RFPNOV2651876 - Consultancy for Baseline Landscaping and Political Economy Assessment

BACKGROUND

Pathfinder International seeks a consultant (individual or firm) to conduct a baseline landscape and political economy assessment of routine immunization (RI) and HPV vaccination financing, governance, and demand in Katsina, Kaduna, and Jigawa States, Nigeria.

Nigeria has about 2.25 million zero-dose children and records more than 12,000 new cervical cancer cases each year. The single-dose HPV vaccine is now in the national RI schedule, but sustaining coverage requires a shift from campaign-led delivery to routine, state-led primary health care (PHC).

The three states share structural gaps: high zero-dose burdens, delayed release of approved RI budget lines, slow Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) Decentralized Facility Financing (DFF) disbursements, eLMIS and last-mile stockouts, and vaccine hesitancy driven by safety and fertility rumours. Each state also differs:

• Katsina: insecurity in frontline LGAs such as Batsari, Safana and Kankara disrupts fixed and outreach services.
• Kaduna: a sharp urban-rural divide, with security-compromised rural LGAs such as Igabi.
• Jigawa: dispersed agrarian communities face long distances to health posts.

The Project is an 18-month advocacy and health financing technical assistance investment. It works through four pillars: Evidence-to-Policy Translation, High-Level Political Engagement, Domestic Financing and Accountability, and Demand Generation and Risk Communication. It routes its work through existing SWAp, MAMII, SERRIC and ALGON platforms and complements C-WINs, Sydani Group and BRIDGE investments.

The project design starts with a baseline assessment of each state's immunization of financing and political economy landscape.

Purpose and objectives

The assessment will give Pathfinder and the three state governments a validated, state-by-state baseline of how RI and HPV vaccination are governed, financed and demanded, and where the gaps are

Specific objectives:

1. Map the policy, governance and coordination landscape for RI and HPV in each state, including SERRIC, State Task Forces on PHC, SWAp and MAMII platforms, and Health Financing TWGs.
2. Analyze the political economy: key decision-makers, their interests and influence, the budget calendar, and risks from the coming election cycle.
3. Establish status of coverage specifically for Penta, MCV and HPVvaccine , including a financing baseline across the five-stage pathway (commitment, allocation, release, expenditure, delivery outcome) for RI and HPV, including BHCPF DFF absorption and Gavi co-financing obligations/commitments
4. Assess how far HPV vaccination is integrated into routine PHC, school health, supply chain and monitoring systems.
5. Document demand-side barriers, misinformation and hesitancy narratives, and the community structures (WDCs, traditional and religious leaders, CSOs) that can act on them.
6. Map partners and investments working on RI and HPV in each state to avoid duplication.

Please download the full RFP document through the following link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QpCmti8KMCSIJTY1--RCBL2U6C8NE7ws/view?usp=drive_link