DEC Evaluation of the Cyclone Idai Response in Malawi

This independent evaluation assesses Islamic Relief's response to cyclone Idai which caused widespread flooding in 15 districts of Malawi's southern region, with Chikwawa District being one of the worst affected. The main purpose of the evaluation was three-fold, namely to: a) assess the extent to which planned outputs and outcomes have been achieved according to OECD-DAC criteria, specifically, Relevance, Coherence, Co-ordination, Effectiveness, Efficiency, impact and Sustainability/Connectedness; b) evaluate the appropriateness and extent of application of quality standards, with particular focus on the Core Humanitarian Standard; and c) identify lessons and good practices from this intervention to inform future responses by both IR Worldwide and IR Malawi, as well as the wider humanitarian sector.

The evaluation was conducted by Proaction Consulting, an independent UK-based organisation. The scope of this evaluation covered activities funded through Phase 1 and Phase 2, implemented primarily with communities on the East and West banks of Chikwawa District, specifically the Traditional Authorities of Ngabu and Makhwira (1,500 households). A third Traditional Authority, Mulilima, was added in response to Covid-19, bringing the total number of households that received support to 2,400. 

Key recommendations focus on initial presence and coordination in disaster-affected areas; complementarity of INGO and national authorities' responsibilities; beneficiary selection and complaint mechanisms; information management; importance of localizing the response; DRR capacity building for national stakeholders; context-specific guidance development; review and sharing of lessons learned by national authorities and amongst UK Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) members.

Annexes to the evaluation report include TORs, the household survey questionnaire, guiding questions for different stakeholder interviews, and topline survey questions.