Provide Recommendations for Evidence-Based Strategies: Develop targeted, actionable recommendations for stakeholders, such as policymakers, healthcare providers, and community organizations, to address obesity effectively. Propose tailored interventions that consider specific population groups and local contexts to enhance their impact.
Expected results: The outcomes of the assignment will guide the development of policy and programme priorities aimed at preventing overweight and obesity among children and adolescents (0-19 years of age) and their caregivers in families in Angola. It is intended that this process will inform the country programme and detailed workplan with government. The outcomes of this assignment will also guide the development of policy and programme priorities to integrate obesity prevention into the broader efforts to address malnutrition issues.
• The consultant will familiarize themselves with the UNICEF Global Programming Guidance on the Prevention of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents9, and the UNICEF protocol and guide on how to conduct the landscape analysis10.
• The consultant will use and adapt the UNICEF protocol and guide to set up a database to collect the relevant information for Angola.
The consultant will gather and analyse the relevant information to complete the landscape analysis from documents and data from internet searches and directly from government and other sources, interviews with key stakeholders, publications by government and/or UN agencies, and previous regional situation analyses in the SADC region, etc. The consultant will need to collaborate with the UNICEF Country Office and Regional Office to identify and utilize existing evidence to inform the landscape analysis.
• Activity 1.1. Review overweight/obesity prevalence and trend among children and adolescent 0-19 and women.
a. Review of available data from Demographic Health surveys, school-based surveys and/or nutrition surveys.
b. Dis-aggregation of data across age and socioeconomic groups, geographical area and over time.
c. Analysis of connections between obesity/overweight and other forms of malnutrition.
d. Analysis of inequities by income, geography, ethnicity, or gender.
e. Identification of gaps in data/knowledge.
f. Analysis: how serious the situation is (over time, and compared to benchmarking countries), and how it links to the broader malnutrition issues in the country.
• Activity 1.2. Review of available evidence on risk factors, including:
a. Data on early life influences: maternal nutrition, low birth weight, infant and young child feeding, stunting.
b. Data on dietary intake: including potentially unhealthy food and drink e.g. savory snack foods; confectionery; sugar-sweetened beverages; low fruit and vegetable intake. Dis-aggregation (by foods/food groups and time trends) where possible.
c. Food environments: review of available studies of food availability and affordability, promotion, marketing and sale data of food including potentially unhealthy food and drink targeted at younger and school aged children e.g. studies conducted by academia, development partners and/or government. Inclusion of available data from market research reports related to sales and marketing of specific product categories.
d. Data on systems influences: review available studies from education, health, food, social protection and water, sanitation and hygiene systems as they relate to and are linked with unhealthy food environments.
e. Analysis of inequities by income, geography, ethnicity, or gender and disabilities.
f. Physical activity data.
g. Identification of gaps in data/knowledge. Findings to be used for designing a primary data collection tool (UReport) under Activity 2 on dietary and physical activity habits, influences on these choices, exposure to unhealthy food marketing, school food environments.
• Activity 1.3 Review of policies, legislations, strategies, standards and programmes that are in place to address overweight/obesity and risk factors among children and adolescents aged 0-19 years and women.
a. Review of national, sub-national, local, and school level policies strategies, programmes, and action plans already in place that relate to the prevention of overweight/obesity and promote the intake of health foods and reduce the intake the unhealthy foods and high-sugar beverages, among children and adolescents aged 0-19 years and women.
b. Analysis of approaches being adopted e.g., children’s rights approach.
c. Review of specific policies mentioned in the UNICEF programming guidance. Specific attention should be given to reviewing legislation such as the Breastmilk Substitutes Code, rules governing the marketing of commercial foods for infants/young children, restrictions on marketing food to children, and school food standards. Additionally, focus should be placed on policies regarding the sale and promotion of unhealthy foods in and around schools, front-of-pack labeling, sugar-sweetened beverage taxation, and dimensions related to food promotion, labeling, composition, retail, price, as well as governance, such as policy coordination, monitoring, and evaluation.
d. Review of existing services and key interventions relevant to preventing overweight and obesity via health, education, social welfare, and water, sanitation and hygiene systems, as well as social and behaviour change communication strategies.
e. Identification of gaps. Findings to be used for designing a primary data collection tool (U-report) under Activity 2 on youth perception of available services and the idea of implementing new policies to improve food environments.
f. Identification of opportunities, potential enablers.
• Activity 1.4 Design, administer and analyse findings of a UReport youth survey on overweight and obesity prevention
a. Familiarization with UReport style surveys and question development.
b. Administering the survey, with support from UNICEF Angola, and analyzing survey results.
• Activity 1.5 Stakeholder mapping
a. Identification of key stakeholders, their role and influence in the policy and programme discourse on overweight and obesity prevention among children including key ministries and agencies in government, political actors (e.g., parliamentary committees), school stakeholders, civil society organizations including youth led community- and school-level stakeholders, Scouts Association, the private sector, academia, scientific/professional groups, consumer groups, food industry funded groups.
• Activity 1.6 Drafting recommendations
Prepare recommendations and potential solutions, pathways, strategies, policies, actions, based analysis findings, as well as good examples (case studies or lessons learned) from benchmarking countries, from a comparative perspective.
• Activity 1.7 Validation and identification of priority policies and actions through stakeholder workshop
a. Engage stakeholders through a validation workshop and facilitate consensus building on context specific priority policies and actions for child overweight and obesity prevention and treatment by:
– Presenting the results of the landscape analysis and highlighting policy options and actions necessary.
– Facilitate stakeholder discussion on policy options.
– Facilitate prioritization and ensure commitment by stakeholders.
Deliverables
The consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables:
• Inception Report: Design the approach for data collection and analysis including relevant tools, implementation plan and key stakeholders to be involved. Relevant and available global protocols and guidance meant for this age group should be used and adapted to the Angola context. Data collection tools should be included in the inception report. The inception report should be written and prepared in Portuguese.
• Stakeholder Meetings: With the support of UNICEF Angola CO, organize bilateral meetings (in person preferred) with various stakeholder including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Family and the Promotion of Women, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Youth. Seek stakeholders’ feedback on the inception report and engage with them in validating findings, refining study purpose, including scope of primary data collection. Finalize the inception report by incorporating feedback.
• Draft Landscape Analysis Report: Conduct the landscape analysis and compile a draft report (including all aspects detailed in the TOR). Present the draft report to the technical team for inputs and formulation of key recommendations. Recommendations should also encompass suggestions for modifying data collection tools to address any gaps in the existing data. The draft report should be prepared in Portuguese.
• Draft UReport on youth survey on overweight and obesity prevention: Design and execute the UReport with UNICEF Angola support, and prepare interactive report based on survey findings. The draft report should be prepared in Portuguese.
• A full final report: Finalize the landscape analysis report and survey report while incorporating comments/changes suggested by the technical team. This report should be prepared in both English and Portuguese.
• A policy brief: no more than four pages, describing the main findings from the landscape analysis, including current trends in overweight and obesity, risk factors and obesogenic environments and current policy initiatives, and key recommendations for action. This should be prepared in Portuguese.
• A PowerPoint presentation: Describe what is in the executive summary in a few words, using pictures and graphics to describe the situation, what can be done, and who might do it. This should be prepared in English and Portuguese.
• Facilitate dissemination workshop: to Angola Country Office and government stakeholders.