Reinforcing Institutional Capacity for Treatment of Acute Malnutrition, Prevention of Malnutrition and National Sensitization for Nutrition Security in Western Area District, Sierra Leone

This two year project “Reinforcing Institutional Capacity for treatment of acute malnutrition, prevention of malnutrition in Freetown Peninsula, Western Area and national sensitization for nutrition security in Sierra Leone” which is the continuation of the project Action Against Hunger was implemented during 2013 - 2015 in Western Area of Sierra Leone, with the aim of strengthening the capacities of the MoHS at local and national level to ensure quality implementation of the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM), with funding support of Irish Aid and Agence Francaise de Development (AFD)

A final evaluation was conducted from May 30 to July 30, 2018 for Action Against Hunger and Irish Aid, the most direct users, as well as other wide-ranging indirect users. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the overall performance of the project and determine if the intervention has reached its intended outputs and objectives. It focused on the entire project for the entire project period and covered all geographical areas and all selected target groups of beneficiaries; in the Western Urban and Western Rural districts of Western region.

The evaluation approach followed Action Against Hunger Evaluation Policy and Guidelines and adhered to the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) criteria for evaluating its programmes and projects. The evaluation used qualitative methodologies such as Key Informant Interviews (KII) with project staff and stakeholders at national and district levels and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with mother support groups and father support groups for primary data collection. Besides, desk review and secondary data analysis were also performed using available data such as project reports/records and beneficiary database. Major limitations of the evaluation included delayed availability of the endline survey report, suspension of interviews on the Eid holiday and unavailability of a few intended interviewees at district level.

Evaluation Findings

• Designs: Needs were assessed but without gender analysis. More efforts were made than before to take into account gender in the project design as illustrated by Father Support Group (FSG). There were several indicators that Action Against Hunger staff found difficult to report against. The exit strategy discussion was still not matured and need to be further detailed. The project applied very solid M&E systems. Apart from men’s participation, some other recommendations were not considered in the project. Barrier Analysis was conducted but the results were not integrated into the project BCC strategy.
• Relevance/Appropriateness: The project designs were based on understanding of the local context and aligned and contribute to the national policies and strategies of nutrition. Training methods were all considered relevant in terms of local practice and culture. Several needs assessments were conducted before the implementation of activities and the assessment results informed needs, current knowledge, experiences, skills and gaps which were useful for taking into account the beneficiary needs in the project implementation. Several considerations needed in terms of timing and contents for increased usefulness of the assessments.
• Coherence: The project was designed through consultation process with key stakeholders and regular updates were shared at the coordination meetings. Delay of Service Agreement Contract caused the project starting without formal inception to stakeholders. Integration of this project with other Action Against Hunger program existed in the target area. However, there has been very limited integration with WASH projects. The project was implemented with well integrated and synergetic linkages between health/nutrition, food security and advocacy. Some challenges still remained in actual integration of the activities of the health/nutrition team and food security team.