National Consultant for ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS OF THE UNPAID CARE AND SUPPORT WORK/SERVICES IN MOZAMBIQUE

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

In Mozambique, using a relatively conservative prevalence of persons with disability of 15%, there are 4.8 million persons with disabilities . The majority of these are women and girls with disabilities, with the female population 18 years and older having a prevalence of 19.2 per cent, compared to 12 per cent for males) , ,  
Mozambique has repeatedly conveyed high levels of commitment internationally to promote, protect, and fulfil the rights of persons with disabilities. The ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2012 and the signaled intentions to ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (ADP) are examples of these commitments which are combined with the adherence to mainstream development agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Yet, as many other countries, Mozambique still struggles to transform the CRPD into concrete policies, systems, programs, and services that uphold the rights of persons with disabilities. 
The evidence from many studies shows that people with disabilities are not a homogenous group. They experience a range and variety of impairments, including physical, psychosocial, intellectual, and sensory conditions, that may or may not come with functional limitations. The diversity of persons with disabilities, also includes those with multiple and intersecting identities, such as being from a particular social class or ethnic, religious and racial background; refugee, migrant, asylum-seeking and internally displaced women; LGBTQI+ persons; person living with and affected by HIV; young and older persons; and widowed men and women, across all contexts.
Disability and poverty are intrinsically connected, with studies showing that persons with disabilities in Mozambique are poorer than the rest of the population  and experience more disadvantages compared with persons without disabilities in key social outcomes, such as access to education, employment, and information, communication technologies (ICTs).

Likewise, disability, gender, and discrimination are closely interconnected, with women being the most affected. It is estimated that one in five women experiences exclusion related to disability . Particularly for Mozambique, a situational analysis study conducted in 2023, with objective to understand the main bottlenecks and priorities related to fulfilling the CRPD,  revealed a set of factors with strong impact on the effective implementation of the CRPD in the country, some of them are: i) Overall, the capacity of the Government through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action (MGCAS) to coordinate and implement programs on disability and mainstream disability inclusion in public programs is limited; ii) Persons with disabilities experience barriers to participation and inclusion at all levels (family, community, and State); iii) Disability Referral & Assessment Systems are based on medical reports of the health conditions to determine ‘incapacity’ to fulfill social roles. This is out of sync with the human rights-based approach underpinned in the CRPD. Eligibility criteria to access social protection programs are inadequate as they tend to benefit only those with visible disabilities; iv) Most ongoing development and humanitarian initiatives funded by the UN and development partners are not disability inclusive; etc.
 
Care work (both paid and unpaid) is a cornerstone of societal well-being and economic development, yet it remains undervalued and inequitably distributed. Across Africa, the systemic undervaluation of care work perpetuates gender inequalities, impedes women’s economic opportunities, and limits progress toward achieving gender equality. Women and girls bear a disproportionate responsibility, spending 3.4 times more hours on unpaid care work than men, in Sub-Saharan Africa2. This imbalance not only perpetuates time poverty for women but also limits their access to education, decent work, leadership roles, and economic independence. The restrictive gender norms that define care as a woman’s duty are deeply entrenched and reinforced by dominant economic systems that fail to recognize and value care work. The persistence of these inequalities calls for urgent, evidence-based interventions that recognize care work as an essential public good and a critical driver of sustainable development.

Despite its substantial economic value, this work remains largely invisible in national accounts and is often excluded from policy agendas. Investments in public care infrastructure, such as universal childcare services, offer transformative potential. Not only can these investments redistribute unpaid care responsibilities, but they can also create millions of formal jobs, bolstering economic growth and addressing gender inequality. 
Care work is recognized globally and regionally as vital to achieving gender equality and sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, Target 5.4, highlights the need to recognize and value unpaid care work through public services, infrastructure, and social protections. Regionally, the African Union’s Maputo Protocol calls for shared responsibility for family obligations to enable women’s participation in economic and social activities. Agenda 2063 also underscores the importance of addressing unpaid care work as a barrier to achieving an equitable and prosperous Africa. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action emphasizes unpaid care and domestic work as a constraint for the realization of women’s rights. It is recommended that countries to recognize and make visible the full extent of the work of women and all their contributions to the national economy.
Women and girls with disabilities are disproportionately affected by the lack of comprehensive care systems, as they often rely on unpaid support while also serving as caregivers themselves, despite facing significant personal challenges. This dual burden deepens gender and disability-related inequalities, restricting their access to education, employment, and public life, and perpetuating cycles of poverty and exclusion. The absence of formal care and support systems not only leads to rights violations, such as forced institutionalization and lack of autonomy, but also places an unsustainable load on informal caregivers. Vulnerable groups, including those in rural areas, older persons, and children without family support, are particularly at risk of neglect and violence. In least developed countries like Mozambique, significant gaps in care infrastructure and ineffective social protection and disability assessment systems further marginalize persons with disabilities, emphasizing the urgent need for inclusive, gender-responsive care and support policies.
The profound impact that this unequal distribution of responsibility for unpaid care and domestic work has on women’s empowerment and full participation in society and the economy is increasingly being understood. 
UN Women has joined forces with other UN agencies and organizations of persons with disabilities through joint programmes pioneering gender-responsive and disability-inclusive programming. The aim is to ensure the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as, intersectional and human rights-based approaches to UN development work and, most importantly, to empower and promote the leadership and participation of women and girls with disabilities. 
In this regard, the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) designed a joint programme on Unpaid care, disability and gender transformative approach aimed at influencing national care and support systems to be disability-inclusive and gender transformative towards both care providers and care recipients. This is a joint global programme implemented by the UN agencies UNDP, UNWOMEN, UNICEF, UNFPA, ILO, and OHCHR. The programme is financed by the UNPRPD.  Spanning Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Colombia, and Panama, the joint programme strategically selected these countries based on political commitment, policy progress, and the effective engagement and capacity of participating UN organizations and civil society.
The programme is unique in its multi-stakeholder design, bringing UN agencies, governments, civil society, and other relevant care sector actors together to actively advance this agenda as a crucial step for human development and equitable progress, considering that the care agenda often overlooks the needs of persons with disabilities, operating in parallel without sufficient collaboration. The ultimate aim is to increase independent living opportunities for persons with disabilities, especially women, and improve the well-being of unpaid caregivers providing support to family members with disabilities. 
One of the main objectives of this programme, besides promoting multi-stakeholder partnerships, Participation, Gender transformation, is the creation of new knowledge and tools on disability rights and gender-transformative care system policy reforms and practices, filling a significant knowledge gap. This knowledge will be informed by learning and evidence from the national-level pilot, ensuring a practical and contextually relevant approach.
In Mozambique, under the principle of “leaving no one behind”, including women with disabilities and women care workers, UN Women is partnering with the UNDP (leading agency), UNICEF, UNFPA, ILO, OHCHR and FAMOD, to implement an assessment and analysis on the unpaid care and support work/services in Mozambique. This study is part of significant innovations introduced by the programme in the field of the care economy by developing tools and knowledge that apply an analysis based on the CRPD.  

As part of the broader framework UN Women in Mozambique is planning to conduct an assessment and analysis of the unpaid care and support work/services in the country. The study will fill in the knowledge gaps on unpaid care work and its impact on people living with disabilities, specifically on: 

a)           The rights, well-being and experiences of women unpaid care workers, including women care workers with disabilities providing care and support services to persons with disabilities.

b)           The needs, experiences, and implications on persons with disabilities relating to unpaid care and support work/services.

Scope of Work

The study will be national in scope and will be integrated in multiple combined efforts to achieve the outcome of MCP, which is \"enhanced enjoyment of human rights and quality of life for persons with disabilities and their unpaid and paid care workers, especially women care workers, in Mozambique\".

Specifically, this study will explore or assess in depth the following themes: i) the needs, experience and implications on persons with disabilities relating to unpaid care and support work/services (UNPRPD Activity 2.1.1) and ii) the experiences and implications of unpaid caregivers, including caregivers with disabilities providing care and support services to persons with disabilities (UNPRPD Activity 2.1.2)

3.1 Duties and responsibilities of the consultancy 

under the overall guidance of UN Women (activity lead), UNDP, UNFPA, and OHCHR.  Specifically, the consultant will conduct the following tasks: 

As part of the application process, the consultancy will submit a detailed work plan with a brief outline of its understanding of the scope of work and proposed methodologies, including budget breakdown. This plan will be further refined during the inception phase of the assignment after consulting with UN Women and relevant partners. The inception phase will also serve to agree on the report's structure and format (content presentation, case studies, visual elements, etc.).

Satisfactory completion of assignments will be measured against this work plan, timeframes, and the expected deliverables mentioned above.

3.2 Methodology and approach:

The consultant will propose an appropriate methodology for conducting this assessment. This will include using qualitative, quantitative, participatory action-oriented methodologies.

3.3 Stakeholder engagement (including OPDs):

Considering the nature of this study, the consultant is required to use participatory and gender responsive approaches, focused on maximizing stakeholders' engagement at all levels. The stakeholder engagement (SE) must allow the involvement of impacted communities and individuals as partners in rather than merely subjects of research. The study must rely on approaches that help in promoting gender equality and making sure that no one is left behind.

It is expected that by involving diverse stakeholders is justified by the need to gather various perspectives and insights, leading to more inclusive and effective learning and interventions. This will lead to gender-responsive results and recommendations that ensure that the different experiences and needs of all genders are considered. 

Competencies :

Core Values:

Core Competencies:

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.