AMELA Monthly Performance Report: January 2022

Government's goal of building a safe and stable society that meets the needs of the Afghan people. AMELA provides external evaluation of project performance, third-party monitoring of development and humanitarian programming, and objective, reliable data collection and analysis for use in improving ongoing programs, informing future programming, and aligning interventions with the Mission's strategic goals. AMELA has four components: Evaluation Technical Support Services, Monitoring Technical Support Services, Learning and Adaptive Management Support, and Program Support Services. Evaluation Technical Support Services provide analytical services, including midterm and final evaluations, performance and impact evaluations, geographic and sectoral assessments, and baseline analyses. Monitoring Technical Support Services provide monitoring and verification to strengthen decision-making for design and implementation of development programming through third-party monitoring. In January 2022, AMELA worked with the Office of Gender to develop a Gender Policy Brief statement of work, which was approved by USAID on November 1. AMELA is currently working with a selected university partner to finalize the terms of the contract and expects the technical work on this assignment to begin in early February. AMELA also worked with the Office of Education to continue developing education monitoring in post-regime change Afghanistan and delivered a presentation to USAID and the broader education donor community on the November 2021 Wave 1 Girls' Access to Education Surveys. AMELA conducted 27 remote Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance verifications with implementing partners across 12 provinces in January, including seven site visits for Save the Children, seven site visits for the World Food Program, and five site visits for Première Urgence – Aide Médicale Internationale. AMELA also prepared a concept note responding to a USAID program office request for assistance in developing a strategic framework for programming in the evolving Afghan operational environment. AMELA continued to encounter numerous challenges, including uncertain and unstable security conditions on the ground in Afghanistan, limitations in support for staff from Afghanistan, and banking restrictions in Afghanistan, preventing staff from receiving salaries. AMELA managed these challenges by maintaining close, daily communication with all Cooperating Country National staff, implementing strict security protocols, and implementing other measures to mitigate the impact of these challenges. AMELA's evaluation team received USAID approval of the Gender Policy Brief statement of work on November 1, and the evaluation team selected the university partner for this assignment on December 1. AMELA is currently working with the selected partner institution to finalize the terms of the contract and expects the technical work on this assignment to begin in early February. AMELA delivered the draft of the first fact sheet to USAID on January 31 and submitted five deliverables based on the analysis from the November 2021 Wave 1 Girls' Access to Education Surveys for the Girls' Access to Education assignment. AMELA's learning and adaptive management support services component did not conduct any assignments in January. However, AMELA's program support services component prepared a concept note responding to a USAID program office request for assistance in developing a strategic framework for programming in the evolving Afghan operational environment. AMELA continued to encounter numerous challenges, including uncertain and unstable security conditions on the ground in Afghanistan, limitations in support for staff from Afghanistan, and banking restrictions in Afghanistan, preventing staff from receiving salaries.