RFP for NGO/CBO to support in social mobilization and community awareness in context to maternal mental health

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About the Organization

Every day, thousands of women, children and men die of preventable causes: cervical cancer, malaria, HIV, and complications from pregnancy and childbirth. We bring lifesaving care to those who need it the most. We make the world better, today and tomorrow. Together with governments, private partners and you—we transform communities and countries, from reviving the smallest, newest life, to attacking the most pressing health problems the world has ever faced.

About the Proposal

In India, the National Mental Health Program is in place for four decades (1982) along with District Mental Health Program for more than two decades (1996) with major focus on screening, early detection, referral, and treatment of major mental illnesses. It also focused on capacity building of health care providers for delivering these services, apart from some information, education and communication (IEC) activities for awareness generation. Recently, Govt. of India, under its flagship program on Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC), re-enforced and re-emphasized the importance of mental health integration into primary health care. This shows India’s commitment to strengthening mental health services in the country and taking them to the last mile. But this commitment is plagued by challenges in implementation, and a lack of adequate evidence to show how this policy can be converted into action at the lowest possible level of the health system. 

The situation is worse when it comes to Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) issues which are defined as issues of mental health which commence during pregnancy up to two years postpartum. Unfortunately, the magnitude of the problem is unexplored and largely unaddressed. Evidence suggests prevalence among women in low- and middle-income countries scan be as high as 20%. Although other studies have shown extreme variation when looking at certain populations within LMICs.

Women are the cornerstone of a healthy and prosperous society and, until their mental health is taken as seriously as their physical wellbeing, we will not improve maternal mortality, morbidity and the ability of women and their families to thrive. 

Scope of Work

Landscape analysis to identify

• key community stakeholders, organizations and partners working in the field (state and field level)
• the need of mental health services in the community with special focus on maternal mental health.
• factors at community level that drive the decisions around seeking mental health services

Community level engagement

• Generating awareness in the community on mental health issues with special focus on maternal mental health
• Address the concerns and challenges prevalent in the community
• Counselling of the local village head, religious leaders, influential people in the community
• Communicating the eligible population about seeking care at the onset of early warning signals
• Play a crucial role in mobilization of the eligible women to the concerned health facility/screening site
• To demonstrate a replicable community engagement and demand generation model for maternal mental health

Support in other activities like

• Generating awareness in the community by use of IEC materials, camps and other modalities
• Sensitization of different cadres of frontline workers (FLWs)/service providers on common mental health ailments with emphasis on maternal mental health

To assess the

• knowledge attitude and practice of the community (family members) towards maternal mental health issues

Support in state and district level advocacy campaign: onboarding, participation, collaboration and involvement of multiple stakeholders.

Other interventions as per learning of the program using human centric design approach

Deliverables

• Organizing exposure visits in the selected geography (mention no. of visits as per interventions)
• Awareness generation amongst all the concerned community key stakeholders around maternal mental health issues. (mention no. and type of activities for awareness generation with list of proposed stakeholders)
• Organizing campaigns in the intervention geography to carry out adequate awareness and screening activities utilizing existing structures and local resources. (mention No. and type of campaigns, proportion of existing resources leveraged, details of resource leverage)
• Instilled confidence in women to take an informed decision about the treatment and seek assured care at the place of their choice based on affordability and convenience. (mention estimated no. of beneficiaries/clients expected from this outcome)
• A well-functioning service delivery framework of early detection services with strong referral pathways to timely diagnosis and treatment (mention expected service delivery framework plan)

Eligibility

• The organization should be a registered not-for-profit organization in India
• The NGO/CBO should have at least 5 years of proven experience of working on mental health/maternal mental health in the community settings.
• The organization must have prior experience with the Centre or any state government or multilateral organization or donors.
• This assignment would require travel to project sites to have first-hand understanding of the situation and mobilization
• The organization must have prior experience in social mobilization and generating awareness in the community

How to Apply

Submission of RFP (on or before): 13th April 2023

• Background and relevant experience of organization in the field of mental health/maternal mental health.
• Detailed plan of intervention as per the problem statement, proposed scope of work and deliverables for given geography with specific measurable time bound outcomes.
• Innovative approaches for proposed interventions
• Detailed theory of change with Gantt chart
• Monitoring and evaluation plan
• Sustainability and transition plan
• Risk mitigation plan
• Summary with suitability statement
• Details of key personnel and proposed organogram
• Detailed budget statement (separate excel document, as per suggested template below)

For more information please check the Link

Tags Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Healthcare and Healthtech Advocacy Others