Review of the DDG Humanitarian Mine Action Support to the National Strategy through Clearance and Enhanced Quality Project in Afghanistan (October 2010 - September 2013)

Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. As most of the major populated areas have been cleared, the operating environment for mine action agencies in Afghanistan has changed. Most of the hazards that remain to be cleared are either in remote areas or in hilly or mountainous areas, which may or may not be located near communities.

The goal of the evaluated three-year project, supported by Sida, is to assist the Government of Afghanistan and the Mine Action Coordinating Committee for Afghanistan (MACCA) in achieving the aims of the Afghanistan Compact and comply with the Ottawa Convention.

This evaluation took place less than six months before the end of the project and thus offered the opportunity to carry out a “stock-take”, based on OECD/DAC criteria to assess progress, highlight lessons learned, and provide recommendations to DDG and Sida to help determine the course of future cooperation and assess the extent to which gender had been mainstreamed into the programme’s implementation and had contributed to gender equality.