Final Evaluation of the 'Post-Crisis Response to Food and Nutrition insecurity in The Gambia' programme

The EU already placed itself as a frontrunner in global efforts to fight undernutrition. In 2012, the Commission announced the commitment to support partner countries in reducing cases of stunting in children under 5 by at least 7 million in 2025. Given the structural nature of food and nutrition insecurity in the Gambia and in the context of the ''twin shocks'' of drought and Ebola that hit the country in 2014/15, the EU policy pledge largely permitted the EU Delegation to put into place an innovative and progressive 21 MEUR programme of action to tackle malnutrition in the country. This programme of action took the form of the allocation of 11.5 MEUR for the ''Post Crisis Response project'' from the 11th EDF.

Building on the three levels of causes of under-nutrition approach referenced above, the project proposed to work on two pathways:

1. Improving Food Security: Household food security would be achieved through improvement of farmer capacity to sustainably improve agricultural production and productivity; increase income of vulnerable households through cash for work to create/ maintain community assets.

2. Promotion of optimal nutrition and care practices: Using the UNICEF Conceptual Framework of Malnutrition as the basis of interventions, the project aimed to contribute to a reduction of stunting through supporting household income, agricultural production, food diversification, treating acute malnutrition and promoting optimal care practices, particularly in areas worst affected

The expert team was tasked with carrying out the Programme’s final evaluation, which serves accountability, decision making, learning and management purposes. They provide an in-depth understanding of the cause and effect links between the Programme’s inputs/activities, and outputs, outcomes and impacts.

The evaluation main objectives are to provide the relevant services of the European Union, the interested stakeholders with:

An overall independent assessment of the past performance of the ''Post Crisis Response to Food and Nutrition insecurity in The Gambia'', paying particular attention to its results measured against its expected objectives; and the reasons underpinning such results;

Key lessons learned, conclusions and related recommendations in order to improve current and future Actions.

The evaluation is carried out using the five standard DAC evaluation criteria, namely: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and perspectives of impact. Special emphasis is placed on the materialisation of the principal expected result of reduced stunting and its facilitating and contrasting factors. In addition, the evaluation assesses two EU specific evaluation criteria:

The EU added value (the extent to which the Action brings additional benefits to what would have resulted from Member States' interventions only);

The coherence of the Action itself, with the EU strategy in the Republic of The Gambia food security and nutrition sector and with other EU policies and Member State Actions.