Consultancy Terms of Reference: Individual Consultancy to review and develop a school health policy, costed implementation plan and a monitoring and evaluation framework.

The consultant will work closely with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and other key stakeholders to accomplish the following tasks, and adhere to the Eswatini Public Policy Coordinating Unit (PPCU) guidelines on policy formulation and implementation:

1. Desk-based review and analysis:
o Conduct a comprehensive desk review which includes but is not limited to: the African Union Education for Health and Well-being Strategy, the ESA commitment, the Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA) guidance, the South African and Namibia integrated School Health program documents, Zimbabwe School Health Policy of 2018 and the 2014 Eswatini Draft School Health Policy and the 2018 Eswatini Draft School Health Guidelines to identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps.
o Analyze the findings from the existing SWOT analysis to understand the challenges faced by the School Health Programme, with particular attention to structural, operational, and resource-related issues.

2. Stakeholder engagement and consultation:
o Conduct comprehensive consultations, through KIIs and/or FGDs, with key stakeholders at the national and regional levels, including government ministries, school health professionals, and relevant community organizations.
o Collect and integrate feedback from stakeholders into the policy development process, ensuring that the revised policy reflects the needs and perspectives of all relevant parties.

3. Policy revision and development:
o Develop an updated, comprehensive, and integrated School Health Programme Policy for Early Childhood Centre’s, Pre-primary, as well as Grade 1 to 12 learners and the unique health issues pertaining to their wide range of ages and conditions.
o Incorporate identified gaps and aligning with current health and educational priorities.
o Integrate emerging issues and trends in school health, including but not limited to mental health, digital health interventions, and responses to pandemics like COVID-19.

4. Development of supporting frameworks:
o Draft a detailed, costed implementation plan that outlines the financial and human resources required to roll out the revised School Health Programme Policy effectively.
o Design a fit-for-purpose M&E framework that will track the policy’s implementation, effectiveness, and impact over time. Ensure the framework includes clear indicators, data collection methods, and reporting mechanisms.

5. Finalization and validation:
o Organize and facilitate a validation workshop with key stakeholders to review and refine the draft policy, costed implementation plan, and M&E framework.
o Finalize the comprehensive School Health Policy, along with the costed implementation plan and M&E framework, and submit these to the Technical Working Group (TWG) and the Senior Management of the Ministries of Health and Education for approval.