RFQ: Report about the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on CwDs

Report about the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on CwDs

Re-advetsited

Terms of Reference

1. Background

QADER for Community Development is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting better well-being of persons with disabilities (PwD) in Palestine. QADER endeavors to positively influence public policies, develop capacities of relevant stakeholders, and promote public awareness and disseminate information pertinent to PwD rights and issues; all according to the priorities of PwD and based on national and international human rights, and the principles of equality and social justice.

2. About the Assignment

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) is built on comprehensive and equitable principles, concepts, and approach.  Thus, it encourages throughout all its content the design and implementation of disability, age and gender sensitive measures aiming at ensuring equality and full enjoyment of rights by persons with disability.  Taking into account the assignment’s focus, it is important to highlight article (11) in the CRP (Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies), which states: “States Parties shall take, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters”. In addition, the CRPD made it clear in the preamble, the principles, article 7 and across most articles that children with disabilities’ enjoyment of rights requires specific measures to be taken sensitive to their age as well as the diverse types of disabilities they have.  This is supposed to serve as a binding approach for the member states acceded to the CRPD, which Palestine is one of them. Nevertheless, several publications and reports warned from the fact that persons with disability in general, children, women and persons with intellectual disability have been left behind most of the preventative and curative services designed to address the needs of PwD during the pandemic.  In addition, they have been uncapable of receiving many other services such as educational, rehabilitative, health and daily care as well as psychosocial services effectively because of the various measures taken by most countries.  More importantly, the pandemic uncovered the various crises resulting from the absence or lack of inclusive social protection policies, programs, services, and interventions. 

Therefore, children with disability and their families have been struggling alone with the pandemic and its implications, without the minimum protection interventions designed and implemented by the governments, mainly those in developing countries. On the other hand, observations as well as few fact sheets demonstrated the struggle that non-governmental organizations had to deal with to support persons with disability during the pandemic and the recovery stage.  For example, many Palestinian non-governmental organizations had to make dramatic changes in their plans, negotiate with donors, advocate the Palestinian government, figure out ways to reach persons with disability during the lockdown period, approach the private sector…. ETC.  Those efforts were unfortunately scattered and sometime not effective.

Accordingly, QADER has launched a process to prepare a report on the impact of the Pandemic on children with disabilities’ enjoyment of rights and access to crucial services provided by disability non-governmental organizations in , particularly with regards to education, health, rehabilitation, day care services and residential services.

3. Purpose of the assignment

The aim of the assignment is to prepare a report on the impact of the Pandemic on the rights, protection, and participation of CwDs. the assignment is planned to identify and analyze the impact of Covid- 19 on the services provided to CwDs, identify the weaknesses and the limitation of the accessibility to the most crucial services, how did service providers deal with CwDs and their families during the pandemic and how the key stakeholders were aware of the occurring needs of the most marginalized groups and managed the services and offered suitable alternatives. However, the report should reflect the perspectives of children with disabilities and their families, as well as the perspectives of service providers, mainly organizations targeting persons with disabilities and, particularly children with disabilities.

The report shall assist QADER and other stakeholders to identify the necessary procedures and interventions that should be taken to ensure that CwDs are acknowledged and included in appropriate and accessible services especially in the recovery plans designed and implemented to overcome the impact of the pandemic on children’s rights.

4. Scope of work

The consultant shall carry out the following tasks:

Conduct literature review on publications and reports related to social protection services for children with disabilities during the pandemic.

Prepare detailed methodology including assessment framework and the data collection tools.

Conduct at least 10 interviews with civil society and community-based organizations mandated for providing social protection services for CwDs, particularly: educational services; rehabilitative services; day care services including health care; residential services; relief services.  The consultant is supposed to interview organizations in Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates.

Conduct at least 2 focus groups with children with disability in the areas targeted in the study.

Conduct at least 15 interviews with families of children with disability distributed equally among the three areas targeted in the study.

Utilize qualitative and quantitative indicators and information in the analysis and presentation of data in the report.

Other tasks that are deemed necessary to accomplish the assignment.

5. Deliverable:

A final assessment report in Arabic language.

6. Time frame:

The assignment should be completed within 2 months from the date of signing the contract.

7. Qualifications & Competencies

1. Proven experience in interventions addressing persons with disabilities (PwD).

2. Solid knowledge of national legislation and polices, and international human rights standards related to the protection from violence of children with disabilities.

4. Knowledge of the human rights situation in Palestine, especially for children with disabilities.

5. Solid knowledge of the national systems for the protection from violence (children, PwD).

Interested Consultant/team shall download the Solicitation Document from QADER’s website on the following link Report on the Impact of COVID-19 Pendamic on CwDs, and submit their offer in a sealed envelop accordingly to QADER’s Office in Beit Jala, no later than 02:00 PM 15 June 2021.

QADER is an equal opportunity employer, where qualified women, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented populations are encouraged to apply and to seek QADER’s support on the application process where additional accommodation is required.