CONSULTANCY TO IDENTIFY AND RECRUIT LOCAL JOURNALISTS AND DELIVER DR-TB LITERACY TRAINING TO STRENGTHEN MEDIA COVERAGE OF DRUG-RESISTANT TB

BACKGROUND

THE COMBAT DR-TB PROJECT

The Combat DR-TB Project is a multi-country, Global South-led initiative funded by Unitaid that places affected communities and civil society at the centre of the response to drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). The Project is implemented in Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tajikistan, Moldova and Ukraine, and seeks to shift the DR-TB response away from top-down models towards community-driven demand for, and uptake of, the latest biomedical advances, including the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended shorter, all-oral DR-TB treatment regimens. In Kenya, the Project is implemented by the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN).

The Project is grounded on four interlocking pillars: (1) Creating an enabling policy ecosystem at national, regional and global levels; (2) Building the capacity of communities and civil society on advocacy, DR-TB literacy and alliance-building; (3) Strengthening accountability and monitoring, including through the Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB (MAF-TB); and (4) Scaling up effective community and civil society engagement and strategic communication on TB, including building the capacity of journalists to increase and improve media coverage of TB.

RATIONALE OF THE CONSULTANCY

Media coverage is a powerful driver of public awareness, demand for services and accountability. Yet TB and DR-TB in particular remains under reported and coverage is often inaccurate, episodic or stigmatising. Building a dedicated cohort of well-informed journalists who report regularly and responsibly on DR-TB is essential to raising public awareness, countering stigma and misinformation and sustaining political attention to ending TB.

Under Pillar 4, KELIN seeks to engage a consultant to identify and recruit a committed team of local journalists and to equip them, through tailored DR-TB literacy training, to produce regular, accurate and high-quality coverage of drug-resistant TB.

OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The overall objective of the consultancy is:

To identify and recruit a dedicated cohort of local journalists and strengthen their DR-TB literacy through tailored training, so that they can raise public awareness of drug-resistant TB through regular, accurate and high-quality media coverage.

The specific objectives of the consultancy are:

• Map the relevant media landscape and define clear criteria for selecting journalists.
• Identify, headhunt and onboard a committed cohort of local journalists and editors drawn from print, broadcast, radio and digital media.
• Assess the cohort’s baseline DR-TB knowledge and identify training needs.
• Design and deliver a tailored DR-TB literacy training, with a practical resource package for journalists.
• Establish a simple framework for sustained quality DR-TB coverage and ongoing mentorship.

SCOPE OF WORK

The assignment is organised into two complementary components. Under each component, the consultant shall undertake the tasks set out below.

Component 1· Journalist Identification and Recruitment (Headhunting)

• Map the Kenyan media landscape relevant to health and TB reporting, across print, television, radio (including vernacular and community radio) and digital/online platforms.
• Develop clear, transparent selection criteria considering audience reach, editorial influence, geographic spread, interest in health reporting and commitment to sustained coverage.
• Identify and headhunt a target cohort of 15 journalists and editors against the agreed criteria.
• Vet candidates and confirm their interest, availability and, where relevant, the support of their editors or media houses.
• Onboard the selected cohort and establish a working network, including agreed commitments to produce regular DR-TB coverage.

Component 2· DR-TB Literacy Training and Capacity Building

• Conduct a rapid assessment of the cohort’s baseline knowledge of TB/DR-TB and their training needs.
• Design a tailored DR-TB literacy training curriculum and a practical resource pack (including fact sheets, a plain-language glossary, story angles, credible data sources and expert contacts).
• Facilitate a training workshop for the cohort, covering:

1. TB and DR-TB fundamentals, and how drug resistance develops.
2. The latest advances, including shorter, all-oral DR-TB treatment regimens.
3. The community and human-rights dimensions of the DR-TB response.
4. Stigma-sensitive, gender-sensitive and rights-based reporting.
5. Ethically engaging affected communities and TB survivors as sources.
6. Producing compelling, accurate stories across print, broadcast, radio and digital formats

• Conduct pre-training and post-training assessments to measure knowledge gains.
• Agree a simple coverage plan and a mentorship and feedback mechanism to support regular, quality reporting beyond the training.
• Submit a training report including participant feedback, results and recommendations for sustained engagement

METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH

The consultant is expected to propose a clear methodology in the technical proposal and to refine it during the inception phase. The approach should combine desk-based media mapping, targeted outreach and headhunting, a needs assessment, and participatory, practical, hands-on training. All work must apply a rights-based, stigma- and gender-sensitive lens and meaningfully reflect the voices of affected communities.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

1. Inception report- Approach, media-mapping methodology, selection criteria and work plan
2. Media landscape map and a shortlist of candidate journalists
3. Recruited journalist cohort confirmed, with an onboarding note and commitments
4. DR-TB literacy training curriculum and resource pack
5. Training workshop delivered
6. Final training report, pre/post assessment, participant feedback, coverage and mentorship plan, and recommendations

DURATION 

The assignment is for a total level of effort of 10 working days. The following work plan is indicative and will be finalised during the inception phase.

DESIRED EDUCATION & COMPETENCIES

The ideal consultant/firm should have:

• A degree in journalism, communications, media studies, public health communication, or a related field.
• At least 5 years’ experience in journalism, media, health communication or media capacity-building.
• Strong, demonstrable networks within the Kenyan media across print, broadcast, radio and digital platforms.
• Proven experience designing and facilitating journalist trainings, ideally on health topics such as TB or HIV.
• Sound understanding of TB/DR-TB, or the ability to rapidly master the subject, and of rights-based, stigma- and gender-sensitive reporting.
• Excellent curriculum-development, facilitation, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality outputs within tight timelines.

REPORTING AND SUPERVISION

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Communications Lead and report to a designated focal point within KELIN. The consultant is expected to maintain regular communication with the Project team, provide brief progress updates and promptly flag any challenges that may affect delivery. The Project team will facilitate introductions and provide relevant background materials.

Periodic check-ins will be held to review progress and address emerging issues.

All applications received will be subjected to a fair and competitive review process.

Only shortlisted Consultants will be contacted.

This call for Consultancy will close on Monday 31st August 2026 11.59 PM EAT.