Midline Evaluation of the UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO Joint Programme on Accelerating the Reduction of Adolescent Pregnancy in Southern Leyte and Samar in the Philippines

Hiring Office:

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Philippines

Duty station: Metro Manila

Two individual consultants: (i) Evaluation Team Leader; (ii) Evaluation team member - adolescents and youth expert. Please specify the preferred role, either one or both. The required expertise is detailed below.

Evaluation focus areas: Southern Leyte (10 municipalities) and Samar (10 municipalities) including programme components at regional and provincial level in Region 8

Consultancy Period

60 person-days

Background and Rationale

Adolescent pregnancy remains a critical public health concern in the Philippines, despite a decline in prevalence among females aged 15-19 from 14.4% in 2013 to 7.2% in 2021. However, the country still faces one of the highest adolescent birth rates in ASEAN, with 32 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 2023, notably higher than neighboring nations like Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Compounding this, births to younger mothers aged 10-14 alarmingly increased from 2,411 in 2019 to 3,343 in 2023, underscoring an urgent need for comprehensive interventions.

Limited access to adolescent health services and accurate information exacerbates the issue. The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Act of 2012 inadvertently creates a barrier by requiring parental consent for minors to access modern family planning methods, despite research indicating that most sexually active youth do not discuss sex with their parents. This gap leads to unintended pregnancies, with 19% of male youth and 17% of female youth having had sex before age 18. Furthermore, a significant portion of adolescents aged 15-24 lack reliable sources of information on sex, often relying on potentially inaccurate social media, contributing to unintended pregnancies and a concerning decline in HIV/AIDS awareness among youth. Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is highlighted as crucial for providing accurate information and skills, which global literature supports in delaying sexual initiation and promoting safer practices.

To address these challenges, UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO Joint Programme on Accelerating the Reduction of Adolescent Pregnancy (JPARAP) aims to reduce the number of adolescent pregnancies in the Philippines with focus on the provinces of Samar and Southern Leyte in the Eastern Visayas region.  The JPARAP joint programme is funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Adolescent pregnancy presents a critical challenge in Eastern Visayas, particularly in Samar and Southern Leyte. In 2020, Samar recorded 961 births to adolescent mothers, making it the second highest in the region for adolescent birth rates. While Samar saw a decline from 37 to 30 adolescent births per 1,000 women between 2022 and 2023, Southern Leyte experienced an increase from 15 to 19 births per 1,000 women during the same period. Samar is also the second poorest province in Region VIII and had one of the lowest modern contraceptive utilization rates among adolescents under 19 in 2021, despite accounting for 15% of all live births in this age group regionally. Southern Leyte's adolescent fertility rate is 25 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19, and the province faces frequent service disruptions due to poverty and natural disasters. UNFPA's Women’s Health on Wheels initiative revealed that one in three women accessing prenatal services in targeted areas of Southern Leyte were under 20, underscoring the urgent need for tailored adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) interventions.

The selection of Samar and Southern Leyte as Joint Programme sites is based on strategic and operational factors. Both provinces exhibit high adolescent pregnancy rates, low contraceptive use, and significant vulnerabilities to poverty and disasters. This regional focus in Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) facilitates the development of integrated Health Care Provider Networks, aligning with the Universal Health Care (UHC) rollout and enhancing coordination while reducing operational costs. Samar's existing child and adolescent health interventions by UNICEF, including the KOICA-supported First One Thousand Days (F1KD) project, provide a strong foundation for complementary programming. Disaggregated FHSIS data further confirms Samar and Eastern Samar's lowest adolescent contraceptive utilization rates, reinforcing their selection.

To accelerate the reduction in adolescent pregnancy in Southern Leyte and Samar, the joint programme is focused on contributing to three outcomes:

1. Improved access to quality integrated sexual and reproductive health information and services
2. Raised self-awareness on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health and rights
3. Enhanced governance on adolescent sexual and reproductive health

Purpose and Objectives of the consultancy:

The specific objectives of this midline evaluation are to:

1. Assess the programme's progress towards achieving its intended outcomes and outputs
2. Assess the current status of key indicators defined in the programme's results framework and compare them against baseline values
3. Analyze the programme's implementation strategies, partnerships, and coordination mechanisms as  a model for reducing adolescent pregnancy, including identifying factors that have contributed to or hindered the programme's progress
4. Provide data to inform programme management decisions and actionable recommendations for programme improvement, including adjustments to strategies, interventions, and resource allocation
5. Assess the programme's initial sustainability prospects

Scope of work (Description of services, activities, or outputs)

The evaluation will be conducted by a team of two independent external evaluators, consisting of: 

1. An evaluation team leader with the overall responsibility for carrying out the evaluation exercise, and is also a thematic expert on adolescents and youth 
2. An evaluation team member: adolescents and youth expert

The evaluation team is expected to produce the following deliverables:

• Inception report. The inception report should translate the requirements of the ToR into a practical and feasible evaluation approach, methodology and work plan. 
• PowerPoint presentation of the inception report. The PowerPoint presentation will be delivered at an ERG meeting to present the contents of the design report and the agenda for the field phase. 
• PowerPoint presentation for debriefing meeting with the CO and the ERG. The presentation provides an overview of key emerging findings of the evaluation at the end of the field phase. 
• Version 1 evaluation report, including standalone case study reports. The version 1 evaluation report will present the findings and conclusions, based on the evidence that data collection yielded.
• PowerPoint presentation of the preliminary evaluation results for the JPARAP Mid-term Knowledge Sharing Event - aimed at providing a clear overview of the key findings, and tentative conclusions and recommendations.
• Recommendations worksheet. The process of co-creating the evaluation recommendations begins with a set of tentative recommendations proposed by the evaluation team
• Final evaluation report, including standalone case study reports. The final evaluation report (maximum 80 pages, excluding opening pages and annexes) will present the findings and conclusions, as well as a set of practical and actionable recommendations to inform future programming.
• PowerPoint presentation of the final evaluation results. The presentation will provide a clear overview of the key findings, conclusions and recommendations to be used for the dissemination of the final evaluation report.

IMPORTANT: Please reference the detailed Midline Evaluation Terms of Reference for the full scope of work

Duration and Delivery dates, Proposed Payment Schedule and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

See Annex A for details on expected deliverables and timeframe

Place where services are to be delivered:

The main duty station for the consultancy is in Metro Manila. The evaluation will cover Southern Leyte (10 municipalities) and Samar (10 municipalities) including programme components at regional and provincial level in Region 8.

The consultant will primarily work remotely with regular in person and online meetings with the Evaluation Manager and JPARAP Team and will deliver outputs to the UNFPA Philippines CO. The JPARAP Programme Team will arrange travel for missions.

Monitoring, Supervisory and quality check arrangements: 

The evaluation team will be under the direct supervision of the Evaluation Manager and the JPARAP Programme Team. The UNFPA senior management team will closely monitor progress of all deliverables and the entire consultancy.

Expected travel:

UNFPA will cover travel costs (where applicable) in addition to the professional fee.

Supervisory Arrangements:

The UNFPA Country Representative will oversee the overall management of the consultancy, with day-to-day technical support provided by the Evaluation Manager, the Assistant Representative, and the JPARAP Programme Team. 

The evaluation team leader will hold the overall responsibility for the design and implementation of the evaluation. S/he will lead and coordinate the work of the evaluation team and ensure the quality of all evaluation deliverables at all stages of the process.

The Evaluation Manager and the JPARAP Programme Team will engage with the consultants regularly at different stages to:

• Provide a comprehensive briefing on the assignment, its process, and expected deliverables;
• Furnish key documents pertinent to the deliverables;
• Introduce and facilitate the consultant's collaboration with key stakeholders and counterparts as necessary; and
• Offer feedback and reach agreement on the subsequent steps of the assignment

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

1. Evaluation Team Leader

• Master’s degree in public health, social sciences, demography or population studies, statistics, development studies or a related field.
• At least 7 years of experience in conducting or managing evaluations in the field of international development.
• Extensive experience in leading complex evaluations commissioned by United Nations organizations and/or other international organizations and NGOs.
• Demonstrated expertise in adolescents and youth with focus on: adolescent-friendly SRHR services; comprehensive sexuality education; adolescent pregnancy, SRHR of young women and adolescent girls; peer education, and youth leadership, governance and participation.
• In-depth knowledge of theory-based evaluation approaches and ability to apply both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and to uphold high quality standards for evaluation as defined by UNFPA and UNEG.
• Ability to ensure ethics and integrity of the evaluation process, including confidentiality and the principle of do no harm.
• Ability to consistently integrate human rights and gender perspectives in all phases of the evaluation process.
• Excellent management and leadership skills to coordinate the work of the evaluation team, and strong ability to share technical evaluation skills and knowledge.
• Experience working with a multidisciplinary team of experts.
• Excellent ability to analyze and synthesize large volumes of data and information from diverse sources.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and spoken).
• Work experience in/good knowledge of the region and the national development context of Philippines
• Fluent in written and spoken English and Filipino (fluency in and/or familiarity with at least one of the major local dialects in Region 8 is an advantage)
• A sample evaluation report, preferably relevant to the evaluation scope and context, is required

2. Evaluation Team Member: Adolescents and Youth Expert

• Master’s degree in public health, medicine, health economics and financing, epidemiology, biostatistics, social sciences or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in conducting evaluations, reviews, assessments, research studies or M&E work in the field of international development 
• Substantive knowledge of adolescent and youth issues, in particular, adolescent-friendly SRHR services; comprehensive sexuality education; adolescent pregnancy, SRHR of young women and adolescent girls; peer education, and youth leadership, governance and participation.
• Ability to ensure ethics and integrity of the evaluation process, including confidentiality and the principle of do no harm.
• Ability to consistently integrate human rights and gender perspectives in all phases of the evaluation process.
• Solid knowledge of evaluation approaches and methodology and demonstrated ability to apply both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working with a multidisciplinary team of experts.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and spoken).
• Work experience in/good knowledge of the national development context of the Philippines
• Familiarity with UNFPA or other United Nations organizations’ mandates and activities will be an advantage.
• Fluent in written and spoken English and Filipino (fluency in and/or familiarity with at least one of the major local dialects in Region 8 is an advantage)
• A sample evaluation report, preferably relevant to the evaluation scope and context, is required

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g. support services, office, equipment), if applicable:

The evaluation team will work closely with JPARAP Implementing Partners for this assignment. This will include assistance in mapping relevant national and local policies, conducting data collection in the target areas, mobilizing local partners for consultations, and offering technical assistance throughout the assignment.

Further, the JPARAP Programme Team will manage logistics related to the consultancy and provide a document repository of relevant documentation that will be updated by the consultant as data collection progresses.

IMPORTANT: