Contract Type: Consultancy (2 consultants)

• Duration: 3 months
• Closing Date: October 10, 2021

• BACKGROUND

ATCA is a non-profit, non-political and continent-wide tobacco control alliance of civil society organizations (CSOs) with a vision to promote health by building a tobacco-free Africa. Established in 2008, the alliance is a unique Pan African tobacco control civil society network and currently has membership in 39 African countries. The alliance has developed to a network for synergy and sharing of tobacco control resources in Africa. It assures the coordination of its members’ efforts to promote the adoption and implementation of international, regional and national legal instruments, policies and activities on tobacco control within the African Region. The alliance is growing in number and expertise and plays a key role in the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in Africa.

ATCA is currently implementing a project titled “Enhancing ATCA Capacity to Empower Africa CSOs (2EAC)” with the support of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). The goal of the project is to contribute to reducing the prevalence of tobacco use in Africa through the following specific objectives: (i) enhance the operational capacity of ATCA for effective coordination of CSOs agenda for tobacco control in Africa; and (ii) foster synergy on tobacco industry monitoring to facilitate adoption and effective implementation of FCTC-compliant policies in African countries.

With more than 1.1 billion people, Sub-Saharan Africa is known to have a very youthful population. Almost 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, making it the world’s youngest continent.^[1] As such, the Afro Region is a major market target for the tobacco industry.[2] The tobacco industry therefore targets African youth with aggressive marketing strategies through advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) with a large range of tactics which include display at point of sale, outdoor advertising, tobacco packaging and use of digital and new media. To deal with this industry strategy and save their future generations from the tobacco epidemic, 44 countries of the WHO Afro region have ratified the WHO FCTC. They are taking adequate steps as recommended by Article 13.2 of the convention: “Each Party shall, in accordance with its constitution or constitutional principles, undertake a comprehensive ban of all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. This shall include, subject to the legal environment and technical means available to that Party, a comprehensive ban on cross-border advertising, promotion and sponsorship originating from its territory. In this respect, within the period of five years after entry into force of this Convention for that Party…” By doing so, they recognize that a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship would reduce the consumption of tobacco products.

Also, enforcing TAPS policy is one of the six MPOWER^[1] measures which set a foundation for Parties to effectively undertake tobacco control. Of the 44 parties to the FCTC in the Afro region, only 21 are implementing this policy at best level.[2]

For these reasons, the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) will undertake research to produce a shadow report on the implementation of Article 13 in Africa: the Africa Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship Index. In line with the guidelines, the report will assess efforts being deployed by selected parties in implementing this policy and share the view of the civil society.

A team of 2 consultants is being recruited to produce the report as well as a regional factsheet covering 10 countries.

2- OBLIGATIONS

2.1- For the consultant

The consultant will:

• develop a regional report, the “Africa Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship Index”
• participate in an orientation session, and liaise with ATCA, at the initial stage of the research, to review countries’ legislation and identify relevant countries for the research
• collect and provide civil society appreciation of the progress by scoring and ranking countries and providing evidence to show loopholes in the implementation as well as strategies that will be used to stimulate active enforcement
• ensure a high level of proficiency and compliance of the task with general norms of public health research
• produce a report that is easily digestible across Africa and globally.

2.2 – For the African Tobacco Control Alliance

• provide clear guidance to the selected team of consultants on the effective execution of this task (definition of indicators, selection of countries, alignment of methodology etc.)
• mobilise its members in target countries to provide data (respond to questionnaires) to the consultants
• review and comment on all drafts submitted by the consultants to facilitate their finalisation
• provide any other necessary assistance to the consultants
• pay the agreed amount in three instalments as follows:
• 35% upon alignment of the brief note on the methodology and signing of the agreement;
• 45% upon submission of the draft report and factsheet
• 20% on submission of the final report and factsheet.

3- DELIVERABLES

• A brief note on the methodology/process, workplan including key tasks and timelines
• A draft regional report and factsheet

• A final regional report – Africa Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship Index and factsheet.

4- DURATION

The project will last 3 months, between October 2021 and January 2022.

5- SELECTION CRITERIA

The selected consultants will be expected to:

• have a thorough understanding of the tobacco control landscape in Africa;
• have an advanced degree in public Health and proven experience in assessing tobacco control policy implementation;
• use adequate tools/software for the compilation and analysis of data
• have an excellent analytical skill;
• have excellent oral and written skills in English or French;
• have excellent communication and document writing skills

6- EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Interested consultants should submit an Expression of Interest, structured to include the following information:

• Self-introduction letter
• Curriculum vitae of the lead consultant
• Introductory note on methodology including a timeline
• Stated experience in the above required technical area(s)
• Proven record in similar consultation
• Financial proposal

7- DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION

Applications should be sent not later than 10^th October 2021 at 5.00 pm GMT by email to applications@atca-africa.org. The email should have as subject: “Proposal for the development of a regional report on Article 13 of WHO FCTC”.

8- FURTHER INFORMATION

• ATCA reserves the right to award the contract to any applicant it considers qualified, and to enter into negotiations with selected consultants to discuss any matter that will be necessary to help with the selection.
• ATCA does not hire the services of consultants directly or indirectly associated with the tobacco industry. It has a strict policy of non-engagement with, and does not accept any form of funding or support from any company that manufactures, distributes, markets, or sells tobacco products, or that provides legal representation, public relations or lobbying services, or marketing assistance to any member of the tobacco industry.
• For questions related to this call for application, contact Ms Irene Senouvor either by email: senouvor@atca-africa.org or by telephone; +228 22 25 15 80 /83, from 8.30am GMT to 6.00pm GMT.