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EDUCATION SECTOR PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION GRANT (ESPIG) Endline Report

Global evidence has shown that the type and quality of education can either fuel marginalization, alienation, poverty and vulnerability of children and young people or strengthen societal resilience. After the fall of the state in 1991 and the outbreak of conflict, the education system in Somalia remains fragmented and underfunded – with only 0.25 percent of Somalia’s GDP invested in the education system. Significant barriers to accessing quality education in Somalia include minimal capacity to provide in-teacher training; insufficient salaries for educators; high student to teacher ratio; low ratio of textbooks to students; inadequate school infrastructure (e.g., gender appropriate WASH facilities or access to electricity); marginalization of pastoralist communities and minority clans; and an inability to appropriately accommodate students with disabilities.
In response the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MOECHE) of the Government of Somalia and CARE have implemented the Education Sector Program Implementation Grant (ESPIG) funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). Aligned with the Federal Government of Somalia’s Education Sector Plan 2018-2020 (ESSP), the overall objective of ESPIG is to increase access to quality education for out of school children; enhance the quality of primary education; and improve the capacity of the Ministries of Education (MOEs) at the Federal Member State (FMS) and district level to regulate and better manage the education sector.
This endline evaluation aimed to assess the extent to which the stated objectives and ESPIG components were achieved (or not) during the course of the project. This study also aimed to identify and explore the factors affecting the achievement of the ESPIG outcomes. For instance, it sought to identify factors affecting access to primary education, as well as the quality of teaching. The findings and recommendations aim to inform adaptations to future GPE investments in system strengthening in Somalia as well as the proposed methodology for their implementation. Read More...

Rapid Gender Analysis on Power and Participation Shafiullah Khata, Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar Bangladesh

The current Rohingya refugee crisis is regarded as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises of the twenty-first century. Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims are a stateless Muslim community that have faced systematic discrimination and targeted persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine State for decades. As the Myanmar government refuses to give Rohingya any citizenship rights, the vast majority of Rohingya have no legal documentation which is effectively making them stateless and trying to escape from the military’s campaign of violence, killing, rape, arson, and other grave abuses.

Bangladesh has taken in the greatest number of refugees thus far. Since 25th August 2017 a large number of Rohingya people has fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar after facing statelessness, targeted violence and discrimination. As of February 2022, there are 923,179 people and 194,091 households in 33 camps in Kutupalong and Nayapara area of Cox’s Bazar District.

There is limited to no participation and/or influence of Rohingya women in decision making or leadership roles within the humanitarian response in Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camp. Societal and religious norms of the Rohingya are patriarchal and tend to favor men’s participation and leadership over that of women; however, there are opportunities identified to support greater participation and leadership of women in public life.
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Integrated Health, WASH and FSL Assistance to Conflict-affected, Displaced, and Vulnerable Households in Amran governorate, Yemen

CARE Yemen has completed implementing CDCS-supported “Integrated Health, WASH and FSL Assistance to conflict-affected, displaced and vulnerable households in Amran governorate, Yemen”. The purpose of this program is to improve health, WASH, food security, livelihoods, and wellbeing for IDPs and vulnerable host communities in Amran Governorate in Yemen.

To set benchmark values for the outcome level indicators and to measure the success of the project in achieving its goals and objectives, a baseline and endline surveys was conducted in the project’s operational targeted areas. The endline survey was conducted with samples of targeted beneficiary households living in Raydah district of Amran Governorate in August 2023. The survey mainly used quantitative methodology (i.e., household survey) to collect pertinent data.

Here are the key survey outcomes:
1. Coping Strategy Index: The average CSI score for the surveyed HHs 9.96 (male: 10.03, female: 9.85), which is indicating that participants are relatively experiencing significant resilience and recovering from using negative food coping strategies.
Food Consumption Score: The average FCS for the targeted HHs is 54.65 (male: 54.81, female: 54.41). In addition, 89.93% are in acceptable food consumption.

2. Household Dietary Diversity Score: The average HDDS for the targeted household is 6.7 which indicated that surveyed HHs is somehow adequate dietary diversity. This denotes a good medium quality of diet whereby households consume an average of around 7 food groups out of the recommended twelve food groups.

3. HHS (Household Hunger Scale): The analysis of the endline data shows that only 2.16% of households faced moderate hunger; whereas 0.0% of households faced severe hunger during the survey time.

4. Access to safe water: about 74.3% of interviewees (male: 78.6%, female: 64.3%) mentioned to have access to safe water from protected water sources such as piped water system and protected wells.

5. Time taken to collect water: Majority of respondents 91.4% replied that the water is “Available inside the house” from the primary source which have been rehabilitated by CARE.

6. Practice of water treatment: 84.3% of respondents (male: 89.8%, female: 71.4%) mentioned treating water before drinking mainly using respectively the techniques of boiling, treated from pipeline, filters, Aqua-tabs, and Chlorine.

7. Availability of household latrines: The majority 98.6% of respondents (male: 98.0%, female: 100.0%) mentioned that they do have household latrines.

8. Practice of handwashing: approximately 87.9% of respondents (male: 86.7%, female: 90.5%) wash their hands at least three out of five critical times of hand washing.
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Mid-term Review: Women, Peace, and Security in Yemen

The civil war in Yemen has led to the greatest humanitarian emergency in the world, disproportionately impacting women and girls. The crisis has further deepened gender inequalities and women’s vulnerabilities to violence and harassment. Further amplifying the situation are poor policy implementation, a shrinking civic space - particularly for women’s organisations - and a retreat in recent hard won gains around women’s voices and leadership within peacebuilding processes.

Despite these realities, the context in Yemen offers significant opportunities for advancing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. Recognizing this need and opportunity, SOS Foundation for Development (short: SOS Foundation), CARE Yemen, RNW Media, and two implementing partners (Manasati30 and Generation without Qat), as part of an international consortium led by CARE Nederland, have been implementing the WPS3 in Yemen since 2021. The WPS3 is a strategic partnership funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) under the Strengthening Civil Society Policy Framework. It is a five-year initiative that seeks to contribute to lasting peace and to building a more equal society through addressing both women’s immediate needs and the underlying causes of their limited inclusion in relief, recovery and peacebuilding processes.

The Consortium commissioned Optimum Analysis to conduct a mid-term review of the WPS3 programme, covering the first half of programme implementation (1 January 2021 – 30 June 2023). The main purpose of the mid-term review is to assess the overall achievements and effectiveness of the WPS3 programme at the mid-point and provide recommendations on how the Partnership could be improved in moving forward. Read More...

WASH lifesaving assistance and protection services to the conflict affected IDPs and host communities in selected districts of Taiz governorate of Yemen

CARE Yemen is currently implementing ‘WASH lifesaving assistance and protection services to the conflict affected IDPs and host communities in selected districts of Taiz governorate of Yemen.

The principal objective of the project is ‘Rural and urban communities affected by the ongoing conflict and disaster have received life-saving assistance (for immediate needs) and improved foundation to their sustainable livelihood and resilience whereas the specific objective of the project is ‘Targeted IDP and host community households have improved access to comprehensive WASH and Protection services strengthening their resilience.

The project’s key results are:
• Result (1) Conflict affected households have enhanced access to safe water and improved hygiene practices through comprehensive WASH assistance.
• Result (2) Improved access of the most at-risk women, men, girls and boys to critical information and specialized protection services for their protection.

In order to measure the success of the project in achieving its goals and objectives, a baseline survey was conducted 396 households’ visits in Al Mudhaffar, AlQahirah, Salh and Al Maafer Districts of Taiz Governorate, this endline report can provide a critical reference point for assessing changes and impact, as it establishes a basis for comparing the situation before and after an intervention.
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Final Review of the Project ‘Empowering Communities to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls in Mannar’

This report presents the findings of the final review of the project ‘Empowering Communities to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls’ (VAWG) implemented by UN Women, UNICEF, and UNFPA in Mannar, Sri Lanka (From September 2020 to February 2023). This project used a combination of social norms and behavioural change, and livelihoods-strengthening interventions to prevent and respond to VAWG. The review objectives were:

1. To assess the extent to which the programme has achieved its output-level results.
2. To examine the relevance and effectiveness of the project’s implementation strategy and
efforts in jointly implementing the programme.
3. To identify good practices, lessons learnt and recommendations from the programme, and how the programme has met the expectations of project teams and the beneficiaries.

Evaluation Questions
This review intended to answer the following overarching evaluation questions:
1. Relevance: To what extent has the project addressed the needs identified in its design?
2. Effectiveness To what extent has the project implemented its outputs to target beneficiaries?
3. Efficiency: How efficiently was the project implemented and delivered quality outputs against
what was planned (including official amendments)?
4. Sustainability: How likely would the project's benefits continue after donor funding has been
withdrawn?
5. Human Rights-based and Gender-responsive Approach: To what extent has the project
applied a human rights-based and gender-responsive approach and identified and engaged the most marginalised groups?

Review Methodology
This review adopted qualitative and quantitative research approaches. It used a quantitative survey which interviewed 30 beneficiaries randomly selected from all divisional secretariat (DS) divisions where the project was implemented. This involved using a structured survey questionnaire based on the evaluation questions and sub-questions. The qualitative research component used a case study method where the ‘whole of project system’ in a selected divisional secretariat (Mannar Town DS division) was examined to provide an in-depth picture of the intervention. A total of 186 UN Agency staff, government stakeholders, implementation partners, and beneficiaries (purposely selected based on their demographic features, roles, and types of involvement) were interviewed through semi-structured Focus Group Discussions and in-depth interviews. It also involved a comprehensive review of programme documents. Read More...

Savings and Credit Groups for Food Security and Ecosystem Sustainability in Tanzania: Endline Evaluation

The "Savings and Credit Group for Food Security and Ecosystem Sustainability (SGFSES) in Tanzania" was a CARE-WWF Alliance’s project implemented in Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), focusing on the Great Ruaha River region. The initiative aimed to address climate vulnerabilities, improve livelihoods, and enhance ecosystem services. Among other interventions, the project promoted sustainable production of Irish potatoes and common beans, crucial for community livelihoods, but vulnerable to climate shocks. Challenges such as water and land shortages, deforestation, and weak governance had affected productivity and adaptation options.

Implemented from June 2021 to December 2023 in Iringa and Mufindi Districts, the project targeted 21 villages. Its primary goal was to enhance the household income of 5,000 farming families, particularly empowering women, directly impacting 22,500 individuals and indirectly benefiting at least 50,000 individuals within the Great Ruaha watershed.

The project employed traditional approaches like Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), Farmer Field and Business Schools (FFBS), and Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM), along with Integrated Land and Water Resource Management (ILWM) integrating income-generating and market-engagement strategies with natural resource management and sustainable agriculture practices so that both communities and ecosystems thrive.

The endline evaluation utilizing OECD criteria to assess the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of the project. It measured the achievements of this integrated conservation and development compared to the baseline three years earlier.
The endline evaluation found that the project surpassed its targets, reaching 7,029 households (51% female-headed) with a total of 10,961 direct beneficiaries (55% women, 34% youth) across all 21 project villages. In another words, the project impacted directly 33,739 individuals from 7,029 households. This represents 141% of the target set by the project at its beginning. Findings from FGDs and KIIs, showed that the project improved well-being of these communities by enhancing equal opportunities for men, women, and youth. The project enhanced meeting of basic needs such as food, housing, clothing, health services, and education expenses.

They participants increased productivity of staple crops like maize, common beans, sunflower, and Irish potatoes which notably contributed to reliable food sources and increased income for the communities. These crops served for both food and income. The endline survey found that the average productivity of the common bean increased from 331.3 kg acre-1 to 633 kg acre-1 which is an increase of 91% compared to the baseline. This achievement surpasses the LOP target of 30% increment by 61%. Furthermore, the average productivity of Irish potato increased from 1,435.5 kg acre-1 to 7,500 kg acre-1, which is 423% of the baseline or 393% of the LOP target of 30% increase.

The average number of months that surveyed households were able to provide sufficient food to their families was 7.4 at endline, up from 4.0 months at baseline. This is an increase of 85% from the baseline. The achievement surpasses the Life of Project goal of a 20% increase by 65%. On average, 83% of households experience adequate food provisioning during the crop-harvesting period (May to November), 42% experience hunger during the planting and crop growing season (December to April). 83% of the surveyed households report consuming three meals a day for most of the year, 86% of respondents were not worried about facing food shortages throughout the year. For those households that do not have adequate food provisions throughout the year, they tend to reduce their meals to two a day between December and April. Communities regard having two meals a day during the lean period as an improvement, as food was sometimes insufficient for one meal among some families in the past.

The endline evaluation drawn lessons learned that emerged from the data are:
- The implementation of VSLAs have helped the village land use committee, village environmental committee members and village council leaders to get into engagement with conservation activities.
- The Alliance-promoted VSLA-based AMCOS model has several benefits: in addition to attracting farmers with its core collective marketing promise, the requirement that all AMCOS members should also be VSLA members both accelerated VSLA group formation and enhances trust in leaders, a critical component of successful AMCOS.
- The planting to avocado trees, being one of potential trees for income generation and conservation of natural resources comes with a number of challenges. The first is it high water usage especially at the early stages of growth. The fruit tree have attracted large investors, who have been seen to open up large farms in forested lands. This has the risk of causing deforestation and drought in the near future, as the virgin land is turned into production land.
- The Alliance-piloted CSI model holds significant promise: Collective Investment trainings have not only supported VSLA groups in investing together but also have supported the individual members in starting their enterprises.
- VSLA members are confident to speak out on the enterprises which are destructive to environment in front of other members compared to period before the CSI training.
- VSLA members can see the benefits of individual and group investments that are made.
- Women have been in front line in undertaking collective investments activities at a group and individual level, which has resulted into family stability and reduced GBV issues as they also have something to contribute to their families. Read More...

New Economic Opportunities for Returnees and Vulnerable Citizens in Southern and Eastern Serbia

This report is an external evaluation of “New economic opportunities for returnees and vulnerable citizens in southern and eastern Serbia” project, implemented by CARE International Balkans, Serbia Office and project partner organizations NEXUS from Vranje and ENECA from Niš, financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); Donor Contract no. 4621. Part of matching funds have been provided by Letter-Day Saint Charities (LDS). Lead applicant of the project was CARE Deutschland e.V. Project implementation period under review was from the November 2020 to October 2023. The evaluation was carried out by the external evaluator at the end of the Project period September – October, 2023.

Overall objective of the project was to contribute to the equal, socio-economic integration of vulnerable citizens and improve the general economic living conditions in the south and east of the Republic of Serbia. The goal of the project was that vulnerable population groups in Southeast Serbia recognize opportunities for socio-economic inclusion in their home region and question emigration more critically. The project has been implemented in six districts of south and east Serbia: Pčinjski, Jablanički, Nišavski, Pirotski, Zaječarski and Borski. Target project groups includes citizens who have returned via the readmission agreement, but also local economically disadvantaged population groups that tend to emigrate to Western countries and their family members.

The purpose of the Final evaluation was to analyse the achievement of the planned results and the impact of the named project on the level of the key stakeholders and to provide findings, conclusions, and recommendations for the future programming, as well as for development of new project proposals. In order to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the Action the evaluation was analysed the project’s achievements after the three years of the project implementation, based on the specific objectives and results as specified in the project proposal and ToR1. The process of evaluation involved 64 participants, 54 of which are direct project beneficiaries. Evaluation was based on participatory approach since this approach can increase ownership of the program, evaluation findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
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Rapid Gender Analysis: Gender, Conflict and Internal Displacement in and from South Lebanon

The overarching objective of this Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) is to highlight the differential impacts of the growing insecurity at Lebanon’s southern border for men, women and other vulnerable populations such as migrant domestic workers, refugees, and those with diverse sexual identities. The specific objectives are to: (1) Unpack potential shifts in attitudes, behaviours, roles and responsibilities among men and women within the household and community that may enable or prevent more equitable participation in humanitarian program planning and response, especially among internally displaced populations; (2) Identify the gender-based constraints (including gender-based violence and mobility restrictions) that hinder equitable participation or access to humanitarian services/resources/programs; (3) Understand the direct and indirect impacts of the conflict on health, livelihood, shelter, safe access to essential services and resources, including solidarity networks; (4) Generate actionable recommendations for CARE and other humanitarian stakeholders to design and implement more inclusive, equitable and targeted program interventions around key priority areas.

Key Findings
• For domestic migrant workers, refugee and IDP and those identifying as LGBTQI+ mutual aid groups and seeking local solidarity networks are essential in securing essential services, creating advocacy channels and build social safety nets.
• Women in urban regions hold more influencing power over household decisions than those in rural areas.
•Female refugees/IDPs, domestic migrant workers and LGBTQI+ individuals reported barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services as well as other essential health services.
•The psychological toll of the current violence is triggering overwhelming levels of stress, anxiety, and fear across the community, especially affecting children and those with memories of migration and conflict.
• Overcrowded shelters lack gender-sensitive considerations and amplify risks of GBV, particularly exploitation and harassment.
• Economic coping strategies from the long-standing economic crisis is taking a toll on livelihoods and the ability of households to save, leading women and other vulnerable groups to be exposed to disproportionate safety and protection risks. Read More...

Her Voice 2024

About this report
Increases in global conflict, the economic impact of COVID-19, market inflation, and the growing effects of climate change are compounding global crises. Those crises disproportionately affect the most vulnerable communities, especially women and girls. Addressing the unprecedented and overwhelming humanitarian crisis requires response and recovery efforts to listen to and address the needs of those affected the most, especially women and girls.

What are women telling us?
1. Crises are compounding: Women are reporting climate change, food insecurity, and conflict as the top three crises that drive impact on livelihood, food security, and safety.

2. Impact on livelihood and food security continue to be the top two reported impacts: 78% of women and 67% of men reported an impact on their livelihood. 74% of women and 72% of men reported an impact on food security. Women are more likely to eat less and sell their assets than men. Soaring food prices and inflation on essential commodities are significant factors that also affect access and availability of food.

3. Safety has overtaken mental health as one of the biggest impact areas: 47% of women and 62% of men reported an impact on their safety. In 2020 and 2021, mental health was the third prioritized impact area; in 2023, however, more women and men prioritized safety.

In the face of unimaginable and compounded crises and impacts, women still show leadership and take action to support their households and communities – 59% of women and 62% of men are trying to restore their livelihood. Women are also supporting to lead community response and are leading at the grassroots level, however, the space for their participation and leadership is shrinking.

The best way to understand what is happening to crises affected population is to listen to their voices and experiences and understand the support they need. This year, we asked women what we should recommend, and their top four asks are: livelihood recovery; addressing food insecurity; strengthening health services and addressing safety concerns.

This report represents 9,517 respondents (7,208 women) from twelve countries and provides quantitative and qualitative insights from countries that CARE conducted assessments in 2023. Read More...

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