Malawi. October 2016.
Program overview
The project had two phases: phase one, January 2013 to December 2014, coordinated by UNICEF and phase two, May 2015 to June 2016, coordinated by Norwegian Church Aid. The adolescent project as it is commonly referred to, is a dual-prong intervention to prevent teen pregnancy and HIV infection; under the Malawi GIZ Health Programme of “Health systems strengthening with a Focus on Reproductive Health. The target group was 10 -19-year-old adolescents in 10 of the 28 districts of Malawi.
Evaluation overview
As the Narrowing the Gap adolescent project wounded down, an end of Project Evaluation was needed to assess the outcomes and impact of the project, and to facilitate an understanding amongst MGHP, its partners and project beneficiaries of the extent to which the envisaged change has been realized.
Key findings and recommendation
The evaluation finds that the project was highly relevant regarding the Malawi social demographic context and national health policies. It confirms that the project was designed to address priority Sexual and Reproductive Health, issues including HIV and AIDS service needs of adolescents as informed by empirical evidence gathered through extensive literature review and baseline analysis. The design and activities of the project were harmonized and in line with the national priority response efforts in addressing SRH (Sexual and Reproductive Health) needs of young people in Malawi. Project delivery strategies were responsive and sensitive to context and age of information recipients, which facilitated learning, participation and significant uptake of both services and safe behavior.
The findings of this study provide room for several recommendations. One should promote youth participation and leadership, and therefore continued investment in the development and support of youth organizations. One should also consider adding comprehensive economic development as part of activities under youth clubs and teen clubs. In addition to several other recommendations, one should also include more of the community and religious leaders in the programme.