Armindo Tomo - Gender-HIV Eval Final Report SCORE 2010

March, 2010 (Portuguese) and September 2010 (English version)

CARE/SCORE - SRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS FOR RURAL EMPOWERMENT

Evaluation of the Gender and HIV-AIDS component of the CARE-SCORE

project in the Province of Inhambane ___________Final Report___________

By

Armindo Tomo Public Planning and Decentralization consultant

Email: [email protected] Mobile: (+258) 84 39 84 402) Fax : (+258) 293 21 147

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First we would like to send our thanks to the SCORE-CARE team in Vilankulo

for the valuable contributions that made this work feasible.

We would like to individualize our thanks to Jorge based in Mabote, Feliciano

Magesso in Mapinhane-Vilankulo and Moiss in Inhassoro who demonstrated

professionalism and willingness to guide all the field work

We also thank Mr. Raymond who during his short visit has offered to provide

constructive criticism to improve the quality of the evaluation process.

We thank the visited District Permanent Secretaries and the District Department

Directors for their open and exempt opinions on the performance of the SCORE

project

Last but not least we would like to thank all members of the CDL and OCBs

including the Chefes das Localidades that offered valuable part of their short

time to analyze the successes and failures of SCORE as well as suggesting on

how to improve the situation.

Armindo Tomo Consultant

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ABBREVIATIONS

CARE International Non-Governmental Organization

CCL Local Consultative Council

CDL Local Development Committee

CEDES Ecumenical Committee for Sustainable Development

CTD Technical District Council

FOPROI NGO Forum of the Inhambane Province

HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus

IDPPE Institute for Development of Small Scale Fisheries

OCB Community Based Organisation

OIIL Investment Budget for Local Initiatives

ONG Non-Governmental Organization

OSC Civil Society Organisation

SCORE Strengthening Civil Society Organizations for Rural

Empowerment

SDAE District Department of Economic Activities

SDEJT District Department of Education, Youth and Technology

SDPI District Department of Spatial Planning and Infrastructures

SDSMAS District Department of Health, Woman and Social Affairs

AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION PAGE

I ABSTRACT 4

II BACKGROUND 5

A. Evaluation problem 5

B. Key concepts 6-13

C. Stakeholders and their information needs 13-14

D. Participants and their tasks 15

E. Projects objectives 15

F. Gender and HIV/AIDS logical framework 16

G. Location and planned longevity of the project 16-17

H. Resources used to implement the project 18

I. Project expected measurable outcomes 19

III EVALUATION STUDY QUESTIONS 19

IV EVALUATION PROCEDURES

A. Sample 20-21

B. Data collection 22

C. Summary matrix 22

V FINDINGS

A. FINDINGS OF THE INTERVIEWS 23-29

B. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ON THE FINDINGS 29-33

VI CONCLUSIONS 33-34

VII RECOMMENDATIONS 34-35

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I. ABSTRACT

The report hereby presented is the result of the summative evaluation of the

gender and HIV / AIDS component of the Project CARE-SCORE. The

evaluation was undertaken in three districts namely Mabote, Vilankulo and

Inhassoro throughout March 2010.

The assessment intended to measure the degree in which the project has

attained the planned outcomes and impacts from its conception to its final

stage. The evaluation comprised six main phases:

1. Develop a conceptual model of the gender component of the SCORE

project and identify key elements for evaluation

2. Develop evaluation questions and define goals / measurable outcomes

3. Develop the evaluation design

4. Collection and compilation of the data

5. Analysis and interpretation of data

6. Preparation of the final report

The collection of data was done through open interviews to entities previously

selected and that was organised in three groups, viz beneficiaries, partners of

the District Government and other organizations.

Although the SCORE has observed some difficulties in management, was

noticeable change in the CDL and OCB target group in the field of gender and

HIV / AIDS.

Women who received support of SCORE showed high levels of affirmation and

empowerment, especially those that received sub-grants. Thus we conclude

that the intervention of the project in the three Districts was in line with most of

the goals outlined in the matrix of the project. By this way the implementation of

the SCORE has been efficiently exemplary

One recommendation to be stressed is the need to make efforts so that the

situation of women's empowerment and participation that was built by the

project intervention will not disappear due to the termination or change of the

project.

Finally it is recommended to intensify the coordination between SCORE and

District Governments through timely reports of the measures planned for each

year.

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II. BACKGROUND

A. EVALUATION PROBLEM

The evaluation of the gender component of the Project SCORE regarding the

attainment of the expected products and impacts is the way to cover the deficit

of information about the performance of the project throughout the period of its

implementation (June 2004 - March 2010). There has been identified the need

to know:

1. How did the project respond to the challenges faced by women when

participating in CDL - not only in terms of presence but also contributing

in ideas that have been implemented?

2. What forms and types of participation of women in particular can be

observed in the groups supported by the project? And what differences

are there when compared to other groups who did not receive support?

3. To what extent women have benefited from the sub-grants provided to

the OCB under the project?

4. To what extent the training delivered to OCB and CDL have influenced

the participation of women?

5. What is the perception of the beneficiaries about the promotion of

citizen participation and women in particular in terms of achievements

and failures of their inclusion in decision-making in the planning

process and local public administration?

6. Are the results obtained with the implementation of the plan reasonable

in relation to the cost of resources used?

7. Are the results and changes achieved lasting and sustainable?

8. Is the project replicable and transportable?

To answer these questions is in fact necessary to conduct a summative

assessment or evaluation of products / impacts which consists in collecting

information about outcomes, outputs and changes resulting from the

implementation of strategies and activities that make up this project.

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B. KEY CONCEPTS

SCORE is a project in the field of democratic governance and by this it aims to

empower organizations in rural communities for better participation in social and

economic development of their districts, recognizing their rights in the district

planning process while ensuring effective participation of communities in the

decentralized planning process. In this situation and to better establish the

conceptual limits in which the evaluation took place, the key concepts adopted

for this work are then presented.

Governance

The term governance refers to the process of decision making and the ways in

which decisions are implemented or not. In any system, the Government is

leading, but others may influence the process. Non-governmental actors such

as religious leaders, civil society, trade unions, financial institutions and

community-based groups can play important roles.

A good governance system is characterized by the following:

Participated - a stimulating broad participation of citizens in decision-making;

Consensus oriented - to reach decisions on the basis of general agreement;

Transparent - open to scrutiny in decision-making;

Effective and efficient - providing adequate basic services to citizens and;

Fair and inclusive does not exclude sectors of the population, especially

those who are most vulnerable or marginalized.

The SCORE project when empowering citizens to increase their capacity to

participate in making decisions on social and economic development of their

communities, has greatly contributed in creating a fair system of governance. In

Mozambique the reform of local governance backs 1978. It began as part of the

process of dismantling the colonial system, which began after the National

Independence in 1975. The laws on administrative reform replaced the colonial

administrative structures and built a new system of governance structured at

central, provincial and local levels. After independence, Mozambique has

adopted a centralized administration system where each and every

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development issues were planned and decided at central level. Nowadays this

policy has been replaced by political openness, and multiparty economy based

on market laws.

Decentralization

Despite variations in definitions and indicators of good governance, most

institutions agree that good governance typically includes efforts at

democratization and decentralization, the introduction of free and fair elections,

political parties, creating a civil society, free and independent press. A most

important component of democratization in many parts of the world is

decentralization. Decentralisation is the process of transferring the authority,

resources, personnel and responsibility of central government to provincial and

local levels. Countries seek for decentralization for a variety of reasons

including a desire to make government more responsive and accountable to the

needs of the population and / or responding to pressure of donors to reduce the

budgets of the central government.

Decentralization is based on the notion that various levels of government have

different knowledge and skills to address the problems. For example, policies

for national defence and monetary policy are clearly best placed at the national

level but the policies regarding schools, protection by local police and some

public services are often better at local level with community participation.

However, critics of decentralization argue that it weakens parts of the state

which, for the sake of peace building and human security, need to be

strengthened. There are three general types of decentralization: political,

administrative and fiscal. There are also four major forms of decentralization:

Devolution, Delegation, Deconcentration and Economic Decentralization.

The political decentralization usually refers to the situation in which political

power and authority are transferred to the sub-national levels of government.

The most obvious manifestation of this kind of decentralization is the existence

of any sub-national elected and empowered governments. These governments

may exist from the level of Municipalities to States. Devolution is considered a

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form of political decentralization. Devolution refers to transfer full and complete

responsibility, decision making, resource management and revenue for a local

public authority that is autonomous and completely independent of central

authority. The units that receive the devolution are often recognized as

independent legal entities and are ideally but not necessarily elected. Political

decentralization requires a constitutional, legal and regulatory framework to

ensure accountability and transparency. It is also necessary to reorganize

institutions and develop links with civil society and private sector. Also political

decentralization requires universal participation and a new approach to

community institutions and social capital.

Administrative decentralization aims at transfer of authority in decision making,

resources and responsibilities for the provision of a certain amount of public

services that were managed by some institutions of central government to other

levels of government, agencies and offices.

Administrative decentralization is often simultaneous with the public sector

reform. There are two major forms of administrative decentralization:

deconcentration and delegation.

Deconcetration refers to transfer of authority and responsibility of a central

government level to another lower level but keeping the same hierarchy of

accountability from units / departments to local agencies or ministries of the

central government which have been decentralized.

Deconcentration can be seen as the first step toward a decentralization of

government towards improving the provision of public services for citizens.

Delegation redistributes authority and responsibility to local units of government

or agencies that are not necessarily arms or local offices of the delegating

authority.

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Fiscal decentralization is possibly most understandable degree of

decentralization since it is directly linked to the budgetary practices. Fiscal

decentralization refers to the reallocation of resources to sub-national levels of

government. Typically arrangements are negotiated for allocation of resources

between central and local authorities based on several factors including

interregional equity, availability of resources at all levels of government and

local capacity for monitoring and fiscal management.

Economic decentralization or divestment happens when the responsibility to

plan and manage or other public functions are transferred from government to

voluntary institutions, private or non-governmental organizations with a clear

benefit and public involvement. Usually involves the hiring of partial provision of

services or administrative functions, deregulation or full privatization.

In the case of Mozambique, the weak technical and financial capacity has

resulted in a deterioration of social infrastructure and economic disability of the

Executive Councils in providing basic public services for citizens. In 1983 it was

publicly recognized that the Mozambican administrative system was overly

centralized. Thus, the People's Assembly passed Law 2 / 87 of January 19

which authorizes the Council of Ministries to make statutes for the

administrative and financial autonomy in the country.

In 1994 the National Parliament approved the Law 3/94 on the institutional

framework of Municipal Districts.

In 1997 the National Parliament passed the legislation on Local Authorities

including the legal and institutional framework of the Local Authorities (Law 2/

97) and Law on Local Finances (11/97). According to Law 2/97 local authorities

are established as territorial units endowed with representatives (a municipal

assembly), executive body (municipal council) with administrative and financial

autonomy.

From now until the present day has been developed new instruments and / or

reviewed the past to reach by decentralizing better public services for the

population. Some examples are Law 8/2003 of May 19 on the Local State

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Organs and its regulation - Decree 11/2005 of June 10; Decree 6/2006 of 12

April on the organic structure of the District Government and its Organic Statute.

Empowerment and Participation

The concept of empowerment rises from the idea of giving people the power,

freedom and information to enable them to make decisions and actively

participate in the organization.

Empowerment is based on four main bases:

Power - to empower people by delegating authority and responsibility at all

levels of the organization. It means to give importance and trust people, give

them freedom and autonomy to decide;

Motivation - providing motivation to the people to encourage them continually.

This means recognizing the good performance, reward results, allowing people

to participate in the results of their work and celebrate the achievement of goals;

Development - provide resources to people in terms of training and

professional development. That means training continuously, providing

information and knowledge, teach new techniques continuously create and

develop talent in the organization and

Leadership - providing leadership in the organization. This means guiding

people, set goals and targets, opening new horizons, to evaluate performance

and provide feedback.

Participation includes the involvement of citizens in decision-making,

implementation of development programs, sharing of the benefits of these

programs and their involvement in the evaluation of its efficiency. Participation

may be seen as a mean to the extent that they use various methods and

techniques to ensure that the ideas and aspirations of citizens are incorporated

into development plans. While when it empowers people by helping them

acquire skills, knowledge and experience in order to take more ownership and

responsibility for its development, is a goal.

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In theory one can distinguish different levels of participation:

Manipulation - is the lowest level and applies to situations of lack of

participation;

Information - people are informed about certain actions and decisions;

Consultation - people are consulted and may decide about certain issues or

development projects, construction of mutual consent - the actors interact,

analyze problems and develop solutions in a shared, decision making - people

make decisions that are legal or binding to all;

Partnership - people working together to achieve joint goals where each party

has its share and,

Self-management - people take the initiative to carry out actions which lead to

its development.

Whatever the form or level in which participation takes place, is advantageous

in that, among other things:

Increase the effectiveness of development projects when the activities

are based at the local level of knowledge and understanding of problems;

Develop the skills and local skills to enable them to manage their own

development;

Increases coverage and responsiveness;

Improves the targeting of benefits for the poor;

Ensure the sustainability of development projects by increasing

ownership and

In gender perspective, raises the status of women

In Mozambique the participation of citizens in social and local economic

development is legally recognized by various instruments, one of them are the

Decree 11/2005 of June 5 which regulates the Law 8 / 2003 of May 19 on the

Local Organs of State. On this matter, the Decree 11/2005 of June 5 in Article

103 stipulates that the District Development Plans are elaborated with the

participation of the resident population through the local consultative councils.

Article 104 of this Decree defines the local community as a set of individual and

collective entities in a given unit of territorial organization, namely Province,

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District, Posto Administrativo, Localidade and Povoado, comprising families that

aim to safeguard common interests such as protection of residential areas,

agricultural areas, places of cultural importance, pastures, water sources,

hunting and expansion areas and so on. Further in Article 110, the Decree sets

out mechanism for community organization, namely local council, local forum,

community committees, community funds, etc.

The community committees are particularly defined in Article 113 as a

mechanism of organizing people to enable communities in identifying and

finding solutions to their problems.

.

C. STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR INFORMATION NEEDS

In this evaluation the actors are defined as persons or entities, individuals or

collectives who benefit, provide services, regulate or contribute in the

implementation of SCORE in its gender component. These actors were

identified during the workshop with the representatives of SCORE and were

considered sufficient for the required information. Each of them, due to its

characteristics that distinguish it from other offers information of particular

interest for the evaluation. To facilitate the identification and characterization of

the actors the following table was completed. More important is to note that in

general each of these actors have different roles and responsibilities but were

selected only those that have particular relevance for evaluation

These actors were identified during the workshop with representatives of

SCORE and were considered sufficient for the required information. Each of

them, due to its characteristics that distinguish it from other offers information of

particular interest for evaluation. To facilitate the identification and

characterization of the actors was completed in the following table. More

important is to note that in general each of these actors have different roles and

responsibilities but were selected only those with particular relevance for the

evaluation.

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Stakeholders Identify contact persons / reference for each actor and audience

Describe the interests, expectations, etc.. that can play a key role as a criterion in the phase of analysis and interpretation of the assessment

1

District Government

District Administrator He/she is the representative of the central authority of state administration in the district (Art.31 Decree 11/2005 of June 5) and responsible for the institutionalization of local councils at district and lower levels (No2 Art.117 of the same Decree)

District Permanent Secretary

He/she is responsible for coordinating the implementation and monitoring of the district government decisions (No1 Article 53 of Decree 11/2005 of June 5)

SDEJ His/her function is to ensure the proper functioning of the institutions of literacy and non formal education (No1 Art.6 Decree 6/2006 of April 12)

SDSMAS His/her function is to promote and guide the implementation of measures to ensure gender equity (No2 Art.7 Decree 6/2006 of April 12)

SDPI His/her function is to promote the construction and management of drinking water sources (Art.5 Decree 6/2006 of April 12)

2 Localidade Chief of the Localidade He/She is the representative of the central authority of the state administration at the Localidade (Decree 11/05)

3

CDL and

OCB

President CDL representative

Deputy-president Responsible for executive coordinating of the CDL

Member Provide information as a simple member without leadership role

4 Other NGO and Cooperation Agencies

They provide information exempt of government scrutiny

People from outside External observation which allows exemption on critique

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D. PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR TASKS

For this evaluation were basically considered three groups of stakeholders:

The evaluators with the role of designing and implementing the

evaluation model;

The SCORE technical team responsible for counselling and provide

with information on the views and expectations of CARE, equipment and

guidance in general and the

Respondents to provide information regarding the performance of the

project.

Among those interviewed are the direct beneficiaries and indirect beneficiaries.

The direct beneficiaries are the members of the CDL and OCB particularly

women. Indirect beneficiaries include officials from the District Government,

Chefes das Localidades and representatives of cooperation partners.

E. PROJECTS OBJECTIVES

The main purpose of the SCORE project is to develop and promote models of

decentralized service delivery, locally recognized that can enhance the security

of rural livelihoods while doing the mainstreaming of HIV / AIDS and gender. It

is, therefore, a capacity building project whose main target group are members

of civil society organizations such as the Local Development Committees

(CDL), Local Consultative Councils (CCL), groups and associations of

producers with a focus on women, youth and vulnerable groups. In preliminary

discussion with the technical team of SCORE was possible to identify the

objectives of the gender component and HIV-AIDS SCORE which, translated in

the form of results are:

Improved knowledge on the existing links between gender, HIV / AIDS

and providing decentralized services in rural areas in Mozambique;

Increased capacity of CSO, local government and the private sector to

have access and to provide quality services to citizens and,

Strengthened links between CSO, government and private sector to

facilitate the provision of effective public services.

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F. GENDER AND HIV/AIDS LOGICAL FRAMEWORK

To begin the evaluation of the project a seminar has been organized where one

of the objectives was to develop in a participatory way the conceptual model of

the project. The conceptual model serves on the one hand to ensure a common

understanding of the structure of the project, the main connections between

actors and results or expected outcomes and, on the other hand, this

conceptual model allows focusing on the critical elements of the project. In this

order the project gender and HIV/AIDS log frame has been created (Annex 1:

Logical Matrix for the SCORE gender and HIV / AIDS component).

G. LOCATION AND PLANNED LONGEVITY OF THE PROJECT

SCORE is a CARE Mozambique project implemented in three districts of

northern Inhambane, Vilankulo, Inhassoro and Mabote June 2004 to March

2010. At the level of districts, the project supports organized communities in

CDL or OCB. Following the first seminar with the SCORE project's technical

team, it was recognized that there are differences in the characterization of the

geographic areas where the project operates and even in the target group. The

diagrams that follow illustrate these situations.

Localidade of Belane

CDL of Chiculecule CDL of Chipanela

Povoado of Chiculecule

Povoado of Mangove Povoado of

Massango

Povoado of Ngongane

Povoado of Chipanela-Sede

Povoado of Huluquela

District of Vilankulo

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In the case of the District of Vilankulo a CDL corresponds to a Povoado also

known as Crculo Povoado and comprises various Clula Povoado. The

Crculo Poviado is headed by a community leader of 1o escalo while the Clula

Povoado is headed by a community leader of 2o escalo. In the Localidade

there is always a chief to represent the state administration.

In Inhassoro Povoados often coincide with the CDL in terms of geographic area

and the leaders vary from rgulos, cabos de terra to community leaders.

In Mabote, where the aldeias are predominant often coincides with the CDL and

the chief of the aldeia is the chief of the Localidade as well.

H. RESOURCES USED TO IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT

For the implementation of SCORE there is a team of technicians and logistics

including transport. It is likely that the materials (vehicles, office equipment, etc.)

are reasonably available and accessible to the project but was not examined in

this evaluation.

Localidade X

Povoado of Y= CDL Povoado of Z = CDL

District of Inhassoro

Localidade of Chitanga

Povoado of Macurra= CDL= Aldeia Povoado of Chitanga = CDL= Aldeia

District of Mabote

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I. PROJECT EXPECTED MEASURABLE OUTCOMES

Through Annex 1, it is possible to observe that the project had established both

quantitative and qualitative goals. The columns of indicators and the results

provide evidence of it. It is important, however, to stress that the evaluation is

not concerned to check whether the log frame is properly designed or not.

III. EVALUATION STUDY QUESTIONS

The issues of study or evaluation that had been previously agreed with the

SCORE project are:

1. How the project has responded to the major challenges faced by

women when participating in CDL - not only in the presence but also

contributing ideas that have been implemented?

2. What forms and types of participation of women in particular can be

observed in groups supported by the project? And what differences

are there compared with other groups without support?

3. To what extent women have benefited from the sub-grants provided

to OCB under the project? Should not have received a satisfactory

manner, why?

4. How the capabilities of the OCB and CDL have influenced the

participation of women in those organisations?

5. What is the perception of the beneficiaries about promotion of citizen

participation and women in particular (achievements and failures)?

6. Are the results obtained with the implementation of the plan

reasonable in relation to the cost of resources used?



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IV. EVALUATION PROCEDURES

A. SAMPLE

After identifying the major stakeholders and relevant information to the study,

we defined the sample for evaluation. The SCORE project is qualitative in

nature, intended to introduce changes in the area of governance and

particularly in the women empowerment. The assessment questions are also

qualitative and thus the predominant method in evaluation is qualitative. At the

level of district government all the actors were considered for the interview

because their number (13 elements) is feasible in terms of resources and time

available for evaluation. Differently the CDL have between 12-17 members. It is

not feasible to interview all of them not only due to scarcity of resources but

because does not make sense given that the answers seek explanation for the

study questions. Then, for each CDL a maximum of 5 (five) elements were

considered for interview. Among them is Chefe da Localidade, president and

vice-president of the CDL, one woman and one man members of a working

committee within the CDL or OCB. The reasons for this selection are that they

are able to describe objectively the organization under study, due to its position

of leadership. Then in the group of CDL and OCB were found 45 people for

interviews.

In the group of other organizations were considered three (3) elements to

interviews with two (2) of FOPROI and 1 (one) of the Decentralization Program

of the German Cooperation. The final sample was 71 (seventy-one elements)

(46.5% women) (Annex 2: List of respondents).

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1. CDL and OCB

District Place Target Interviewed Sample Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun 2a 3a 4a 5a 6a

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

VILANKULO

Macuhane CDL President of the CDL/OCB; Deputy-president of the CDL/OCB; Chefe da Localidade; 1 woman e 1 man both heading a working committee in the CDL or OCB /

5 X

We

eken

d

We

eken

d

Machoco CDL 5 X

Mapie OCB - horticulture 5 X

MABOTE

Sede CDL 5 X

Chitanga CDL e OCB-subgrant 5 X

Maloca CDL 5 X

INHASSORO

Cachane CDL e OCB-subgrant 5 X

Mabime CDL 5 X

Vulanjane CDL 5 X

2. DISTRICT PARTNERS

VILANKULO

Sede Office of the Administrator Administrator 1 X

Sede District Secretary Permanent Secretary 1 X X

Sede SDPI Director 1 X

Sede SDMAS Director 1 X

MABOTE

Sede Office of the Administrator Administrator 1

Sede District Secretary Permanent Secretary 1

Sede SDEJT Director

Sede SDMAS Director 1

INHASSORO

Sede Office of the Administrator Administrator 1

Sede District Secretary Permanent Secretary 1

Sede CTD/IDPPE Mr. Horcio 1

Sede SDAE Director 1

X

Sede SDEJ Representative of the Director 1 X

Sede SDSMAS Director 1 X

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B. DATA COLLECTION

The data for this evaluation were obtained through discussion in a seminar with

the technical team of the project, interviews with District Government members,

CDL and OCB members and external stakeholders. The interviews were

conducted based on a list of general questions previously prepared. The

procedure adopted allowed the interviewee to explain whatever he/she wants

about the topic of the interview. The respondent uses the list of general

questions to guide him or herself during the interview but not to use that to ask

direct questions to the interviewee. The general questions that guided the

interviews are presented in form of evaluation questions in the following

summary matrix.

C. SUMMARY MATRIX

As mentioned before, the collection of data did not used questionnaire with strict

formulation. It privileged open discussion. Each of the general questions is

linked to variable (s) of study as follows:

General Question Interview Corresponding study variable

1 Gender equity in training and leadership of the CDL and OCB

Direct participation

2 Women's participation in training / training oriented to women

Empowerment

3 Activities of CDL / OCB versus performance of women and decision making

Decision making

4 Meetings to discuss gender issues and HIV / AIDS (discussion forums)

Empowerment

5 Training sessions containing topics of gender and HIV / AIDS

Empowerment

6 Involvement of women in managing funds and income or participation in savings and credit

Access to resources and means

7 Participation in literacy courses / literacy course content

Empowerment

8 Role of local leaders in promoting gender equality and actions to combat and prevent HIV/AIDS

Behaviour changing

9 Existence, operation and leadership of water committees and working committees of the CDL

Resource management

10 Knowledge regarding HIV and government institutions that provide services in that sector

Empowerment

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V. FINDINGS

A. FINDINGS OF THE INTERVIEWS

The interviews took place in the communities covered by the intervention of

SCORE in the districts of Mabote (Mabote-Sede, Chitanga and Maloca)

Vilankulo (Macuhane, Machoco and Mapinhane) and Inhassoro (Mabime,

Vulanjane and Cachane). The list of respondents is attached (Annex 2).

Before going into details, a general appreciation from the district government is

presented:

In Mabote has been established a government focal point to coordinate

activities regarding orphans and vulnerable children;

Partners including CARE do not send in advance their annual plans to the

District government. This situation weakens the coordination and leads to

duplication of activities;

In HIV/AIDS campaigns are differences between the strategies of each

involved. CARE and SDEJ-Mabote for instance, focus on prevention through

the use of condom while Samaritans Purse favours abstinence. This

situation if not well coordinated may result in confusion in the target group to

whom the messages are prepared to;

In Mabote the crculos de interesse at school make difference in children's education but unfortunately are not equipped. Therefore it is recommended that partners support the revitalization and expansion of these initiatives;

The District Governments call for more intense coordination and reporting on the progress of the partners activities;

Communication still to be a challenge in that the technicians based at the

Districts are not interlocutors between the District Government and CARE sub-office in Vilankulo. In this situation when the Government is to communicate to CARE has to direct the message to specific project and sometimes they dont know which project deals with such issue.

The interview results are then presented according to the general issues that

formed the guide of the interviewer.

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District of Inhassoro

1. Gender equity in training and leadership of the CDL and OCB

In the OCB of Chichocana 65% are women (55 women and 30 men), women assume leadership with a president and treasurer

In the CDL of Cachane 65% are women (9 men and 8 women), women assume leadership with a vice-president, treasurer and one counsellor

Over 50% the public servants in the District of Inhassoro are women, and women assume positions of Chefe da Localidade, director of schools, heads of departments among others

60% of the members of CDL Vulanjane are women (12 women and 8 men), women assume leadership with Vice-president and secretary

In the CDLof Mabime women represent 20% (3 women and 12 men). Women take the lead with secretary and assistant secretary

2. Women's participation in training / training oriented to women

Over five sessions a year on gender equity at each OCB and CDL

3. Activities of CDL / OCB

versus performance of women and decision making

Association for promotion of agriculture: Increasing of cultivation areas, acquisition of agriculture materials and inputs; Women contribute with ideas and work to local economic development

There is community organization that facilitate involvement in a range of activities such as management of natural resources, fire control, water management; education and health

4. Meetings to discuss issue of gender and HIV / AIDS

Role of women in local development Preventing and combating HIV / AIDS Stigma against people infected by the virus HIV / AIDS Training on OIIL; Organization and functioning of CBOs and CDLs; Gender

5. Training sessions containing topics of gender and HIV / AIDS

Prevention and combat of HIV/AIDS and stigmatization against people infected by HIV. Training on OIIL, organization and functioning of CBO and CDL and gender

6. Involvement of women in managing funds and income or participation in savings and credit

OIIL funded projects for women; Monitoring indicated that women have fewer cases of funds mismanagement; Women involved in xitique (saving); women head households; women engaged in commercial activities, firewood cutting, coal production and sale of fish, agriculture, chickens and selling stones

7. Participation of women in literacy courses / literacy course content

More women participate in literacy than men, men seem to be very busy

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8. Role of local leaders in promoting gender equality and actions to combat and prevent HIV/AIDS

Leaders support and integrate CBO and CDL; they encourage communities and CBO to join the CDL and to engage in various economic activities

9. Existence, operation and leadership of water committees and working committees of the CDL

There are several in almost all localities, especially the water committees

10. Knowledge regarding HIV and government institutions that provide services in that sector

Knowledge about HIV / AIDS prevention and combat, CARE, German Agro Action, CEDES

District of Vilankulo


The CDL of Machoco has 13 members of which 5 are women and eight are men; Women assume leadership with a vice president and executive secretary. All members were elected to the positions they occupy. They were also presented to the population. One women interviewed said they were elected because the community recognizes her to have responsibility and respect.

In the CDL of Macuhane five members are women and eight are men. The vice-president and secretary are women. A women interviewed said that with the CDL already have opportunity to discuss major issues such as water, health and education of children in the community. In some cases there are power struggles between the various community leaders

The OCB of Mapihe is said to have 17 members but at the day of the meeting were only 6 persons (1 man and 5 women). It was not clear how this OCB is managed


In all locations visited it was reported trainings delivered by SCORE on HIV-AIDS, gender and associations to all members not only for women. The people interviewed reported that the CDL is a school for them.

3. Activities of CDL / OCB

versus performance of women and decision making

In all places visited the CDL works on agriculture, water supply, preventing and fighting HIV-AIDS. They also reported to have received training on the prevention of malaria and cholera. The CDL is attached to the management of water sources especially in relation to contributions, improved procedures for management and procurement of spare parts. The contributions vary from 25 to 50.00 MT in each quarter or semester

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There was revealed the existence of any organization or forum created to discuss only aspects of gender and HIV / AIDS


The issues of gender and HIV / AIDS are, according to respondents, cross-cutting issue in any training


It was noted that women are engaged in commercial production of pineapples and xitique.

7. Participation of women in literacy courses / course content literacy

In all CDL visited women were confirmed to participate in literacy courses. In CDL Machoco are 3 women attending literacy classes.


They play a key role in motivating people to address HIV / AIDS and gender. But they also are not sufficiently informed on these issues due to lack of training


In each source of water there is always a management committee and integrates women. Women are not responsible for technical activities such as replacement of parts. Participate more in decision making on management in general


People said that they cannot confirm to have seen one infected by HIV because they dont have access to the results of HIV test. But people get sick and die after losing much weight.

District of Mabote


In the CDL of Maloca attended seven elements (3 women and 4 men), women assume leadership with a president

In the OCB of Chitanga all members are women and are dedicated to production of bread, small livestock and xitique

In the CDL of Chitanga there are 18 members among whom seven are women


In all places we visited were reported trainings by SCORE on HIV-AIDS, gender and association oriented to all members not only for women. Other organizations such as the Samaritans and German Agro Action have organized training sessions.

3. Activities of CDL / OCB versus performance of women and decision making

In the CDL of Maloca the most important activities is water supply. There is also awareness about HIV/AIDS. The OCB of Chitanga produces bread and has animals (chickens and goats). In the OCB of Chitanga the concern is with water, community health prevention of malaria and HIV/AIDS

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There was revealed the existence of any organization or forum created to discuss only aspects of gender and HIV/AIDS


The themes of gender and HIV/AIDS are, according to the respondents, cross-cutting issue in all training undertaken.


In the OCB of Chitanga saving is very advanced. With the selling of alcoholic beverages and chickens women save through xitique and they said that it makes difference because they began to acquire valuables for their families.

7. Participation of women in literacy courses / course content literacy

In all places we visited women participate in literacy but men dont. The absence of men in literacy is attributed to a lack of time but some people are not of the same opinion saying that they spend free time in drinks.


They play a key role in motivating the other to address HIV/AIDS and gender. But they also are not sufficiently informed on these issues due to lack of training.


In each source of water is a management committee and integrates women. Women are not responsible for technical activities such as replacement of parts. Participate more in decision making on management in general. In the CDL of Chitanga are problems of water for livestock that is why animals and humans drink water from the same source.


There is no access to information on the HIV/AIDS incidence. Thus people dont have any proof or confirmation about the disease.

B. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ON THE FINDINGS

The results obtained during the interviews are analyzed by the method of

content analysis in comparison with the evaluation questions.

1. How the project responded to the major challenges facing women's

participation in CDL not only in the presence but also contributing

ideas that were implemented.

Several times during the interviews it was mentioned that the CDL is an

excellent opportunity to open a space in which people and especially women

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can participate in social, political and economic development of their

communities. Before the establishment of the CDL people from the Povoados

could not efficiently communicate in an organized way with the structures of the

level of Localidade, Posto Administrativo and District due to lack of

communication platform. Based on the rules of gender equity for the constitution

of the CDL, women have assumed greater prominence and leadership in the

communities. What does matter is the fact that women take a leading role in the

CDL is indicative of a change of behavior of people in general in favor of

enhancing the role of women or is it more in compliance with the guidelines of

the donor. For all intents and purposes, the leadership of women in CDL can be

an example that will lead to changing people's behaviour in relation to this

matter.

The lack of young women at the CDL may concentrate women's participation to

the older women who has traditionally always been a protagonist in many

community affairs, i.e., it cannot bring behavioural changes in people with

regard to gender because older women always played a role of respect even in

the midst of men. The fact that the CDL and OCB women play a prominent role

enables greater focus of the problems of this social class, e.g. water supply,

education and community health, etc.

Taking the example of water sources management, women have no power of

decision on the application of fund contributions even to decide what should be

the value of contributions. This is due to the fact that the activity of maintenance

and repair of equipment is dominated by men. Men are tinkerers, mechanics,

and plumbers and to know how much it costs to repair a pump is easier for men

than women. There were no reports of women who were trained to repair the

water holes. This is not to say that is bad that men dominate this set of jobs and

keeping the water sources as well. But being an area that requires contributions

of money is easier to bring problems of mismanagement.

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2. What forms and types of participation of women in particular can

be observed in groups supported by the project? And what

differences are there compared with other groups who did not

receive support?

Women participate in discussions and decision making in the CDL and OCB.

They participation is most evident in the OCB made up solely by women or they

are the majority. An example can be found in the OCB of Chitanga dedicated to

xitique, bread production and animal husbandry, all under the leadership of

women. In the OCB of Mapihe the situation is different, there appears to be lack

of instances of participation of women in number but are there as members.

One can generally say that women's participation has been through provision of

information, consultation and self-management. The latter form is manifested in

the case of OCB consisting solely of women. Taking into consideration that

women are empowered both to have voice at the local authorities so as to gain

skills and knowledge for life, it can be said that SCORE addresses women's

participation both as a mean and an end.

3. To what extent women have benefited from sub-grants provided to

OCB under the project?

From the interviews there are indications that women benefited from the sub-

grants. It is not yet the time to evaluate the impact of benefit in these women's

lives because the purchase of goats for instance was made but the cycle of

reproduction and transmission of offspring has not yet expired. There are

exceptions to the OCB of Chitanga dedicated to baking because there are

always dividends on sales. But in this OCB is not clear the business future of

the bakery since they indicated that they sometimes use the profits to support

orphans and vulnerable children. In the OCB of Mapihe is even more worrying

because it was unclear the business future and even the management of

shares, risks and benefits has not been properly clarified.

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4. To what extent the training delivered to OCB and CDL have

influenced the participation of women?

Due to small failures in SCORE internal coordination, was limited number of

trainings conducted in this intervention. But the limited that have been delivered

developed skills and approaches that culminated in empowerment of women in

communities. Some women argue strongly that are members because they

have been elected to positions in CDL only by recognition of their merit. The

sub-grants reinforced the role of women as it was possible to practice the

theory. Is not yet clear whether the strong participation of women is coupled

with the fact that most of them are widows or unmarried.

5. What is the perception of the beneficiaries about promotion of

citizen participation and women in particular (achievements and

failures)?

The CDL is still new mechanism. Have not done a proper echo at the level

of Local Councils. Therefore, women who are part of the CDL do not have

the greatest opportunity to influence decision making within the Localidade

and higher levels. But in general people say that CDL is the efficient

mechanism for establishing permanent communication between citizens and

local governments.

6. Are the results obtained with the implementation of the plan

reasonable in relation to the cost of resources used?

Given the results observed at the Povoados is fair to say that is reasonable,

even without knowing how much in terms of budget has been spent. The

placement of SCORE technicians at Districts was crucial to the achievement of

success and there are many doubts whether another mechanism for

implementing the project would have these results.


The observations lead to conclusions that OCB are more likely to survive in the

absence of SCORE than CDL. The difference is that the CDL does not produce;

coordinate development activities while the OCB produce and may have funds

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for the operation itself. Coordination is often viewed as additional task, and

spends time of the principal tasks, which does not correspond to truth but is

the practice. Another situation is that the CDL are not a provincial approach is

still confined to the three SCORE Districts. This complicates somewhat the

support of District Governments.


From the observed results can be stated that the constitution of CDL in

particular is replicable and transportable. It is very clear how to constitute the

CDL and its place within the institutions of participation and community

consultation at district level. It can even be said that the place of the CDL is

empty in most districts in Inhambane.

VI. CONCLUSIONS

Under the conditions of implementation of SCORE can be concluded that

the approach of the CDL and OCB is exemplary in promoting women's

participation in local development actions. Many women who assume

leadership in the CDL and CBOs are not part of the leadership of the

CCL and thus had no opportunity to influence the decisions taken in the

levels of Localidade and above;

The promotion of gender equity through CDL and OCB has increased

the possibilities of affirmation of women in social and economic

development especially for those women who had business initiatives

such as xitique;

Not having many places in the CCL (10-20 members), the CDL and OCB

represent opportunities for women to emit their voice to higher levels to

influence decisions on public investment and governance in general;

The direct support provided through the SCORE to OCB contributed to

making the empowerment and participation of women into something

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more effective rather than mere consultation, as provided by Local

Consultative Councils;

The intervention in the field of gender and HIV / AIDS cannot be seen as

a complete mainstreaming of these issues to the extent that action has

not yet realized that help public and private institutions to integrate

policies, strategies and budgets that reflect the needs and contributions

of men and women;

The project (SCORE) has not been efficient in coordinating with other

actors both internal (other CARE projects) or external (district

governments, other NGOs).

VII. RECOMENDATIONS

The component of gender and HIV / AIDS SCORE has produced

encouraging results in terms of participation and empowerment of

women. So, to save this progress is recommended to adopt mechanisms

to ensure continuity of the support;

In order to attract more support for the approach of the CDL and OCB as

platforms for women's empowerment, it is recommended that SCORE

engage in divulgation of the approach to other governmental levels,

cooperation agencies and other ONG.

Is also recommended that the CDL is legalized as a formal participatory

and consultative groups recognized by the district government;

With regard to external mainstreaming gender and HIV/AIDS SCORE

should negotiate its activities in the planning stage with the internal and

external partners to ensure that they can register activities and budget on

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their plans. This would allow for example that the toolkit that is mentioned

on the log frame is known and perhaps adopted by other stakeholders;

The coordination with the District government is positive but not yet

satisfactory. So if that is possible, the SCORE planning exercise should

coincide with the preparation of PESOD for along with the other actors

take a decision on the specific operation of each project. This could avoid

overlapping of activities and budgets and increase the confidence level

by the District Governments.

Armindo Tomo - Gender-HIV Eval Final Report SCORE 2010

Documents

Transcript of Armindo Tomo - Gender-HIV Eval Final Report SCORE 2010