Job Description

Background

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is conducting a study on the public health benefits and stakeholder acceptability of chemical decontamination of meat in Ethiopia. The objectives of this study are to (1) validate the impact of spraying meat with hypochlorous acid (HOCl) on microbial load on beef and in the context of Ethiopian value chains through a field experiment, (2) to understand potential barriers and enablers of regulatory adoption of chemical decontamination through a mapping of relevant stakeholders, and (3) to facilitate adoption by regulatory agencies through dissemination of existing findings and their engagement in the present study.

Field experiment

An experiment will be conducted in which 150 carcasses to be sold to butchers are subjected to a treatment, in which they are sprayed with water and then HOCl (50 ppm) immediately after slaughter, and any contact surfaces in transportation equipment are also sprayed. An additional 150 carcasses identified in the same way at the same time will be handled as usual and serve as controls. Both treatment and control carcasses will be swabbed immediately after slaughter and prior to spraying (if in the treatment group), and then followed to the butcher and swabbed again before the butcher closes for the day and while there is still significant meat available for sale. Timing of follow-up visits will be uniform across the sample (within one hour) and determined based on the expectations of butchers interviewed before the start of the experiment regarding the time of day at which they normally finish selling a carcass. The enumerator should note the ambient temperature at the time the carcass arrives at the butcher’s premises and at the time the follow-up swab is taken. This experiment will, to the extent feasible, be conducted in cooperation with the local authorities responsible for food safety in slaughterhouses. Test kits for microbial assessment will be provided by IFPRI. HOCl for spraying meat will be procured by the consultant.

Stakeholder engagement

Government authorities responsible for food safety and hygiene at point of slaughter, meat inspectors, meat handlers, and butchers will be engaged in the development and conduct of the experiment to ensure the feasibility of the protocol and its acceptability to all stakeholders. After the conclusion of the experiment, its results will be disseminated to stakeholders based on analysis conducted by IFPRI. Records of all interactions with stakeholders will be kept and used to write a report describing the process of research co-development, to be submitted in partial fulfillment of this consultancy.

Stakeholder mapping

Key informant interviews will be conducted with the stakeholders described above, using questions co-developed with, and approved by IFPRI researchers, to understand the attitudes of policymakers (up to 5), butchers (10), slaughterhouse managers (up to 5), meat inspectors (up to 5), and other actors (up to 5) relevant to the adoption of chemical disinfection of meat, and to identify the key barriers to scale-up of this approach in Ethiopia. A report based on these interviews will be submitted in partial fulfillment of this consultancy. Approximately 30 interviews will be conducted.

Consultant tasks

Lead process to obtain any necessary approvals required to conduct the research. Ensure that all needed permissions and consultations have taken place prior to any field work.
Develop an experimental protocol appropriate to the study context, in consultation with local stakeholders and the IFPRI team, for approval by IFPRI. Coordinate with ILRI researchers, who will travel to Addis Ababa, to pilot and refine this protocol.
Translate, adapt, and pretest the experimental protocol and stakeholder interview questions to ensure linguistic accuracy and contextual relevance.
Develop plans for enumerator training, field work, and quality control to be approved by the IFPRI team.
Conduct the experiment described above, uploading data as it is collected.
Implement quality control plan throughout survey work. In addition, the IFPRI team should have access to data collection platform to perform additional data checks.
Maintain administrative records of data completion for swabs and key informant interviews and reasons for non-completion where applicable.
Undertake data cleaning, validation, and formatting to ensure quality and consistency prior to submission to IFPRI.
Provide original Amharic and translated English versions of responses to interview questions, including translated transcripts of qualitative portions these interviews.
Provide regular (2-3 times weekly) updates during field work.
Contribute to and translate to Amharic a report of experimental results for dissemination to stakeholders
Disseminate results to stakeholders

Project Deliverables

Proposed experimental protocol
Experimental training and logistics plan
Data from field experiment
Translated KII instruments
Transcripts of KII interviews in the original language and English translations.
Notes detailing stakeholder engagements
Stakeholder engagement report
Stakeholder mapping report

Required Qualifications

Extensive experience implementing nutrition and food safety research in Ethiopia
Strong track record of interacting with diverse stakeholders, including government authorities and food business operators in Addis Ababa
Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Amharic

Timeline