Consultant /MHPSS Survey

MHPSS Survey in Gaza
October 2017

Background

Presentation of Médecins du Monde France (MdM)

Doctors of the World - Médecins du Monde is an independent international movement of campaigning activists who provide care, bear witness and support social change. Through our 355 innovative medical programmes and evidence-based advocacy initiatives, we enable excluded individuals and their communities to access health and fight for universal access to healthcare.

Presentation of MdM MHPSS activities in Palestine

In Gaza, MdM is working since 2015 with the Gazan organization “Culture and Free Thought Association” on developing the capacities of 14 MHPSS staff members within 5 different community centers who directly receive and respond to psychological needs of the vulnerable population. Specialized and personalized approaches have been developed in partnership with psychologists and social workers to answer various concerns such as protection, trauma management, couple counselling, etc. resulting from the impact of different wars and ten-years blockade.

In West Bank, MdM implements a psychosocial program aiming at preventing and limiting the psychosocial impacts of occupation related violence on Palestinian communities within Nablus, Qalqilya, Salfit and North Jordan Valley in Tubas governorates. Emergency psychosocial support is therefore provided to people directly or indirectly affected by violent events and peer support groups and psychoeducation sessions are conducted to increase resilience and reinforce positive coping mechanisms.

MdM teams mainly intervene in 3 types of incidents :

-    Incidents related to Israeli military interventions: injuries by live ammunition, violence against schools and injuries after physical assault, etc.
-    Settler’s violence casualty/injuries, killings, property damages, intimidation or harassment, etc.
-    Demolitions: demolition of houses and structures in area C for lack of building permits by the Israeli authorities

MdM meanwhile implements advocacy activities towards French and European decision-makers. Convinced that the protracted humanitarian crisis is fed by Israeli occupation policies MdM would like to address the root causes problems by calling out Third States actors to follow their obligations within International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law and take engagement in making duty-bearers fully accountable. Therefore, MdM testifies about the situation on the ground and provide updated data about the concrete impact of occupation policies in Palestine on their effective right to health.


Objectives

General Objective

The general objective of the study is to highlight the mental health and psychosocial impacts of the blockade in Gaza.

In Palestine, occupation policies in both West Bank including East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip have created a coercive environment which takes a toll on health of Palestinians. According to a study published in 2017 , “Palestine had the largest burden of mental disorders among Eastern Mediterranean Region. (…) General and chronic exposure to trauma and violence related to the military occupation of Palestine may also explain the high burden of mental disorders.”

In Gaza, the ten-years blockade has created “the largest open-air prison” in the world by locking in more than 2 million people. Human suffocation is such as we speak about “ticking time bomb” (UN Secretary General) with “unlivable conditions in 2020, unfit for human life” (World Bank). It has also nurtured a dire humanitarian crisis in which restrictions and violations of human rights are the norm.

Despite its illegality under international law as it amounts to collective punishment, the blockade seems today to be more and more normalized by the international community which is less vocal in calling for its immediate lift. It also creates further isolation of the Gaza Strip ; by not being granted access, international decision-makers forget gradually the everyday conditions of what is going on behind these impassable walls.

Without any realistic perspective of removal of these obstacles, Gazan people have developed high coping mechanisms. Still, capacities of resilience of the population have been attacked: stress has become the norm but is clearly assimilated and tolerated as “normal”, despite numerous daily symptoms such as headaches, sleeping problems etc. It therefore undermines the coping mechanism both at individual (school dropping, depression, use of drugs, etc) and at community level (frustration, lack of trust in society and towards future, drop of level of trust in family and friends, etc.)

Specific Objective

If field-evidence advocacy is of paramount importance to convince international stakeholders to act, the problems remains that few data show direct link between the mental health and psychosocial situation of the people and this global situation of closure. Indeed, the blockade fosters a consistent and comprehensive situation of poverty and dependency with consequences on different determinants: health, livelihoods, family life, gender etc. If the direct connection between blockade and MHPSS impact is therefore difficult to prove, its relations need to be explored and explained thanks to a qualitative survey aiming at getting people’s perception about it.


This study will therefore respond to the following hypothesis/questions:

-    The impact of the lack of access out of the Gaza strip due to the blockade
-    The impact of the lack of access to quality basic services such as Health and education
-    The impact of the deterioration in the socioeconomic status due to the increase in the unemployment rate and access to row materials. 
-    The impact of the blockade in terms of gender and age
-    What are the main MHPSS consequences?
-    What is the main blockade dominant determinant in impacting the MHPSS wellbeing?

Expected Results

MdM and its partners gain increased theoretical knowledge about the relation blockade/MHPSS situation

National and International decision-makers are effectively sensitized about the impact of the blockade thanks to updated and robust data

Deliverables

-    1 Literature review about the existing documentation (both academic and grey literature) is produced and available
-    A provisional report is produced in English following the field phase and is shared and discussed with the steering committee
-    A final report including the comments and remarks from the steering committee is shared and validated.
-    A PowerPoint presentation of the main results of the study

The final report will include the following:

-    Executive summary
-    Introduction
-    List of acronyms
-    Context
-    Survey objectives and chosen criteria
-    Methodology and limitations
-    Principal results and analysis
-    Conclusions and recommendations (presented according to survey objectives)
-    Annexes: ToR, list of persons met and timetable, questionnaires, interview guides, etc.

The final report shall be of 50 pages maximum.


Methodology

The proposed methodology will be based on qualitative approach that will be used in order to full fill the needs of the survey. Proposed elements are:

-    Bibliography review
-    Focus group and individual interviews. Focus group will target women and men from the communities in different targeted areas all over Gaza Strip. In addition, key informants in relation to the subject will be targeted through individual interviews.
Participatory approaches are strongly encouraged. Specific attention to age and gender must be included within all aspects of the report. Consideration and analysis of socio-cultural determinants will be also promoted.


Responsibilities of MdM and Security

MdM will facilitate and provide arrangements and support services/facilities for the work of the consultant in Gaza. These include:

-    Provision of background, reference documents and documentation for the desk review
-    Provision of working space within Jerusalem and Gaza offices
-    Management for the logistics supporting international and local travel, organization of meetings, hostel booking, contacts of translators/assistants etc
-    Facilitate provision of lists of relevant stakeholders and contacts
-    Ensuring the procedures and requirements from authorities are fulfilled
Briefing on security regulations by the General coordinator in Jerusalem and the Field coordinator in Gaza is compulsory.

Timeframe

The mission is estimated on a basis of 30 working days as per indication of the table below. It remains submitted to the consultant own proposal.

Preparation and inception phase (document review, briefings) - remotely    5 working days
Literature review in Jerusalem     5 working days
Fieldwork phase (data collection and analysis) in Gaza    10 working days
Draft of the report and discussion/validation with all stakeholders – remotely     10 working days

The mission of the consultant will begin on the date of official contract signature. The consultancy period shall in any circumstance not be extended beyond January 31st 2018.

Please kindly note that the activity schedule is for guidance only and is liable to be modified at any time, depending on the context and on the security situation in particular.

Budget

The maximum budget for this consultancy is 12.000 Euros, meant to be « all inclusive », i.e. including consultant’s fees, local and international transportation, accommodation, taxes etc.

Required skills and expertise

MdM is looking for an expert/consultant with:

-    Strong expertise working on MHPSS field
-    Knowledge and working experience of Palestine
-    Excellent written and speaking skills in English, able to produce a high-quality research report
-    Advanced knowledge and skills on gender analysis in humanitarian settings
-    To be able to enter to Israel and Gaza

The consultant can be an individual, team or existing organization.

Application process

Applicants are expected to submit a narrative proposal including;

-    Objectives -understanding of the scope of the research.
-    CV of the consultant including list of similar works
-    Tools that the consultant will use in English.
-    Plan of data collection and analysis.
-    Timeframe.
-    Detailed budget on a separate sheet, including all expenses (transport, accommodation, translation, Income Tax percentage required to the corresponding government,). Budget to be presented in Euro.

Applications can be submitted by email:
 

[email protected]

Please reference the job title as MDM / MHPSS Survey / 17/ PL / GZA / 141 in the subject line of your Email.
The deadline for submission of applications is the 6th of November 2017 before 11.59 pm (Jerusalem time).

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Applications received after deadline and/or incomplete will be considered as ineligible.

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