Multi-country evaluation of UNICEF’s response to hurricanes ETA & IOTA in Central America.

Purpose and Objectives of the Evaluation UNICEF’s LACRO is proposing a multi-country evaluation of UNICEF’s response to ETA & IOTA major hurricanes of late 2020 that affected Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, to generate opportune feedback and learning key elements of its response. The multi-country evaluation, is expected to generate actionable recommendations on how to formulate the new UNICEF sub-regional preparedness strategy and contribute to strengthen “shock responsiveness” of national and local level NDMA systems, using the CCCs as framework of benchmarks and Emergency Preparedness Platform (EPP) as improvement platform. Purpose The purpose of the multi-country evaluation of the UNICEF’s ETA & IOTA response is dual, both for learning and accountability. Firstly, it is needed to account for performance and results achieved, externally (both to donors and host governments), internally (at the regional office and country office level). Secondly, it is needed to draw lessons learned from recent humanitarian response for future responses to hydrometeorological events in the Caribbean basin1 . At the end of the process a regional synthesis and country office evaluation reports on relevance, coherence, effectiveness and connectedness of UNICEF’s response to Eta/Iota hurricanes in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua will be produced. The reports will feed into the design and implementation of the new Nicaragua CPD and a regional preparedness strategy. Objectives The objectives of the evaluation are as follows: • To determine the institutional progress UNICEF made towards the accomplishment of UNICEF’s CCCs in emergencies, including reaching the most vulnerable population and identify the most effective implementation strategies and partnerships for future responses (relevance, coverage, timeliness2 , connectedness3 and quality). 4 • To assess the quality of the response planning in terms of rapid assessment, design and structure of the response, mapping of partners, workflow, financial arrangements, and monitoring system. • To determine the relevance of existing or developing emergency preparedness and response strategies, ensuring UNICEF positioning as key humanitarian actor in the subregion. • To determine how UNICEF can better position itself, build on its comparative advantage, and provide specific recommendations to improve its response to future hydrometeorological and other emergencies in Central America. C. Expected Users and uses The expected primary audience of this multi-country evaluation includes COs (i.e., both management and technical staff) and LACRO (Management, Emergency Unit and Preparedness group). The evaluation results will be used by this audience to draw lessons learned for future emergency response in the region and better embed risk informed programming and nexus in regular country program documents and annual plans. Moreover, the evaluation will generate real-world evidence on emergency preparedness in terms of response effectiveness (i.e., timeliness, scale and quality), using the CCCs as framework of benchmarks and EPP as improvement platform, so to contribute to strengthen national and local level shock responsiveness to future disasters. international donors (ECHO, USAID, PRM, BHA, among others) For this audience, evidence will be used as a basis for reporting to account on results achieved and consolidate partnerships.