END-EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT “PREPARING FOR AND RESPONDING TO THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK WITH A FOCUS ON VULNERABLE POPULATIONS OF SOUTH KORDOFAN AND NORTH DARFUR, IN SUDAN”

GOAL implemented the 18-month project “Preparing for and responding to the COVID-19 outbreak with a focus on vulnerable populations of South Kordofan and North Darfur, Sudan”, with funding BHA. It was evaluated in the October 2022, to determine its performance against the objectives, expected results, impact on beneficiaries, and against the evaluation criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.

The methods included desk review; interviews; group discussions; questionnaires; and SPSS for data analysis.   The evaluation established that the programmatic implementation of the intervention was fairly well done with most outputs and outcomes delivered. The project scored 5 out of 5 on the rating scale on the relevance criteria; 4 on the efficiency criteria; 4 on the effectiveness criteria; 4 on the coherence criteria; 4 on the impact criteria; and 3 on the sustainability criteria.

Among the best practices of the project included the use of existing community groups; support to the surveillance infrastructure; GOAL’s Community Led Action initiative; and the capital injection into the rural local economies. The challenges experienced included the general unpreparedness for COVID-19; donor restrictions on procurement of COVID-19 response materials; and conflicts and insecurity in some implementation locations.

The evaluation recommended for GOAL to continue with their health system strengthening approach; come up with follow-up support projects for their target beneficiaries; encourage other NGOS into North Darfur and South Kordofan for a holistic impact; and come up with interventions specifically targeting the youth.