TERMS OF REFERENCE (ToRs)

Nutrition International is recruiting an individual Consultant to perform the duties specified in this ToR. Nutrition International is committed to the fundamental principles of equal employment opportunity. Women are encouraged to apply.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

Malnutrition both drives and results from poverty, making it a critical constraint on human capital development. Therefore, addressing malnutrition is one of the priorities of the national governments. In Punjab, while the wasting and stunting prevalences have declined over time, they continue to be high. According to MICS 2024, stunting and wasting rate in Punjab are 27.3% and 1.9% respectively. This is linked to a combination of food insecurity, suboptimal dietary behaviors, structural inequalities, and uneven access to essential services which requires coordinated action across multiple sectors. Govt. of Punjab (GoP) has made concerted efforts to strengthening multisectoral collaboration through inter-departmental coordination structures and mechanisms designed to support joint planning, implementation, and monitoring of nutrition-related actions.

One of the important policy measures is the Multisectoral Nutrition Strategy (MSNS) which aims to guide coordinated action for improved nutrition outcomes across key sectors. The GoP has been drafting this multi-year strategies since 2015. This was revised in 2024, through a consultative process engaging key stakeholders to reflect on implementation experience, identify key gaps and priorities, and inform the development of the new strategy. New global evidence on malnutrition as well as country level data on malnutrition rates were also taken into consideration during this process. The goal of this strategy is to improve nutritional status of Punjab’s population throughout the lifecycle by providing a framework to all key sectors to prioritize, design and implement high impact nutrition specific and sensitive interventions in order to achieve the SDG by 2030.

Although the MSNS 2024 outlines comprehensive strategic areas and corresponding strategies, implementation remains challenging, particularly in the absence of a dedicated action plan. The other challenges in implementation of MSNS include weak multisectoral and multi stakeholder coordination, fragmented planning and budgeting processes, limited use of data for timely decision-making, and underutilization of existing monitoring and dashboard systems. In addition, linkages between sectoral plans, budgets, and nutrition priorities remain weak, affecting efficient resource allocation and tracking of expenditures.

Addressing these gaps require a strong multisectoral engagement and improved delivery of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programs across key sectors. To support this, the Government of Punjab (GoP) has established several coordination mechanisms, including, Provincial Steering Committee, District Malnutrition Addressing Committees (DMACs), Tehsil Malnutrition Addressing Committees (TMACs), and Union Council Malnutrition Addressing Committees (UMACs) at the national and sub-national levels These platforms are intended to facilitate the planning, coordination, monitoring, and review of nutrition interventions. However, over time, some coordination and monitoring functions have weakened, and several structures are no longer fully operational which has limited their ability to support sustained implementation and accountability. For example, the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Centre (MSNC) provided technical backstopping and coordination platform for aligning and converging sectoral nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive contributions between 2017 and 2022, but currently it is dormant.

Revitalizing these mechanisms should therefore be a priority. This can be achieved by working with the Planning and Development Board (P&DB), Government of the Punjab to restore regular coordination processes, strengthen decision-tracking, and ensure the effective functioning of multisectoral platforms. As the province's apex planning and development coordination institution, the P&DB is responsible for aligning policies, plans, and resources with development priorities and coordinating action across departments.  Although the Board mandate is not specific to nutrition; it has a proven track record of supporting the multisectoral nutrition agenda. Under Punjab's previous Multisectoral Nutrition Strategy (MSNS), a steering committee chaired by the Chairman of the P&DB brought together key sectors, including Agriculture, Food, Social Protection, WASH, and Education, while the operated under the P&DB to facilitate implementation and intersectoral coordination. Given the multisectoral nature of malnutrition, the P&DB's convening and coordination role provides a strong institutional foundation for strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration, implementation, and accountability.

Nutrition International, in consultation with the P&DB, has designed the technical assistance to strengthen government systems and is directly responsive to the Punjab Government’s priorities as embedded in the revised MSNS 2024. The proposed area is well aligned with Punjab’s commitment to SDG targets, and the P&D Board’s mandate to lead multisectoral planning & coordination. Through this project, Health Nutrition and Population (HNP) Section of the P&DB will develop the capacity to make better decisions, hold sectors accountable, and allocate resources more efficiently, leading to improved coverage of nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive interventions and, ultimately, better nutrition outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

Overall objective

The overall objective of this Consultancy is to support the Government of Punjab, and more specifically, the Planning and Development Board, Punjab, to strengthen multisectoral nutrition governance, planning and coordination through the operationalization of the Punjab Multisectoral Nutrition Strategy (MSNS).

Specific objectives

• Review existing MSNS 2024 to identify priority strategies and accordingly develop a gender responsive Multi-sectoral Nutrition Action Plan (MS-NAP) with clear sector roles and a results-based MEL framework.
• Revitalize multisectoral coordination platforms at the province and selected districts, including the Provincial Steering / Technical Committee and Divisional level meetings of DMACs.

 scope of work

To achieve the above objectives, a Consultant– Technical Advisor will be engaged, who will work under the guidance of the Senior Chief Health, P&D Board, Punjab and NI CO and global team.

DETAILED TORs ATTACHED