Audit of project benefit sustainability at USAID/Bangladesh

Audit report covers 4 out of 7 projects (representing 91.7% of money obligated) that were completed between 1990 and 1994, in addition to a new project which began in 1992. Audit efforts encountered two handicaps: (1) the Mission did not clearly identify which benefits were to be sustained after USAID"s funding ceased, and (2) project evaluations and close-out reports did not always address the sustainability of project benefits. Nonetheless, of the 4 completed projects audited -- Fertilizer Distribution Improvement II (388006), Family Planning Services II (3880086), Rural Industries (3880042), and Agro-Climatic Environmental Monitoring (3880046) -- all but the last resulted in continuing benefits. A detailed recommendation is provided to ensure that project designs, evaluations, and close-out reports specifically address benefit sustainability.