Continuing Emergency Assistance to the Earthquake Affected Population in Nepal

This independent final evaluation took place in Nepal between 28/10/2016-10/12/2016, and was funded by Kindernothilfe (KNH). Continuing from Action Against Hunger initial post-earthquake emergency phase interventions, this project was designed to conduct psychosocial support and training activities in the districts of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, with special focus on children and women. The project was implemented within the sector Mental Health Care Practices (MHCP). Some recommendations include:  

• Evolve the project step by step. Deploying any kind of psychosocial assistance in an emergency context is very difficult even with highly experienced teams in the ground. It is impossible to foresee what kind of approaches will work best and be best accepted by local stakeholders. Trying to set detailed indicators and targets in advance runs the risk of tying the implementation down to a model which proves to be less than adequate as time goes on.
• Have a clear theory of change. Define and agree a simple and very limited set of variables, if possible tangible ones, where the project is trying to make a difference.