Joint evaluation of drought risk reduction in the Horn of Africa and DIPECHO Central Asia and South Caucasus (2009 - 2013) : final report

This evaluation report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the joint evaluation of ECHO's disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities in the Horn of Africa (HoA) and Central Asia and South Caucasus (CAC). The conclusions from this evaluation primarily apply to these two regions. But they are also of broader relevance for DG ECHO's DRR interventions in other regions. The aim of this evaluation is to provide an objective assessment that can serve as a basis for internal reflection and debate within the Commission about its overall approach to DRR and post-2015 DRR strategy. In the HoA, ECHO focuses on building communities' resilience and national / regional institutional capacity to address drought, a slow onset hazard and the single most important disaster risk facing the region. In CAC, ECHO interventions aim at preparing communities and authorities to deal with a range of small scale, rapid onset hazards that often go unnoticed at a national level, but have serious impacts at a local level. The joint evaluation thus, examines similar activities in two rather different contexts. By doing so, it provides the opportunity for cross-learning between the two regions and a broader evidence base for policy making. Over the period covered by this evaluation (2009 - 2013), DG ECHO has invested nearly 70 million euros in DRR actions in the two regions. Funded activities have included both community based DRR (CBDRR) projects as well as broader actions aimed at advocacy, institutional capacity building and DRR mainstreaming. The evaluation concludes that ECHO funded projects have, inter alia, made a demonstrable contribution to (i) reducing vulnerability, limiting damage and saving lives at a community level; and (ii) advancing the DRR agenda at a national level through advocacy, institutional capacity building and by raising awareness among decision-makers of the need to integrate DRR into longer term development policies in all countries covered by the evaluation. Through regional programming, ECHO has brought together DRR stakeholders and partners, thus facilitating a joined-up approach to DRR, and sharing of knowledge, tools and materials. On the less positive side, this evaluation finds that the replication and scaling up of community projects is not as extensive as it could be; the linkages between DRR and development planning and programming have not been fully established in most countries; and the sustainability of outputs and outcomes beyond ECHO funding cycles continues to be an issue. The evaluation provides a series of strategic and operational recommendations to address these issues and to guide ECHO's future approach to DRR.