United States Agency for International Development Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Office of Food for Peace Annual Results Report Awardee Name and Host Country Humanity and Inclusion Mali Award Number 72DFFP18GR00017 Activity Name Alliance for Community Resilience (ARC) Activity Start Date February 6th, 2018 Activity End Date March 5th, 2019 Submission Date November 05th 2018 Reporting Fiscal Year February 6th 2018 – September 30th 2018 Awardee HQ Contact Name Jeffrey Meer, Executive Director Awardee HQ Contact Address Handicap International – US 8757 Georgia Avenue, Suite 420 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Awardee HQ Contact Telephone Number Office tel.: +1-301-891-2138 Office fax: +1-301-891-9193 Awardee HQ Contact Email Address Host Country Office Contact Name Myriam Abord-Hugon, Program Director Host Country Office Contact Telephone +223 76 40 59 39 Number Host Country Office Contact Email Address Handicap International – Mali BPE 22 99 Badalabougou SEMA Rue 136 Porte 924 Bamako – Mali 1 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ACF Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Faim) ARC Alliance for Community Resilience CMDT Malian Cotton Commercial Zone DRC Danish Refugee Council ECHO European Civil Protection And Humanitarian Aid Operations EU European Union HEA Household Economy Approach HH Household HI Handicap International IGA Income Generating Activities IRC International Rescue Committee LRRD Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development NRC Norwegian Refugee Council PDM Post Distribution Monitoring PDSEC Cultural Social and Economic Development Program PSCV Participatory Study of Capabilities and Vulnerabilities 2 i. ACTIVITY INTERVENTIONS AND RESULTS a. Award Summary The project contributes to increasing resilience in northern Mali among very poor households at risk of food, nutritional and economic insecurity. The ARC approach is aligned with national resilience priorities. The action focuses on the reinforcement of households’ livelihoods through cash transfer, support measures, contribution to the decrease of acute and chronic malnutrition through research and nutritional sensitization, reduction of vulnerability to environmental shocks and coordination and reinforcement of institutional actors. The previous project (September 29th 2016- December 31th 2017) involved 9,296 households from 9 communes. The current funding is intended to support 14,561 very poor households, including 9,296 in 17 communes from Timbuktu, Gao, Mopti and Menaka regions through unconditional cash distributions and/or livelihood support measures. The targeting of the communes took into account the initiatives already under way by partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to enable synergy between the proposed activities and to strengthen their impact. The members of the project’s consortium also took into account projects already implemented by other stakeholders in proposed intervention areas to avoid duplication. Introductory paragraph The first phase of project implementation involved conducting information sessions on the new funding. To this end, launching workshops have been held at the level of the communes. These workshops brought together project officers, authorities, community representatives and technical services. The purpose of these meetings was to inform the participants about the new project including its objectives, the activities to be carried out, the work plan and the process of updating the list of beneficiaries. It was also about exchanging information with stakeholders. Furthermore, during this first phase, contracting with distribution providers continued and the first distribution was conducted by some partners. During the second phase, covering the period from July to September, the following activities were carried out: • Realization of cash transfer or food voucher distribution • Presentation to the various stakeholders of the top up: Reasons for adding additional beneficiary households to the project Additional targeting criteria for beneficiaries • Targeting process for additional beneficiaries • Continuation of civil documentation and DRR activities Beneficiary’s identification and selection Given that 11,463 households had already been identified in 2017, the lists have been exhaustively updated to check the actual presence of households. As a reminder, the identification and selection of beneficiaries took place in 2017 following the Household Economy Approach (HEA) or in a community-based manner. This updating stage was implemented in a participatory manner through village general assemblies gathering the communities, targeting committees and project officers. The methodology adopted is as follows: Remind participants of the program's strategy and objectives; Identify the households present by comparing the list and the beneficiaries’ cards; Determine the reasons for possible absences of households and take the appropriate measures depending on the case (death, final, temporary departure, etc.). When the absence is due to a permanent departure of all the members of the household, the HH is replaced by another one coming from the waiting list of the 3 initial targeting, or through a community decision during the same village assembly; In the case of a temporary absence or death of the head of household, the members appoint his/her replacement, who is then certified by the village assembly; Prepare Minutes to record any amendments. Subsequently, beneficiary cards were prepared for distribution to beneficiaries before cash transfers. The results of this process conducted between February and May 2018 are recorded in the table below: Number of Number of Number of households households Number of Number of Number of households whose head is whose head is NGO Commune initial households displaced whose absent and dead, the family households present households head is replaced by displaced and dead their replaced by representative others ACF Talataye 630 630 ACF Bourra 689 689 SI Sarayamou 669 656 13 20 111 SI Tindirma 169 168 1 3 9 SI Binga 136 136 14 SI Tienkour 236 236 1 SI Kondi 91 91 7 9 SI Tonka 2362 2352 10 57 150 14 ACTED Anderamboukane 1334 1333 1 13 ACTED Alata 184 184 ACTED Inekar 501 501 4 HI Rharous 1324 1324 29 IRC Hombori 1129 1129 IRC Djaptodji 1409 1409 DRC Ouinerden 600 600 Total 11463 11438 25 134 293 14 Targeting process for additional beneficiaries under the Top Up As part of the Top-Up and given the wide range of needs, USAID/FFP has given additional funding to target more beneficiaries. This increase in number of beneficiaries has been formalized by a contract amendment. Presentation workshops were held to explain the increase in number of beneficiaries, in the presence of community leaders, municipal authorities and the beneficiary community. Mainly, these workshops allowed consortium partners to present the reasons for the increase and the identification process and the targeting criteria of these new beneficiaries. 4 Following that, a specific activity of identification and selection of additional households was organized. As was done in 2017 and as for all project activities, the selection of households was conducted in collaboration with the municipality leaders and the local technical services. The HEA methodology was chosen to select additional beneficiaries. Specifically, the targeting of additional beneficiaries took into account: . The inputs from municipality leaders and the local technical services, the community Support Committee and the Village General Assembly (VGA), . A priority for very poor households who recently arrived in some villages and those who have experienced significant loss of livestock due to drought. Households mainly headed by women and widows; households having exhausted their livelihood capacities; households without food stocks and/or small ruminants; mothers of children under 5 who meet the vulnerability criteria; host households for returnees who meet the vulnerability criteria; households with a vulnerable dependent (disabled, elderly over 60, orphans, widowed, chronic disease ...) . Geographical targeting: the size of the population of the various sites selected, as well as the coverage rate by the first phase of the ARC project; . A Household Vulnerability Verification Survey (organized by IRC and ACTED). All project communities have very well received the increase of the number of beneficiaries. Distribution to additional households will take place during the next reporting period for all partners. Table 2: Identification and Selection of additional beneficiaries: Number of beneficiaries Number of additional Intervention areas on the 1st distribution beneficiaries (Top Up) HI 1324 260 Rharous, Benguel, Bankoma et Tintadeni ACTED 1979 338 Alata, Inékar et Andéramboukane ACF 1319 297 Bourra et de Talataye Ouattagouna et Bara DRC 60 720 Ouinerden SI 3 663 890 Guinda Gatta, Bancani Village, Bancani Camp, Yourni, Tintafarak, Mekoreye, Saya, Tonka, Thierwell, Tintara IRC 2538 593 Hombori, Djaptodji Identification and selection of providers After updating the beneficiary lists, the next step was the selection of providers to carry out cash transfers or exchange food vouchers. For the specific case of food vouchers: . A survey of the prices of the main products to be exchanged was carried out: Prior to distribution, the prices of the main products to be exchanged were analyzed in order to select providers and verify unjustified price increases. To do this, we used the results of our monthly monitoring of markets, secondary data from