Final evaluation : providing humanitarian assistance for self-reliance in eastern Congo (PHASE)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to face an acute and complex humanitarian crisis. Currently, there are an estimated 5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in DRC, 1.5 million of whom are in Ituri Province. Over a quarter of the total population of DRC is food insecure—the second highest rate in the world.  

Mercy Corps' Providing Humanitarian Assistance for Self-Reliance in Eastern Congo (PHASE) program— financed by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) for $10,000,000 USD—was designed to support 102,300 individuals (IDPs, returnees and vulnerable host families) affected by the armed conflict in Ituri Province in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The objective of the PHASE program was to reduce the vulnerability of these households to conflict-caused shocks that negatively impacted their capacity to cover basic food needs, while progressively increasing options for self-reliance.  The theory of change (ToC) buttressing the PHASE program is that if food insecure households are supported with food and early recovery assistance they will emerge safely and with dignity from crises. The principal activity to bring about this change was the distribution of Unrestricted Cash Assistance (UCT) and/or Restricted Food Vouchers; this program was complemented by two additional activities: Agricultural Training and Provision of Seeds to 1,050 food insecure households, and support for the creation of 14 community-level savings and lending groups (VSLA) with host-community members, with a focus on women's participation. 

The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the relevance of PHASE's strategy and to evaluate to what extent? and for whom? and in what circumstances? and why? PHASE activities contributed to achieving the project's objectives. The evaluation will identify lessons learned and make recommendation to improve future early recovery programs in contexts defined by conflict and high population mobility. The evaluation covers the entire PHASE implementation period from September 2020 to May 2022 carried out by Mercy Corps' PHASE program in Ituri Province in eastern DRC. The audience of the evaluation is Mercy Corps staff and relevant USAID BHA program officers.