OFFICE OF EVALUATION Project evaluation series Final Evaluation of the Joint Resilience Project in Kassala February 2018 PROJECT EVALUATION SERIES Final Evaluation of the Joint Resilience Project in Kassala FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF EVALUATION February 2018 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Office of Evaluation (OED) This report is available in electronic format at: http://www.fao.org/evaluation The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. 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All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. For further information on this report, please contact: Director, Office of Evaluation (OED) Food and Agriculture Organization Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 1, 00153 Rome Italy Email: [email protected] Cover photo credits: @FAO/ Anne Bichard Final Evaluation of the Joint Resilience Project in Kassala Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................................vii Acronyms and abbreviations ...................................................................................................................viii Executive summary ..................................................................................................................1 1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................................8 1.1 Purpose the evaluation .................................................................................................8 1.2 Scope and objective of the evaluation .....................................................................8 1.3 Methodology ...................................................................................................................9 1.4 Structure if the report .................................................................................................11 2. Background and context of JRP ....................................................................................12 2.1 Presentation of the Project ........................................................................................12 2.1.1 A joint Project to strengthen resilience to weather shocks in Kassala State ..............................................................................................................12 2.1.2 JRP timeline .........................................................................................................13 2.1.3 Resources allocated to JRP ..............................................................................14 2.2 Context of implementation ......................................................................................15 2.2.1 Kassala State: general data .............................................................................15 2.2.2 Major shocks in the past decades .................................................................15 2.2.3 A rural economy based on livestock and agriculture ...............................16 2.2.4 Poor access to basic needs and high level of malnutrition ....................16 2.2.5 A project in line with mandate and strategy of the agencies; in line with Sudanese policy ......................................................................................18 3. Evaluation Questions: key findings ............................................................................19 3.1 Evaluation Question 1: Design and approach of JRP ..........................................19 3.1.1 Relevance of the JRP Theory of Change .......................................................19 3.1.2 M&E system ........................................................................................................ 30 3.1.3 Coordination mechanisms ...............................................................................33 3.2 Evaluation Question 2: Results .................................................................................37 3.2.1 Impact of JRP: Increased resilience to droughts and floods ..................37 3.2.2 Outcome 1: Improved maternal and child health and nutrition status ............................................................................................................................... 38 3.2.3 Outcome 2: Improved adaptive capacity.................................................... 39 3.2.4 Output 1: Community consultation ............................................................. 40 3.2.5 Output 2: Nutrition and Health ..................................................................... 44 3.2.6 Output 3: WASH .................................................................................................49 3.2.7 Output 4: Food Security and Livelihood .................................................... 54 3.2.8 Output 5: Response to “El Niño” ................................................................... 63 3.3 Evaluation Question 3: Gender and Equity .......................................................... 68 3.3.1 Gender ................................................................................................................. 68 3.3.2 Equity ....................................................................................................................69 iii Final Evaluation of the Joint Resilience Project in Kassala 4. Conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................... 72 4.1 Conclusions .....................................................................................................................72 4.2 Recommendations ......................................................................................................74 5. Appendices ......................................................................................................................... 78 Appendix 1. List of documents consulted ......................................................................78 Appendix 2. List of people interviewed ......................................................................... 82 Appendix 3. JRP timeline ................................................................................................... 84 Appendix 4. List of visited villages ...................................................................................85 Appendix 5. Theory of Change ........................................................................................ 86 Appendix 6. Coordination frame for JRP ........................................................................87 Appendix 7. JRP M&E workplan ........................................................................................ 88 Appendix 8. Selection of pictures ................................................................................... 89 Appendix 9. Response to drought and floods (details on Output 5) ......................93 6. List of Annexes ................................................................................................................... 95 iv Final Evaluation of the Joint Resilience Project in Kassala Boxes, Figures and Tables Boxes Box 1: Evaluation questions (from ToR) ............................................................................9 Box 2: JRP definition of Resilience in Kassala .................................................................19 Box 3: Village selection in Hameshkoreb ....................................................................... 23 Box 4: Water: a priority for communities ........................................................................28 Box 5: Early Warning System in JRP documentation .................................................. 30 Box 6: Two levels of Coordination .....................................................................................33 Box 7: Design option .............................................................................................................35 Box 8: Design option............................................................................................................ 36 Box 9: Qualitative follow-up of community capacity ................................................. 39 Box 10: Implementing partner assessment of