Mid Real-Time Evaluation of Oxfam International's Response to the Food
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Mid Real-time Evaluation of Oxfam International’s response to the food crisis in Niger August 2010 Evaluation carried out from 2 to 12 August 2010 by: Anne Slootweg, Humanitarian Department, Oxfam Novib Catherine Gould, Regional Office, Oxfam GB Sosthene Konaté, Burkina Faso Programme, Intermon Oxfam Yamina Himeur, Humanitarian Department, Oxfam GB (team leader) 1 Table of Contents Thanks and Acknowledgements ................................................................................ 3 Glossary.................................................................................................................... 3 Summary Overview................................................................................................... 4 1. Context.............................................................................................................. 9 2. Introduction..................................................................................................... 10 3. Evaluation benchmarks and results .................................................................. 11 4. Methodology ................................................................................................... 28 5. Half-day of reflection ...................................................................................... 29 6. Appendixes...................................................................................................... 30 Appendix 1 – Terms of reference for the M-RTE................................................. 30 Appendix 2 – Interviews carried out and communities visited.............................. 40 Appendix 3 - Evaluation of the half-day of reflection and the M-RTE ................. 42 Appendix 4 – Participants in the half-day of reflection ........................................ 43 2 Thanks and Acknowledgements The team would like to thank all those who contributed their time, comments and ideas to this evaluation, particularly the Oxfam team members and those of our partners in Niger, for their flexibility and the welcome they extended to us both in their offices and during field visits. Thank you also to our guides Adjara and Aichatou from Oxfam, and Abdulaye from Karkara who carried out most of the interpreting, and the Oxfam and AREN drivers whose help was so valuable during the various visits. Finally, thank you to all those who provided logistical and security support to the teams from Oxfam and partners, and of course to the managers from Oxfam Novib and GB, who helped us to keep moving forwards during the assessment, at all hours of the day and night. Glossary AREN Association for rekindling animal Association pour la Redynamisation husbandry in Niger d’Élevage au Niger CCA Food Crisis Unit Cellule de Crise Alimentaire DFID UK Department for International Ministère du développement Development international du Royaume Uni DNPGCA National system for the prevention and Dispositif National de Prévention et management of food crises Gestion des Crises Alimentaires RRD/DRR Disaster Risk Reduction Réduction des risques de désastres ECHO European Commission’s Humanitarian Office d’Aide Humanitaire de la Aid Office Commission Européenne EFSL Emergency Food Security & livelihood Sécurité alimentaire et Moyens de subsistance FAO United Nation Food and Agriculture Organisation des Nations Unies pour Organization l'alimentation et l'agriculture HCT Humanitarian Country Team Équipe Humanitaire Pays HD Humanitarian Department Département Humanitaire CRC Select Committee for Donor Co- Comité Restreint de Concertation operation État-Donateurs HSP Humanitarian Support Personnel Personnel d’appui humanitaire INGO International Non-governmental ONGI – Organisation non- Organisation Gouvernemental Internationale IRD Development Research Institute Institut de recherche pour le développement MC Mercy Corps Mercy Corps M-RTE Mid-Real Time Evaluation Évaluation en temps réel à mi- parcours MTE Mid Term Evaluation Évaluation à mi-parcours OCHA United Nations Office for the Bureau des Nations Unies pour la Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Coordination des Affaires Humanitaires OFDA Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Bureau d’assistance internationale Assistance aux désastres des Etats Unis d’Amérique OGB Oxfam Great Britain Oxfam Grande Bretagne OI Oxfam International Oxfam International ON Oxfam Novib Oxfam Novib ONG Non-governmental Organisation Organisation non gouvernementale OQ Oxfam Quebec Oxfam Quebec RiC Rights in Crisis Droits en situations de Crise RH Human resources Ressources Humaines RTE Real Time Evaluation Évaluation en temps réel SCAP Community early warning system Système Communautaire d’alerte (EWS) précoce SCAP-RU EU Early Warning and Response Système Communautaire d’Alerte System (EWRS) Précoce et Réponse à l’Urgence SMS Single Management Structure Structure de Gestion Unique VSF Veterinaries without Borders Vétérinaires sans Frontieres 3 WAHRF West Africa Humanitarian Response Fonds de réponse humanitaire Fund d’Afrique de l’ouest WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Eau, assainissement et promotion de Promotion l’hygiène Summary Overview The M-RTE took place at the beginning of August with visits to several communities in the Tillaberi and Maradi regions and interviews with Oxfam affiliates at all levels (country, region and HQ), their partners in Niger, and other organisations which are present in the country, as well as with government representatives at various levels. As far as speed of response is concerned, the team determined that Oxfam’s response came in relatively good time compared to other actors involved in the crisis, and in the light of certain limiting factors arising from the context and the type of crisis. The ON response started very early, but there was then a gap after the first phase, and the response from OGB came at the same time as most of the other actors. Early awareness of the crisis, strong existing relationships with partners, and existing development programmes were all very positive factors. Nevertheless, the response could have started up a few months earlier, especially, and this according to some of the beneficiaries themselves, for destocking operations, as well as for the advocacy and media work. The decisive factor in this delay is the lack of funding, and the lack of staff which that in turn causes. Even though ON’s own funds were released very early on, they could not be used to recruit staff in country, who were desperately needed both at the level of humanitarian management and for food security and livelihood expertise both for ON and for OGB. OGB’s own funds, which were more flexible, with a small initial loan and above all exceptional funding of £800,000 in June which was crucial – could have been used earlier. External funding on the other hand was a real challenge, with a lack of awareness and interest in the food crisis on the part of donors. The contingency planning was a very positive process in terms of strengthening mutual understanding and relations between Oxfam and its partners, but did not help at all operationally, as it did not actually include a single scenario or plan for responding to a crisis like this, which was, however, both foreseen and foreseeable. The community early-warning systems – despite their value to Oxfam and its partners – did not really work, which some blame on the fact that they were not funded this year, but others feel that the data fed back still does not yet have the necessary quality or speed, which then affects the quality of the analysis. Oxfam and its partners showed a good level of flexibility in the face of the changes in the context (destocking deprogrammed in some communities) and in applying the lessons learned during the response itself (vouchers as part of the ON response, after an initial trial with OGB and the same partner). Important lessons learned from 2005 on the speed and type of response (through partners) as well as on the positive development of partners’ capacities seem to have paid off during this intervention. Security did not have a major impact on the response, but the way it is managed differs greatly between affiliates and this deserves to be reviewed given the planned common response structure (see below). The intervention was focussed on the food security needs of households and animals, a strategic choice which was praised by some other organisations and the authorities, and which met the needs of the selected communities appropriately. The communities therefore are very positive about the aid provided, and it is worth noting that Oxfam and its partners in several cases were the only ones to have acted in certain areas, alongside the government. But according to the communities, the aid was not enough, given the scale of their needs. They also mention needing water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, which were not included in the first phase of Oxfam’s response, and which should be examined for inclusion in the programme monitoring and in the future contingency plans. 4 While impartiality appears to be a delicate topic with the authorities, it was only some of the women in a group of women we met with who mentioned membership of one of our partner organisations being used as a criterion for selecting beneficiaries, while membership of various ethnic groups was not raised by any of the focus groups. But it is still very important that partners continue to be aware of this question, and to reinforce the information given to both communities and the local and regional authorities. The information