Request for Proposal (RFP)
Consultancy services for gender-integrated FP services delivery with a focus on gender-based violence (GBV) for the FP service providers

In Bangladesh, GBV is one of the most prevalent forms of human rights violation against women and girls. Locally and globally GBV persists due to deep-rooted patriarchal norms where violence against women and girls or just violence, in general, is normalized. According to the VAW Survey 2015, jointly conducted by UNFPA and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 73% of ever-married women in Bangladesh have experienced some kind of violence by their current husband, 55% have reported some type of violence in the past 12 months, and 50% reported physical violence in their lifetime.

Pathfinder International is a reproductive health organization that provides supports to the Government of Bangladesh, particularly the Ministry of Family Welfare, and to non-governmental organizations. Gender and gender-based violence are important program elements of Pathfinder’s programming. The program initiatives include building health providers' capacity to understand gender concepts and perspectives, including gender-based violence with a focus on family planning. The intervention aims to support the services providers in identifying, treating (first aid), and referring GBV survivors and promoting gender-responsive facilities and services. Pathfinder applies an integrated gender transformative approach that will catalyze opportunities for individuals, communities, and the public sector to recognize and address the root causes of harmful gender norms, promote female leadership within the health system and communities, and reform gendered power inequities

Since August 2017, an estimated 745,000 Rohingya people from Myanmar fled to Bangladesh to escape extreme atrocities and volatility in the Rakhine state. The displaced Rohingyas are in registered and non-registered camps in Ukiya and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar district and their populations continue to grow as families settle. Approximately 35 percent of the camps’ population are youth and adolescents, who are particularly vulnerable—their mobility is limited; they remain in their tents most of the day and therefore lack access to necessary SRH services. Moreover, adolescents and youth between the ages of 10-24 years of age who constitute 55% of the Forcibly Displace Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) have specific needs around  Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and GBV that need to be addressed with a dynamic program approach.

Approximately 548,000 Bangladeshi host community members live in Ukiya and Teknaf Upazila of Cox’s Bazar, which are some of the poorest communities in Bangladesh. youth and adolescents are at particular risk for gender-based violence (GBV). Apart from the camps, growing segments of the Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar live side-by-side with the Bangladeshi residents in host communities, and some isolated groups live completely within Bangladeshi villages. The influx of Rohingyas has had a significant impact on the social and economic well-being of the host community, and new vulnerabilities have emerged that should be addressed urgently, including increased risk for GBV. The influx has placed a greater burden on local government health workers to deliver primary health care to these new migrants, including FP and reproductive health (RH) services.

Pathfinder International has been implementing an SRHR program targeting the Rohingya community inside the camp and the host community. Pathfinder International is looking for technical support for developing a handbook on gender-integrated FP services delivery with a focus on GBV to be used for the capacity development of the family planning service providers on Gender, gender-sensitive FP services, and GBV.  Pathfinder has already conducted a GBV landscape analysis and developed a training manual on gender-integrated FP services, and this new handbook would be used as additional training material.

For detail RFP please click here to download.

Application should be submitted to Pathfinder International, Shezad Palace, 5th  Floor, 32 Gulshan Avenue North C/A, Gulshan-2, Dhaka – 1212, Bangladesh by email at shukhijibon18@gmail.com . Clearly mentioning “PIBD-DHK-RFP-FY21-17” in the subject line no later than 4:00 PM, January 20, 2021.

Issuance of this Request for Proposal (RFP) in no way constitutes a commitment by Pathfinder to execute any agreement or to pay any costs incurred by firms that respond to this RFP.