Synthesis of Findings of Evaluation Reports from 2003

This chapter synthesises lessons learned and conclusions from evaluation reports provided to the ALNAP Evaluations Library in 2003 and early 2004. It is the fourth such synthesis carried out by ALNAP since 2001, and draws not only on this year’s evaluation set but also on cumulative evidence.

The evaluation set provided a particular challenge in that it represented a very disparate group of evaluations, with 20 covering Afghanistan and Southern Africa and the remainder a wide range of other topics. The chapter is therefore organised around these two high profile emergencies, both of which emerged as a special priority for donors and agencies and both of which revealed ways in which politics and humanitarianism are seamlessly entwined – in the Afghanistan case through the military intervention led by the US, and in Southern Africa in the debates on genetically engineered (GE) food aid. In fact the politics of food aid bring these two emergencies together thematically. The two cases also throw light on other key ongoing humanitarian dilemmas, including the issue of targeting.