Standard Project Report 2016
Besides food assistance, the USDA McGovern-Dole project also delivered quality education support for the schools. From the baseline report in June 2015 to the outcome study in September 2016, a small, not significant increase in literacy was observed( from 26 to 27.4 percent considered fluent), as well as improvements in student attentiveness and teachers’ and school administrators’ use of quality techniques.
Outcome data showed that the average annual rate of change for children enrolled in WFP-assisted primary schools was above the target. However, it decreased from 2015 because of a verification exercise of the enrolment lists that corrected some issues with the previous years’ data. Because of funding constraints, WFP was not able to conduct an outcome survey in 2016 that would have provided retention rate data.
While the attendance rate in WFP-assisted primary schools was still slightly below the target, there was a small increase from 2015, most likely as a result of the increased number of WFP-assisted schools. Since floods led to unanticipated school closures, WFP was slightly below its targeted 240 school feeding days.
During the year, WFP provided a range of technical assistance to the Government, in the form of staff training on implementation, monitoring, reporting, commodity tracking and supply-chain management; progress review meetings, interagency technical committee meetings, quarterly non-governmental organization( NGO) coordination meetings, project implementation committee meetings; and on-site technical assistance. In addition to continued technical support to the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, WFP facilitated four divisional level multi-stakeholder consultation workshops to inform the formulation of the national school feeding policy. However, the overall technical assistance provided was lower than planned as the result of 15 gender awareness and computer database training sessions being shifted to 2017, in order to comprehensively engage government staff and also as a result of the absence of database staff.
The Systems Approach for Better Education Results( SABER) stakeholder workshop was introduced to identify gaps in national institutions to implement school feeding activities and to complement the preparation of the national school feeding policy. SABER revealed an emerging stage for policy framework, financial capacity, programme design and implementation. The National Capacity Index for 2016 was estimated based on the SABER exercise.
Component 3: Enhancing resilience to natural disasters and the effects of climate change( ER / ER +).
Strategic Objective 3: Reduce risk and enable people, communities and countries to meet their own food and nutrition needs.
Outcome: Improved access to livelihood assets has contributed to enhanced resilience and reduced risks from disaster and shocks faced by targeted food-insecure communities and households.
In 2016, ER was largely implemented using government resources while WFP assistance was limited to awareness raising and advising on income-generating activities( IGA) for ER + participants. All assets created( through food and cash for assets) were financed by the Government and are therefore not reported against the community asset score. As a result of funding constraints, the programme did not include capacity development of the Government during 2016, which is why no data were provided for the National Capacity Index indicators.
Under ER +, WFP resources were provided for promotional livelihood support, including asset grants and IGA support to 5,000 participants in Sirajganj and Satkhira districts. Food security data collected for the asset grant participants showed that the programme has achieved the target to ensure acceptable food consumption for at least 80 percent of the households. However, diet diversity was still slightly below target. It was also reported that participants were less inclined than in previous years to engage in negative coping strategies— specifically, the sale of household assets and assets with income-generating potential( like sewing machines and rickshaws), though the household survey data was not robust enough to generate a Coping Strategies Index.
Under the ER component, WFP also responded to natural disasters with the delivery of cash and food support to stabilise the food security of cyclone- and flood-affected populations in disaster-prone regions of the country. Emergency distributions through this intervention were responsible for the over-achievement of beneficiaries under ER. The outcome monitoring data on the emergency responses( as seen in the section labelled‘ project specific’) estimated that the Food Consumption Score and Dietary Diversity were met.
Component 4: Strengthening government safety nets. Strategic Objective 4: Reduce undernutrition and break the intergenerational cycle of hunger.
Outcome: Ownership and capacity strengthened to reduce undernutrition and increase access to education at regional, national and community levels.
WFP facilitated a capacity gaps and needs assessment workshop with central and field level government officials to systematically identify the gaps, needs and opportunities. The exercise revealed strong national capacity in terms of relevant policy and funding. The institutional capacity of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to implement the Vulnerable Group Development( VGD) programme was found to be moderate in terms of programme design,
Bangladesh, People ' s Republic of( BD) 21 Country Programme- 200243