| Introduction : United Nations Development Programme, hereinafter referred to as UNDP hereby invites prospective proposers to submit a proposal in accordance with the General Conditions of Contract and the Terms of Reference as set out in this Request for Proposal (RFP), requesting the proposal on Gender-Based Study Assessing Access to Livelihoods, Employment, Education, and Health Services, by Afghan Women and Girls in the Context of Natural Disasters and DFA Takeover.
The study aims to assess women’s access to basic needs and services in the context of humanitarian crisis brought about by disasters and curtailment of women’s and girls’ rights and mobility by the DFA. · Specifically, the study will look into women’s livelihoods, access to employment, as well as their access to education and health services since August 2021, and assess how the prevailing situation is exacerbating the vulnerability of women. · The study aims to deepen the contextual understanding of political, societal, security, economic, climate and welfare constraints faced by women, the primary causes of fragility, and local factors assisting in building resilience. · The study will provide an improved understanding of the overall situation of women at the provincial level and provide a basis for proposed future ADB interventions which would be tailored to respond to the needs of women. · The study will carry out a survey of women and girls and will conduct key informant interviews as well as focus group discussions of women and men, in urban and rural settings, and within the communities, as well as with the youth, ethnic and religious minorities to provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the context-specific and gendered drivers and effects of fragility, as well as the potential and existing sources of resilience, among women and girls in Afghanistan. · The collected primary data and subsequent analysis will provide a first-hand understanding of the livelihoods and socio-economic situations of women in Afghanistan, laying the foundation for more effective future programming. · Study findings will be disaggregated by geographical areas, urban and rural domains, sex, age, and ethnicity, among other variables. Findings will inform the design and implementation of future ADB and UNDP interventions responsive and relevant to the needs and priorities of women and girls in the country. This study will provide value-addition in relation to others UNDP studies that exist already, especially how the proposed study will complement the existing analysis and assessments done on women’s access to services, livelihoods, education, health etc. Moreover, and given that gender and social exclusion also have a geographical basis, the survey will need to be representative of different socio-cultural realities on the ground. Pre-proposal conference will be conducted: Date: 17 January 2024 Wednesday Time: 10:00 am Kabul, Afghanistan time Zoom: Join Zoom Meeting https://undp.zoom.us/j/85784654494?pwd=ZDNYYjJOeUU3Y2NwTW5QS243OENyUT09 | 
