Tenders are invited for Gender-Responsive Alternatives to Climate Change (GRACC) Project Evaluation. Closing Date: 20 May 2025 Type: Consultancy Themes: Climate Change and Environment/Gender About ActionAid International Kenya (AAIK): For over 50 years, ActionAid International Kenya (AAIK) has had operations in Kenya as a non-religious, non-partisan development organization to end poverty and injustices. AAIK works in solidarity with communities living in poverty and exclusion to shift power to the communities and facilitate their own leadership by holding duty bearers accountable to Protect, Respect and Fulfill their rights in line with the constitution of the Republic of Kenya. We have presence in twenty three counties working closely with local organisations and partners. Introduction: These Terms of Reference (TOR) have been prepared by ActionAid International Kenya, in consultation with ActionAid Australia for performing an evaluation in relation to the above-mentioned project. The aim of the project is to facilitate women and their organizations to participate meaningfully in climate finance and adaptation for resilience to climate related crises. Context: Like many other developing countries in Africa, Kenya remains vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change variability. Climate change-related drought and flood worsen the already precarious situation in Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) counties, making it extremely hard for communities to sustain and protect their livelihoods. The economic effects of drought and floods are manifested in the disruption of production flows, resulting in production losses, income losses, loss of employment, and increased operational costs, all to a long-term fiscal liability equivalent to 2%-2.8% of GDP each year. Specifically, the estimated costs of floods are about 5.5% of GDP every seven years, while droughts account for 8% of GDP every five years. The newly elected president will also appoint Climate Change Council tasked with steering Kenyas climate action through stakeholder engagements coordinated in the presidency. At the county level, Baringo County has developed a legislative framework to coordinate and finance climate change response through adaptation and mitigation. Makueni county was also the first to develop climate change and adaptation policies and guidelines for enhancing resilience to climate change vulnerabilities through adaptation, preparedness, and risk mitigation. Although Kenya has the required national and county-level legal framework for addressing climate change, implementing these policies is still lacking. ActionAid International Kenya (AAIK) has attributed this to the exclusion of women. Civil society call for urgent global action to avert climate-fueled catastrophe in the Horn of Africa, press release titled The Forgotten Humanitarian Catastrophe and signed by, among others, AAIK noted that: Efforts in building resilience to climate change in the region have not kept pace with the frequency, prolonged, and severity of droughts in recent years, making it harder for families to recover between shocks. The increasing frequency of shocks in the region have eroded inherent abilities of communities to adapt while leaving vulnerable communities too short of recovering and bouncing back. Background to the project; Since 2017, AAIK has implemented Gender-Responsive Alternatives to Climate Change (GRACC) in the Tangulbei Local Rights Programme (LRP) in Baringo County, Kenya, over a period of four years (two phases) ending in June 2022. Baringo County is in the North Rift region of Kenya. It borders Turkana to the North and Northeast, Samburu and Laikipia to the East, Nakuru to the South, Kericho, and Uasin-Gishu to the Southwest, Elgeyo Marakwet to the West, and West Pokot to the Northwest. It covers an area of 11,015.3 sq kilometers. Its key national geographical features include Lake Baringo, Lake Bogorias Geysers and Hot springs, and the Equator Crossing at Mogotio. The headquarters of Baringo County is Kabarnet town. Baringo County has seven sub-counties. They include Tiaty East, Tiaty West (Tiaty Constituency), Baringo North (Baringo North Constituency), Marigat (Baringo South Constituency), Mogotio (Mogotio Constituency) Baringo Central (Baringo Central Constituency) and Koibatek (Eldama Ravine Constituency). In Tangulbei, the communities are mainly pastoralists (according to the baseline conducted in the first phase 80% of households depend on pastoralism) and mostly depend on livestock and livestock products as their source of livelihood. As is often the case with disasters and crises, ActionAid International Kenya has seen that in Tangulbei and elsewhere across the country, the people most affected are women, the elderly, people with disabilities, and children. Many children drop out of school because of a lack of food and water. As a result of climate change, women-led agricultural and economic activities suffered impacts such as crop failure, water scarcity, and trade disruption due to a lack of foodstuff, milk, or meat to sell. Tangulbei experiences recurrent food insecurity due to drought, alarmingly high malnutrition levels, extreme womens rights violations, including female genital mutilation (FGM), forced early marriages, physical abuse, and armed conflicts, including increasing inter-communal resource-based conflicts for pasture and water. In the second phase, ActionAid International Kenya has been working with womenled partner institutions in Tangulbei on climate change adaptation and livelihoods, governance, disaster risk reduction, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and womens protection. The project focused on strengthening womens ability in resilience building, strengthening womenled protection mechanisms, modeling community climate resilient livelihood systems, and engaging officials in the Baringo County Government and the national government on climate change adaptation policy and resource allocation/accountability. The project was implemented through partnerships and collaborations with local civil society groups, National Drought Management Authority, the county government, and the Kenya Climate Change Working group, amongst others. An endline evaluation of phase II of the project shows that 57.1% of women were reached with kitchen garden programmes followed by (36.7%) of women who participated in Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), (30.6%) who participated in pasture management (cultivation of fodder), and a further 14.3% who participated in training on development and use of energy saving stoves (Jiko). In phase II, ActionAid International Kenya scaled up the involvement of Persons with Disabilities in its programmes. Additional information will be provided in the endline evaluation report as part of the key documents to guide this process. The period under review started in July 2022, ActionAid International Kenya expanded the projects geographical reach to Makueni County which similar ASAL and socio-economic characteristics. Makueni county is in the former Eastern Province of Kenya and lies between Latitude 1° 35 and 2° 59 South and Longitude 37° 10 and 38° 30 East. It borders Machakos county to the North, Kitui county to the East, Taita Taveta county to the South, and Kajiado county to the West and covers an area of 8,169.8 km2. Its capital and largest town is Wote. The county has a population of 987,653 of which 497,942 are females and 20 intersex persons. There are 77,495 households with an average household size of 5.8 persons per household and a population density of 121 people per square kilometer with an average growth of 2.8%.. The county has six sub-counties: Makueni, Kaiti, Kilome, Kibwezi East, Kibwezi West, Nzaui, and Mbooni. Makueni County is one of the counties hard hit by drought in Kenya. The National Drought Management Authority has classified the drought in Makueni as an Alert Phase with a worsening trend. The current pasture and browse conditions are below normal compared to normal years and classified as poor. Within the county, the hardest hit area is the mixed-marginal livelihood zone (Kanzokea, Kithiku, and Kanthuni), where the Kathonzweni Local Rights Programmes. The current livestock body condition is below normal compared to similar periods, with rapidly declining market prices for animals affecting income for many families. The crop condition is currently nonexistent, as most areas did not plant crops due to the failed rain or their crops have withered; instead of harvesting their crops, people rely on local markets for food. Since the prices of food items have increased and peoples buying power has reduced, many families cannot afford to buy as much food as before, ending up reducing their food intake as a coping mechanism. A rapid vulnerability assessment on the impact of drought conducted in August 2022 in Kanzokea, Kithiku, and Kanthuni revealed that most households depend on just one meal per day, and many are eating even less. Importantly, these diets lack sufficient nutritional value. Many households spend over 3.5 hours per day collecting water that has low quality and quantity and barely meets household daily requirements. In a rural setting such as Makueni county, formal work is still scarce, worsening many families living conditions. Baringo County has been severely affected by insecurity, primarily due to banditry and cattle rustling. The region has experienced violent attacks that have led to loss of lives, displacement of residents, and destruction of property. This insecurity has forced many residents to flee their homes, resulting in the establishment of multiple internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. With women and children being disproportionately affected by the conflict. The violence has also disrupted education, with numerous schools closing prematurely due to safety concerns. Effort Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4151303/terms-reference-gender-responsive-alternatives-climate-change-gracc-project-evaluation
