as collected by the data collection tools.
- Presentation of the key findings to HelpAge International’s program staff and management.
- A workshop with the key stakeholders to validate the findings of the study.
- The final publishable quality report shall be submitted within 10 days after the presentation and shall incorporate HelpAge’s feedback.
The consultant/s will produce/submit final report in hard and soft form (along with relevant annexes,).
5. Duration
The consultant will complete the work over a period of twenty (25) working days beginning with the date of signature of the contract and ending with the acceptance of the final report.
6. Supervision
The overall supervisor of this assignment will be the Head of Program, HelpAge International, Pakistan. Whereas, this assignment will be coordinated by Monitoring and Learning Officer, HelpAge International Pakistan.
7. Duration and timeline
The proposed duration of assignment will be 25 working days after the signing of the agreement, expected to be starting from 30th April 2019.
8. Qualification
A well-recognised and reputable consultancy firm/company or an individual consultant having documented experience in social protection research in Pakistan or internationally are eligible to submit their proposals.
9. General conditions
- No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both parties.
- The team members of the consultancy firms are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.
- Accommodation and meals will be covered by the consulting firm/company. Therefore, the price component must contain an overall quotation. However, the detailed budget is required to show the actual breakup.
- The consulting firm/company should provide its team with relevant IT equipment’s and other office supplies related directly to the task.
- HelpAge will not provide any facility for the movement of the teams in field and geographic areas. The travel to and from and within the field needs to be reflected in financial proposal
- Final payment to the consulting firm will be dependent on the completion of deliverables (to be specified in the contract) as well as handover notes and relevant data.