The Health of Migrants

Purpose:

The main purpose of both evaluations was to provide an assessment of the relevance of the interventions and identify key lessons, successes and challenges in relation to the effectiveness of the programmes; provision of evidence for rights-holders (students, teachers, civil society) about the programmes with the aim to enhance transparency and accountability.

Conclusions:

The evaluation of EPforRII concludes that the programme is highly relevant and fully aligned with and relevant to the national education sector policies and strategies. In terms of effectiveness, results obtained in relation to establishment of systems are well documented and verified, but there is still a way to go in terms of national roll-out. Institutional and financial sustainability is a challenge, and continued implementation of the supported ESDP priority areas will only be possible if fully integrated in national budgets with sufficient funds. The evaluation of PERZ concludes that the programme aligns well with national priorities addressing teacher shortages, inadequate learning materials, and insufficient infrastructure. It has contributed significantly to regional equity and access to primary education, but its contribution to gender equality remains limited. In terms of effectiveness, PERZ has contributed to improving the learning environment at primary schools through efficiency in resource allocation. The perspectives for institutional sustainability are promising but not yet fully assured.

 

Recommendations:

The main recommendation for EPforRII are to broaden interministerial coordination, to ensure that special needs education plans are backed by pre- and in-service teacher training and recruitment, to strengthen the role of CSOs in programme design and monitoring, especially on inclusion and equity, and to ensure diversification of funds. The main recommendations for PERZ are to strengthen commitment to achieving and sustaining the 20% education budget allocation, to accelerate the rollout of digital EMIS systems and build capacity at district and school levels for effective data utilisation, to promote gender equality and equitable access to schooling, and to develop a transition strategy to ensure continuity of key reforms beyond external funding and strengthen institutional ownership.

Main evaluation method: mixed-methods, synthesis analysis, literature review.

Positives:  Across Zambia and South Sudan, Sida-supported interventions generated tangible benefits for poor populations, including improved incomes, food security, and access to essential services. In Zambia, interventions performed better as the systems are relatively stable while in South Sudan contributions have helped sustain basic services under extreme and fragile conditions.

Shortcomings: The impact results from Sida’s work were uneven and remained limited in scale and transformative impact. Impact measures were often constrained by underuse of existing evidence in contribution designs and weak evaluability. Heavy reliance on partner-reported data, limited triangulation, and insufficient use of national data systems further created a verification gap and constrained deeper analysis.

Annexes:

• Annex 1: Executive Summaries of Impact Studies
• Annex 2: Summary of impact results from 8 cases in Zambia and South Sudan (See link for annex 1)
• Annex 3: Synthesis of Impact and Evidence Use Across Zambia, South Sudan and Wider Experiences
• Annex 4: How Can Evaluation Commissioners Think About Impact Assessments Going Forward?
• Annex 5: Sida staff Contribution Management Survey results