Ethiopia, Support for Strengthening Resilience of Vulnerable Groups: The Fresh Food Voucher Programme Expansion: Evaluation

This report presents the findings of the end-line activity evaluation of the Fresh Food Voucher (FFV) Programme Expansion in Amhara Region between 2018 and 2020. The FFV Programme Expansion in Amhara Region resulted from the successful pilot launched in three woredas (Habru, Raya Kobo, and Dessie Zuria) in 2017 and was expanded in January 2018 to an additional four woredas (Dawa Chefa, Kalu, Seqota and Mekdela) and aimed to cover 27,000 households in total for both phases. The expansion was funded by a 7 million Euro grant from BMZ/KfW. This evaluation is commissioned by the World Food Programme (WFP) Ethiopia Country Office (ETHCO) and covers the period from January 2018 to December 2020. This end-line evaluation follows two objectives: accountability and learning. It shall inform on the performance and results of the FFV Programme Expansion within the Seqota Declaration and/or rural national social protection programme (PSNP) geographical area and wherever the same programme outcome may be relevant in the future. This evaluation will inform why certain results occurred and advise on good practices and lessons for future programming. The evaluation was conducted in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and accordingly faced various challenges. The expected users for this Evaluation Report are WFP and BMZ/ KfW as the main donors, as well as the Government of Ethiopia including the Seqota Declaration and its affiliated ministries, and other donors and implementers involved in nutrition programming.

Ethiopia in general, and Amhara Region in particular, still have high rates of malnutrition including stunting. Dietary diversity is low for children between 6 and 23 months as well as their mothers. The “Fill the Nutrient Gap” Analysis in 2020 found that 3 out of 4 households could not afford a diet that meets all nutrient requirements, with breastfeeding women and their children among those with the highest risk of an inadequate diet. The FFV programme’s main objectives are to 1) increase the dietary diversity of pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and children under two years, 2) stimulate the local fresh food market and 3) strengthen social and behavioural change to generate more demand for fresh food in seven woredas in the Amhara Region. To reach these objectives, the programme includes a three-pronged approach to availability, access, demand and utilization of fresh foods: the main innovation of the programme are mobile money vouchers to beneficiaries redeemable for vegetables, fruits and animal source foods to enhance access to fresh foods. The voucher is meant to be a ‘top-up’ of transfers granted by the PSNP to fill the gap between the affordability and the cost of a nutritious diet. However, PSNP-eligible households not enrolled in PSNP were registered in the pilot. A national service provider provided the transfer. The FFV transfer component is coupled with retailer engagement and trainings for fresh food suppliers and retailers in rural markets, as well as Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) activities.