Final Report on the Program Evaluation of Peace Corps/Malawi (IG-13-02-E)
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Office Hotline 202.692.2900 202.692.2915 800.233.5874 Office of Inspector General peacecorps.gov/OIG Online Contact Form OIG Reports [email protected] To: Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Director Daljit Bains, Chief Compliance Officer From: Kathy A. Buller, Inspector General Date: March 22, 2013 Subject: Final Report on the Program Evaluation of Peace Corps/Malawi (IG-13-02-E) Transmitted for your information is our final report on the Program Evaluation of Peace Corps/Malawi. Management concurred with all 21 recommendations. All 21 recommendations remain open. The post has provided supporting documentation for 11 of the 21 recommendations, which OIG will review following completion of approval and verification procedures through the region and chief compliance officer. OIG will review and consider closing recommendations 2, 4, 5, 7-9, 11-14, and 16-21 when the documentation reflected in the agency’s response to the preliminary report is received. OIG will review and consider closing recommendations 1, 3, 6, 10, and 15 pending confirmation from the chief compliance officer that the documentation reflected in the OIG Analysis is received. In its response, management described actions it is taking or intends to take to address the issues that prompted each of our recommendations. We wish to note that in closing recommendations, we are not certifying that the agency has taken these actions or that we have reviewed their effect. Certifying compliance and verifying effectiveness are management’s responsibilities. Our comments, which are in the report as Appendix C, address these matters. Please respond with documentation to close the remaining open recommendation within 90 days of receipt of this memorandum. You may address questions regarding follow-up or documentation to Assistant Inspector General for Evaluation Jim O’Keefe at 202.692.2904 or to Senior Evaluator Reuben Marshall at 202.692.2903. Please accept our thanks for your cooperation and assistance in our review. Attachment cc: Elisa Montoya, White House Liaison/Senior Advisor to the Director Bill Rubin, General Counsel Esther Benjamin, Associate Director for Global Operations Dick Day, Regional Director, Africa Michael Simsik, Chief of Operations, Africa Krista Rigalo, Chief of Programming and Training, Africa Sarah Morgenthau, Director, Peace Corps Response Kevin Novotny, Country Director Jennifer Parrish Taylor, Special Assistant to the Chief Compliance Officer Malawi Country Desk Peace Corps Office of Inspector General “Elephant Rock” near Chikangawa, Northern Region, Malawi Flag of Malawi Final Program Evaluation Report: Peace Corps/Malawi IG-13-02-E March 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over 2,500 Peace Corps Volunteers have served the people of Malawi since the first Volunteers arrived in 1963. The program was twice suspended, from 1969 to 1973 and 1976 to 1978. There are currently three project sectors in Malawi: (1) community health, (2) secondary education, (3) natural resource management. At the onset of this evaluation there were 88 Volunteers serving in Malawi, 37 trainees in pre-service training, and 12 Peace Corps Response Volunteers (PCRV). Towards the end of 2011, the management of PC/Malawi (hereafter, “the post”) changed hands following the turnover of all three of the post‟s USDH staff. Upon arriving at the post, the incoming management team encountered significant funding shortfalls caused by issues with the post‟s financial management processes and headquarters oversight. Senior staff worked closely with headquarters to address the most critical issues though ongoing budgeting challenges remain.1 The evaluation revealed additional management issues including unclear and duplicate roles and responsibilities in the programming unit and difficulties collecting and reporting performance data. Senior staff was addressing these management challenges and Volunteers and staff in Malawi and headquarters staff were encouraged by their efforts and satisfied with the post‟s current leadership and direction. The evaluation determined that the Peace Corps program addresses some of Malawi‟s most pressing development needs. The post benefits from a history of strong support from host country officials, however Ministry officials were poorly informed about Volunteers‟ project goals and activities. Site preparation was another area in need of improvement. Poor site preparation by programming staff caused unnecessary obstacles for Volunteers at the start of their service and significantly reduced the impact of the Peace Corps Response program in PC/Malawi. Volunteers were very satisfied with staff support in the areas of safety and security, medical, and administrative support. In a number of other areas, the post struggled to provide adequate support and oversight to Volunteers. For instance, program staff communicated poorly with Volunteers and failed to provide effective supervision and expectation setting. As a result, Volunteers were disconnected from staff and felt discouraged and demoralized and some Volunteers had stopped taking their assignments seriously. Additional issues related to safety and security operations included incomplete and inaccurate site locator forms and poor Volunteer access to updated emergency action plans. The post‟s training program was effective in the key areas of language, culture, safety and security, and medical training. Training areas in need of improvement included technical training, grants training, and HIV/AIDS training. Technical training was negatively impacted by high staff turnover and poor participation by program managers. HIV/AIDS training was ineffective for some Volunteers based on their prior experience and site placements. Grants training did not adequately prepare Volunteers to address questions regarding appropriate resources and project sustainability. 1 Senior staff generally refers to the CD, the DMO, and, when applicable, the DPT, who worked at the post from December 2011 until April 2012 before departing for medical reasons. Final Program Evaluation Report: Peace Corps/Malawi i PC/Malawi uses PEPFAR funds to fully support the costs of Peace Corps Response Volunteers, partially support two-year Volunteer costs, and for HIV/AIDS training for all Volunteers. The post is implementing its PEPFAR objectives, however it struggled to collaborate effectively with other agencies and to collect essential HIV-related data. Our report contains 21 recommendations, which, if implemented, should strengthen programming operations and correct the deficiencies detailed in the accompanying report. Final Program Evaluation Report: Peace Corps/Malawi ii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... i HOST COUNTRY BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................... 1 PEACE CORPS PROGRAM BACKGROUND ........................................................................................... 1 EVALUATION RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 3 MANAGEMENT CONTROLS ............................................................................................................................. 3 PROGRAMMING .............................................................................................................................................. 9 VOLUNTEER SUPPORT .................................................................................................................................. 15 TRAINING ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 PRESIDENT’S EMERGENCY PLAN FOR AIDS RELIEF .................................................................................. 26 OBJECTIVE, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY....................................................................................... 29 INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED ................................................................................................................. 30 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................... 33 APPENDIX A: LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................... 35 APPENDIX B: AGENCY’S RESPONSE TO THE PRELIMINARY REPORT ............................................. 36 APPENDIX C: OIG COMMENTS......................................................................................................... 46 APPENDIX D: PROGRAM EVALUATION COMPLETION AND OIG CONTACT ................................ 49 HOST COUNTRY BACKGROUND Malawi is a small, densely populated country in southeast Africa bordered by Zambia, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Formerly the British Protectorate of Nyasaland, Malawi gained its independence from Britain in 1963. In 1994, after thirty years of one-party rule, Malawi peacefully elected a new government committed to multi-party democracy. Following the sudden death of the president in April 2012, Vice President Joyce Banda was sworn in as Malawi‟s new president and became Africa‟s second female head of state. In the 2011 United Nations Human Development report, Malawi ranked 171 out of 187 countries, placing it between Cote d'Ivoire and Afghanistan.2 Malawi has immense development needs: the average life expectancy is 54 years at birth; maternal