Evaluation of the Joint Resilience Program (JRP) to Strengthen Socioeconomic Resilience in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Photo courtesy of World Food Programme
In the Lake Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, recurrent armed conflict and extreme weather events (e.g., floods, landslides) have weakened local economies, exacerbated poverty, and heightened community-level tensions over access to land and resources.
In this context, three United Nations agencies—the World Food Programme, UN Children’s Fund, and Food and Agriculture Organization—teamed up to provide multi-faceted support to communities in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces through their Joint Resilience Programme (JRP).
This evaluation really brings to light the challenges operating in conflict-affected contexts, and in consultation with project stakeholders, we managed to suggest ways to pre-empt some of these challenges in future projects of this kind.
- Marlous de Milliano
AIR's Mixed-Methods Evaluation
AIR evaluated the project, which began in 2018, through a mixed-methods approach combining surveys of farming households with interviews and focus groups with farmers, local service providers, implementation partners, and government stakeholders.
Our work highlighted the uptake of improved farming practices by project beneficiaries, while also indicating the continued need for livelihood, nutrition, and peacebuilding services in these regions.
We further noted key coordination and security challenges which complicated JRP implementation and suggested the need for more flexible coordination and funding mechanisms to help implementers on the ground react to the changing implementation context.
The final evaluation report and a brief video will be shared on this page in early 2025.
