EVALUATION REPORT INDEPENDENT COUNTRY PROGRAMME EVALUATION BANGLADESH 2012 – 2016 Evaluation Office New York April 2016 EVALUATION TEAM Evaluation manager and co-team leader: Hicham Daoudi (UNFPA Evaluation Office) Experts: Co-team leader and Reproductive Health expert: Sheila Reed Population and Development expert: Saiful Islam Gender Equality: Mahbuba Nasreen Country Programme Evaluation: Bangladesh The analysis and recommendations of this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Population Fund, its Executive Board or the United Nations Member States. This is an independent publication by the Evaluation Branch. Cover photos provided by the Evaluation Branch. Copyright © UNFPA 2014 all rights reserved. Design and Printing: [Company Name] Foreword The independent Evaluation Office is pleased to present the evaluation of the UNFPA eighth country programme of assistance to the Government of Bangladesh, covering the period 2012-2016. The evaluation is an independent assessment of the relevance, the performance and the strategic positioning of UNFPA in Bangladesh. It draws lessons from past and present cooperation and provides a set of strategic and actionable recommendations to inform the next country programme cycle. This evaluation also serves as a pilot exercise for a clustered country programme evaluation of UNFPA engagement in highly vulnerable contexts. As part of this broader study, the Bangladesh country programme evaluation discusses how UNFPA has been able to take into account and address the specific causes of vulnerability in Bangladesh. The evaluation found that UNFPA supported interventions were well targeted and designed so as to address the needs of vulnerable groups, while further attention needs to be paid to specific groups such as women and girls at risk of gender based violence, undocumented refugees or those most at risk for sexually transmitted diseases. Adolescents and youth feature prominently among the beneficiaries of UNFPA supported interventions, in alignment with the national objective to realize a demographic dividend. UNFPA has contributed to an improved quality and accessibility of maternal health and family planning services, although the demand is hampered by insufficient knowledge on the part of potential beneficiaries about these services, the existence of socio-cultural barriers and crowded or underdeveloped facilities. In the area of population and development, UNFPA has contributed to the strengthening of national capacities to collect and analyse population data and has promoted the use by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics of up-to-date data collection and validation techniques. In the field of gender equality, UNFPA has contributed towards the reduction of gender-based violence and of child marriage in targeted districts and municipalities. As far as emergency preparedness and the capacity to respond to crises are concerned, UNFPA has achieved some significant results. Of particular note, the UNFPA emergency preparedness and contingency plan adequately considers major hazards and potential emergency situations. In addition, UNFPA has contributed to an improved access to and use of reproductive health and family planning services by Rohingya refugees living in camps. Addressing the needs of the undocumented refugees living outside of the camps and who represent the vast majority of refugees remains, however, an area for improvement. In view of its next country programme for Bangladesh, UNFPA should focus on prioritizing and targeting women and girls most vulnerable to abuse of their rights, who are at high risk of morbidity, mortality and psychological hardship. Particular attention should be paid to those not fully accessing the health and education systems. ii With regard to emergency preparedness and the response to crises, UNFPA should take a more active role in the United Nations joint assessments and response, and ensure that preparedness and response are reproductive health and gender sensitive. UNFPA should also work toward stronger communication and coordination with the Government and the other United Nations agencies as well as other stakeholders supporting disaster and emergency affected populations such as documented and undocumented refugees. I hope that this evaluation will be helpful in demonstrating the contribution of UNFPA to the development results of Bangladesh, and that it provides useful lessons for consideration in the preparation of the ninth country programme. Andrea Cook Director, Evaluation Office iii Acknowledgements The independent Evaluation Office of UNFPA would like to thank all who contributed to this evaluation. The evaluation was managed by Hicham Daoudi, Evaluation Adviser at the Evaluation Office, who also co-led the evaluation team with Sheila Reed, independent expert on reproductive health and rights. The evaluation team was composed of Saiful Islam, independent expert on population and development and Mahbuba Nasreen, independent expert on gender equality. We would like to thank the staff of the UNFPA country office in Bangladesh, led by its Representative, Argentina Matavel, for their invaluable assistance throughout the evaluation process and, in particular, for their contribution to the organization of the field phase. We would like to express special thanks to all the stakeholders and beneficiaries who were consulted during the evaluation, giving freely of their time and sharing openly their views on the country programme. This report would not have been possible without the guidance and support of the evaluation reference group; particular thanks therefore go to: Saleha Binte Siraj, Senior Assistant Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance; A. Gaffar Khan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr. A.B.M. Muzaharul Islam, Deputy Director, Directorate General Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr. Tapash Ranjan Das, Deputy Director, Directorate General of Family Planning, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Zahidul Haque Sardar, Director, Census Wing, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; A.B.M Zakir Hossain, project Director, Department of Women Affairs, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; Antara Ganguli, programme specialist, UN Women; Dr. Mamadou Hady Diallo, Medical Officer, World Health Organization. iv Table of Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. iv Abbreviations and Acronyms ................................................................................. ix Key facts and figures ............................................................................................ xiv Map of Bangladesh showing geographical coverage by UNFPA eighth country programme ............................................................................................ xvii 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Purpose and objectives of the country programme evaluation ................... 1 1.2 Scope of the evaluation .............................................................................. 1 2 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 2 2.1 Evaluation process ..................................................................................... 2 2.2 Evaluation questions .................................................................................. 3 Table 1. Coverage of evaluation criteria by evaluation questions ..................... 4 2.3 Methods and tools used for data collection and analysis ............................ 4 Table 2. Bangladesh Eighth Country Programme Evaluation Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions (figures in parenthesis are number of persons present) .................................................................... 6 2.4 Limitations and constraints ......................................................................... 8 3 CONTEXT OF THE UNFPA EIGHTH COUNTRY PROGRAMME FOR BANGLADESH .......................................................................................... 9 3.1 Political, economic and social context ........................................................ 9 3.2 Situation with regard to disaster vulnerability ............................................. 9 3.3 Situation with regard to reproductive health and rights ............................. 10 3.4 Situation with regard to adolescents and youth ........................................ 12 3.5 Situation with regard to population and development ............................... 13 3.6 Situation with regard to gender equality ................................................... 14 3.7 Situation with regard to development assistance ..................................... 15 3.8 The UNFPA eighth country programme for Bangladesh .......................... 17 3.8.3 The financial structure of the country programme .............................. 21 4 FINDINGS (RESPONSES TO EVALUATION QUESTIONS)................... 23 4.1 Relevance ................................................................................................ 23 4.2 Effectiveness and sustainability in the reproductive health and rights programmatic area ................................................................................... 37 Table 3. Deployment