About the Project - Background and Context:

The Liga Inan program uses mobile phones to connect expecting mothers in Timor-Leste with their health providers. The program aims to decrease the significant barriers to the continuum of care for expecting mothers throughout their pregnancy, during and after delivery.

Initially funded by USAID and now the Australian Government, the program is a partnership between Catalpa International, Hamutuk Nasaun Saudavel (HAMNASA) and Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Health. The program started as a pilot in one municipality, Manufahi as the intervention municipality and Ainaro as the control site, and has now been scaled up nationally, and will be transitioned to the Ministry of Health for full management by December 2022.

The overall goal of the Liga Inan program is to contribute to the reduction of Timor-Leste’s high maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality through increasing the utilisation of, and access to, skilled health care providers during pregnancy, and during and after delivery.

The impacts of the pilot program have been measured previously, demonstrating that if women enrolled in Liga Inan who were called 3 weeks prior to delivery, 53% had a facility delivery compared to only 32% of women who had a facility delivery and were not called.

About the Organisations:

Catalpa

Catalpa is a global development organisation designing creative ways to tackle diverse problems, integrating technology and behavioural insights with locally-driven solutions. We bring together people from unique backgrounds to work together on meaningful projects — governance specialists, engineers, designers, education economists, public health researchers, nutritionists, international development practitioners, and operations personnel. Check us out at www.catalpa.io

HAMNASA

HAMNASA is a national NGO that transitioned from INGO Health Alliance International in October 2021. HAMNASA supports the Ministry of Health in Timor-Leste to implement programs that improve the quality of supply by improving clinical skills, and increasing demand for health services through engagement with communities.

The position

Catalpa and HAMNASA are seeking a consultant to undertake an evaluation of the Liga Inan program. The evaluators are invited to propose their methodology for conducting a final evaluation.

The purpose of the evaluation is to:

• Assess the contribution of the Liga Inan program toward increasing trust among Liga Inan parents with their health professionals
• Demonstrate evidence of the Liga Inan program contribution to increased interaction of pregnant women with the primary health system (ANC/PNC/SBA)
• Demonstrate evidence of the utilisation of the LI technology (as designed) by the health care providers
• Demonstrate evidence of the utilisation of the LI platform (as designed) by the health facility managers.
• Identify the enablers and challenges to transition the LI platform to MOH management since 2017
• Inform what is needed to ensure effective and efficient ongoing implementation and management of the program by the Ministry of Health

A detailed Terms of Reference can be found here.

The person or organisation:

This evaluation could be conducted by an individual or team of consultants who should meet the following criteria:

• Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation, particularly of Australian Government Programs (DFAT)
• Strong skills in both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
• Clear writing skills, and the ability to communicate complex information in a simple, easy-to-read format
• Experience working in Timor-Leste and understanding of context
• Experience working in public health and/or have conducted research on health system strengthening
• Familiarity with implementation and management of digital health is desirable
• At least one team member must be located in Timor-Leste and be a fluent Tetun speaker