Evaluation of DG ECHO’s activities in urban contexts

The objective of this evaluation was to analyse in detail programmes which have been supported by DG ECHO in a series of contexts chosen to illustrate the wide variety of situations which existed:

• Port-au-Prince, a city which suffered a sudden, major disaster, in a context where there has been chaotic demographic and spatial growth;
• Manila, a mega-city with numerous shanty-town areas which is regularly affected by cyclones and flooding as a result;
• Mogadishu, a city at war in a country which has been at war for more than 20 years, and where there have been waves of displaced people due to drought in surrounding regions;
• Kabul, a city which has alternatively been a refuge and a target in relation to armed opposition. It is a context where different forms of urbanisation co-exist (formal and informal), where the urban administration is largely absent and where life is often very difficult due to the harshness of the climate;
• Bogota, a city in a relatively rich country to which people have fled to escape a conflict involving various armed opposition forces;
• Urbanization processes caused by long-term displacement and by humanitarian assistance will also be taken into consideration, focusing principally on the analysis of two contexts: refugee camps in Kenya (Daadab) and IDP camps in Darfur.

The results of the general literature review has been presented at the 2012 ALNAP biannual meeting (17-19 January 2012 / Chenay) where the theme has been “Meeting the Urban Challenge: Adapting Humanitarian Response to a Changing World”.

The multi-disciplinary team working on this evaluation included an expert in disaster management and the evaluation of humanitarian action, an architect/urban planner, a WASH specialist and an agronomist/nutritionist specialised in economic aid processes.