Regional Evaluation Report_WCARO_ January 2023

The document is a multi-country formative evaluation report from January 2023, sponsored by UNICEF’s West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) and conducted by a team of international and national WASH experts. It assesses the Key Result for Children (RCE#8) aimed at ending open defecation, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Togo from 2013 to 2020. The evaluation covers programmatic approaches to achieving and maintaining open defecation-free (ODF) status, with a thematic scope encompassing all activities implemented from January 2017 to September 2021 supported by UNICEF under RCE#8.

The evaluation is guided by six criteria, including relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, and a cross-cutting criterion related to gender, human rights, and equity. It employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, such as document review, individual interviews, group discussions, and surveys. The evaluation identifies the need for improved water access and latrine adaptation for the disabled and elderly as key areas for enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions aimed at ending open defecation. The report concludes with recommendations for future actions to strengthen ongoing efforts and accelerate progress toward ODF status at local and national levels.