Beneficiary Verification Exercise Report: Improving Food Access and Nutrition for Vulnerable Displaced and Host Populations in Yobe State (Damaturu, Potiskum & Fune) in North-Eastern Nigeria

The targeting criteria included identifying the most vulnerable IDPs whose origins were from insurgency hotspots, households with severely acute malnourished children, female-headed households, and households headed by chronically ill/disabled/elderly persons. The verification exercise was carried out by a team consisting of FFP DPM, 3 LGA Supervisors, 6 field assistants, and 21 enumerators under the supervision of Cash PM. A verification questionnaire was developed by Cash PM and validated by the coordination team. Enumerators were trained in each LGA by FFP Staffs on 8th and 9th May, and the verification exercise was conducted from 11th May to 29th May 2015, with a mop-up exercise held from 1st to 5th June 2015. Data collection began on 11th May 2015 and lasted till 29th May 2015 across the 3 LGAs, with a mop-up exercise held from 1st to 5th June 2015. Enumerators were hired across the 3 LGAs to begin data entry as the collection was on-going. ACF Staffs played a supervisory role, having oversight over every task done on the field, taking the lead, and ensuring that the right information was passed across to the beneficiaries. The table below shows the result of data collected at the end of the verification and mop-up exercises: | LGA | No. of Beneficiaries | No. of Verified and Approved Beneficiaries | No. of Verified but Not Approved Beneficiaries | % Verified Beneficiaries | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Damaturu | 1500 | 1498 | 2 | 99.9% | | Potiskum | 900 | 898 | 2 | 99.8% | | Fune | 600 | 585 | 15 | 97.5% | | TOTAL | 3000 | 2981 | 19 | 99.4% | A detailed template showing names of beneficiaries verified but not approved and the reasons why they were not approved across the 3 LGAs is attached to this report as annex 1. The verification exercise faced several challenges, including the late arrival of questionnaires from Abuja, which delayed the completion of the verification exercise. Some beneficiaries were also scared that the field team and enumerators were coming to collect their cards and thus avoided showing up for the verification exercise. Occasional late arrival of car hire vehicles and lack of drinking water for field team and enumerators in Potiskum and Fune were also reported. Recommendations for the way forward include printing of questionnaires at base level to avoid time wasting, better coordination between program team and logistics to ensure timely supply of all resources required for project implementation, and employing all project staffs at the start of any project to promote coordination and cohesion among team members.