UPDATE ON WFP DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 002643 SIPDIS FROM THE US MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES IN ROME USAID FOR DCHA/AA WINTER DCHA/FFP LANDIS AND CRUMBLY STATE IO/EDA FOR BEHREND AND KOTOK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ADRC WFP SUBJECT: UPDATE ON WFP DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION REF: (A) ROME 001135, (B) 03 ROME 000198 (C) 02 ROME 005511 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. THE FIELD PHASE OF THE JOINT EVALUATION OF THE UN WORLD FOOD PROGRAM'S (WFP) ENABLING DEVELOPMENT POLICY (EDP) IS NEARLY COMPLETE. THE NEXT AND FINAL PHASE OF THE EVALUATION IS TO BE CONCLUDED IN DECEMBER 2004. DESPITE PROGRESS TO DATE ON THE EVALUATION ITSELF, AS WELL AS MISSION EFFORTS TO HIGHLIGHT THE FINANCIAL STRAIN UNDER WHICH THE EVALUATION IS BEING CONDUCTED (REFTEL A),THE US HAS YET TO FULFILL ITS FINANCIAL OBLIGATION. END SUMMARY. -------------- FIELD STUDY PHASE NEARLY COMPLETED -------------- ¶2. THE EVALUATION IS CURRENTLY IN ITS SECOND OR FIELD PHASE. THIS PHASE, WHICH BEGAN IN MARCH 2004, IS SCHEDULED TO CONCLUDE IN JULY 2004. ¶3. THE CORE ACTIVITY OF THE EVALUATION IS TO TAKE PLACE DURING THIS 5-MONTH PERIOD AND INVOLVES COUNTRY STUDIES IN THE FOLLOWING SEVEN COUNTRIES: ETHIOPIA, MALI AND MOZAMBIQUE IN AFRICA; BANGLADESH AND PAKISTAN IN ASIA; AND BOLIVIA AND HONDURAS IN LATIN AMERICA. ¶4. THE INITIAL FULL COUNTRY STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN ETHIOPIA IN MARCH AND APRIL. THE EXPERIENCES, METHODOLOGIES AND OVERALL EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE GATHERED IN ETHIOPIA WERE THEN PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED AT A WORKSHOP OF COUNTRY TEAM LEADERS FROM THE REMAINING SIX COUNTRIES. THIS WORKSHOP WAS HELD IN ROME, ITALY, APRIL 27-28, AND WAS DESIGNED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE REMAINING COUNTRY TEAMS WOULD FOLLOW A COMMON APPROACH AND WORK TOWARDS COMPARABLE RESULTS. ¶5. EACH OF THE REMAINING DRAFT COUNTRY REPORTS WILL BE SUBMITTED TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SEVEN DONOR NATIONS THAT MAKE UP THE EVALUATION'S STEERING COMMITTEE, WHICH INCLUDES THE US, BY THE END OF THIS MONTH. IN MID- SEPTEMBER, A TECHNICAL MEETING WILL BE HELD AT WFP'S ROME HEADQUARTERS ALONG WITH A BRIEFING FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 36 MEMBER STATES THAT COMPRISE THE WFP EXECUTIVE BOARD. -------------- FINAL PHASE - SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2004 -------------- ¶6. THE FINAL PHASE OF THE EVALUATION, THE SYNTHESIS PHASE, WILL COVER THE 4-MONTH PERIOD FROM SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2004. IT WILL BE DURING THIS CONCLUSIVE PHASE THAT THE PREVIOUS TWO PHASES' FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS WILL BE USED TO PRODUCE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. ¶7. EVALUATORS ANTICIPATE THAT A CONSOLIDATED DRAFT OF THE SYNTHESIS REPORT COULD BE AVAILABLE BY THE SECOND HALF OF NOVEMBER. IF THIS IS THE CASE, A WORKSHOP COULD BE SCHEDULE FOR SOMETIME IN EARLY DECEMBER TO DISCUSS THE DRAFT WITH A BROADER AUDIENCE, WHICH COULD INCLUDE: KEY STAKEHOLDERS, RESEARCHERS AND SPECIALISTS ON FOOD AID IN DEVELOPMENT. ¶8. THE FINAL REPORT WILL BE COMPLETE AND READY FOR DISTRIBUTION BY THE END OF 2004. -------------- -------------- WFP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AT A CROSSROADS - WHY THIS EVALUATION IS TIMELY -------------- -------------- ¶9. HISTORICALLY, THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER OF WFP'S DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO, HAVING CONTRIBUTED U.S. DOLLARS (USD) $903.24 MILLION OVER THE DECADE 1993-2002. BUT OVERALL DONOR SUPPORT FOR WFP'S DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES HAS ERODED. A PARTIAL SNAPSHOT OF WFP DEVELOPMENT FUNDING OVER THE PAST DECADE IS AS FOLLOWS: 1993, USD $661.5 MILLION; 1996, USD $404.9 MILLION; 1999, USD $267.6 MILLION; AND 2002, USD $203 MILLION. ¶10. THIS REVIEW (THE FIRST INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF WFP SINCE 1994) IS ANALYZING BOTH THE STATUS OF WFP PROGRESS RELATED TO ENGAGING HOST COUNTRY GOVERNMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS IN THE PLANNING, IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF ITS DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS AND THE DEGREE TO WHICH WFP AND ITS UN SISTER AGENCIES HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY LINK TOGETHER FOOD AID AND FOOD SECURITY STRATEGIES. ROME 00002643 002 OF 002 THE US PAYMENT, BUT TO DATE, HAS NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL. PAYMENT NEEDS TO BE MADE TO THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNT: BUNDESKASSE TRIER - AUBENSTELLE BONN, EINZELPLAN 23, LANDESZENTRALBANK BONN, UNITED STATES: 1112 3003 2949. -------------- COMMENT FROM AMBASSADOR HALL -------------- ¶12. ROGER AND LAUREN: WHEN I CAME TO ROME IN SEPTEMBER 2002, THERE WAS CARPING AMONG A NUMBER OF PERMANENT REPRESENTATIONS AS TO U.S. TARDINESS (ARREARS) IN MEETING ITS FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS TO FAO. WITH WONDERFUL SUPPORT FROM IO, WE HAVE MANAGED TO MAKE THIS GRUMBLING A THING OF THE PAST. ON THE WFP EVALUATION, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MORRIS WAS QUITE KEEN FROM DAY ONE THAT THE U.S. PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE, AND WE AGREED. GIVEN THE RELATIVELY MODEST AMOUNT OF FUNDING REQUESTED, A TIMELY INPUT FROM USAID WOULD NOW ENABLE OUR OECD PARTNERS AND US TO BRING THE EVALUATION TO A SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION ON SCHEDULE. I UNDERSTAND THAT ALL THE OTHER OECD DONORS HAVE ALREADY PAID THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS. REGARDS, TONY. HALL NNNN 2004ROME02643 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED