The Gambia Country Programme Evaluation - IOE
The Gambia Country Programme Evaluation
The evaluation finds that the partnership between IFAD and the Government of The Gambia has been highly valued, reflecting mutual trust and cordial relations. The project objectives and designs are relevant, in general responding to the needs and priorities of the target groups and the Government.
However, the extent to which the objectives were achieved was rather limited, due to a number of factors, including high and unpredictable staff turnover and weak partnerships with other stakeholders such as non-governmental organizations and development agencies. There was also a lack of clear targeting strategy in order to effectively reach and support the intended beneficiaries. Sustainability of benefits was found to be challenging in all interventions, even though the focus on this aspect increased over the years. The projects and programmes have had a positive impact on women's economic empowerment in general, but there could have been more attention to the issue of drudgery.
This is the first country programme evaluation of The Gambia conducted by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD and it covers the partnership between the Government and IFAD during the period 2004-2014. Over the last 30 years, IFAD has supported ten projects and programmes in The Gambia for a total cost of US$196 million, of which IFAD contributed US$73.1 million.