Background
The rights of persons with disabilities to accessible WASH facilities are documented in the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – Article 9 on accessibility and Article 28 on adequate standard of living and social protection. To support the fulfillment of these rights, UNICEF is in the process of finalizing an executive directive on accessibility programme related construction in 2015. To deliver on this commitment to disability inclusive programmes, WASH PD seeks to identify key strategies and practices that are being applied in countries and that have the potential to substantially scale up the provision of accessible WASH services. The documentation, sharing and exchange of knowledge and good practices on inclusive and accessibility WASH programmes is key to strengthening results for children with disabilities.
UNICEF WASH and Disability Sections are taking measures to improve disability inclusion and accessibility in development and emergency programmes,particularly in terms of the provision of accessible infrastructure and facilities as most WASH facilities are not built to universal design[1]principles. Building on the existing good practices in applying universal design principles and other local solutions, UNICEF will strengthen WASH service provision for all community members and school children, including people with a disability.
Purpose
The purpose of the consultancy is to map and document UNICEF and their partners’ good practices in addressing accessibility and disability inclusion in WASH programmes in both development and emergency contexts. Based on the mapping a compiled resource of UNICEF accessible and inclusive WASH best practices will be developed to support country offices to strengthen results for children with disabilities through accessible and inclusive WASH.
Objectives
The objectives of the consultancy are as follows (for both development and humanitarian contexts):
· Document experiences, good practices and lessons learned, identifying potential areas for scale up, in the provision of accessible and inclusive WASH services.
· Identify the success factors and bottlenecks across the four broad categories of enabling environment, supply, demand and quality[2] in the provision of accessible and inclusive WASH services in communities, child friendly centers, schools and health centers.
· Provide recommendations to harness sector factors and address challenges and bottlenecks in the provision of accessible and inclusive WASH services.
· Develop and deliver a webinar for staff and partners on the provision of accessible and inclusive WASH services based on the mapping of existing UNICEF disability-inclusive WASH programmes. The catalogue of UNICEF good practices will be an internal reference resource for field and headquarters staff in the promotion and adoption of accessibility and universal design in the
provision of WASH services.[1] As well as strengthening UNICEF’s own programmes, a better understanding of current practices would also better position UNICEF (as the WASH cluster lead) to contribute to larger discussions among sector partners.
Timeline
The consultancy will be carried out in 50 working days conducted over the period May 2015 – July 2015.
Methodology
The mapping exercise is not intended to be a thorough assessment or evaluation of the quality or effectiveness of accessibility and inclusion of UNICEF WASH services, but rather will provide a snapshot of good practices from country office programmes that are addressing accessibility and inclusion in the provision of WASH services in development and humanitarian contexts and have the potential for scale.
In addition to direct outreach to UNICEF field offices through email and/or phone, a comprehensive desk review of relevant documents, including annual reports, project documents, websites and the UNICEF intranet, as well as interviews with field and headquarters staff will be conducted. Current UNICEF networks will also be utilised to identify key programmes.
Duty Station
The consultancy is remote – based.
Reporting
The consultant will report to the WASH Specialist and work closely with Programme Specialist (Children with Disabilities) in New York.
Key qualifications, technical background, and experience required:
a) Advanced degree in social sciences, conflict and development or related fields with specific knowledge and expertise in WASH and Persons with Disabilities
b) Seven (7) years of Senior Level professional experience in developing country contexts, especially in WASH and disability inclusion, ideally in humanitarian action
c) Experience in analysis of development programmes, reviewing and summarising qualitative information and report writing
d) Experience in developing resources and materials from the perspective of programme design and implementation
e) Experience in preparing and delivering webinars
f) Specific experience in developing training and guidance tools
g) Knowledge of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and relevant disability and WASH guidelines and standards
h) Knowledge of UNICEF thematic areas, such as health, education, protection and WASH
i) Highly proficient in use of English with the ability to write in a clear and practical manner.
[1] Note that in 2015 UNICEF is also producing an accessibility technical guidance that covers all aspects of programme infrastructure, including WASH. This mapping seeks to identify and capture existing practices, which with the technical guidance can be used to scale up and strengthen accessibility in UNICEF WASH programmes.
[1] Universal Design is the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by ALL people, to the greatest extent possible. The intent of universal design is to simplify life for everyone and it can benefit people of all ages and abilities. A Universal Design approach: http://universaldesign.ie/Built-Environment/Building-for-Everyone/
[2] Aligned with UNICEF’s Monitoring Results for Equity System (MoRES)
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