Internal review : Public Law 480 Title II program -- Project Concern International/Bolivia

Food for Work (FFW) laborers also renovated a cultural center, a market and a medical post and constructed an industrial oven, four canal bridges, school rest rooms and 14 homes. PCI also established a monitoring system to provide socioeconomic and nutritional information on about 2,700 FFW laborers and their families. Preliminary data provided by PCI shows a decrease from 45% to 32% in the number of malnourished children after 3 months in the program. In addition to food, the laborers and their families received basic medical care, vitamin A supplementation, antiparasitic treatment for children under 5 years of age and iron supplementation for women. The nutritional project also conducted educational events for community leaders, trainees, and FFW laborers. During the year, PCI strengthened its staff and facilities. Building on the recognized food aid expertise of the PCI Executive Director, an Institutional Support Grant was obtained from A.I.D. to strengthen management capacity. With these funds, Headquarters hired an expert Title II Food Aid Manager to monitor and analyze the Bolivia program to ensure compliance with terms and conditions of the program agreement and Title II regulations. The Food Aid Manager has prepared numerous high quality materials to help program implementation such as guidance for performing end-use inspections and a PCI Title II Handbook. Headquarters has scheduled training for Headquarters and Country staff in 1994 to help transfer this expertise to the Bolivian program. In addition, Headquarters was in the process of analyzing its policy on monitoring and accounting for commodity resources, monetization funds and participant contributions. These analyses will result in further strengthening control systems. In addition, USAID's December 1993 inspection of the Santa Cruz Office concluded that PCI had established better controls over the distribution of food. To discourage resale of rations by workers, PCI developed an effective system for repackaging food in smaller containers for distribution to individual FFW workers. PCI management believes that the continued growth and success of the Title II program in Bolivia carries with it a need for strengthened management and control activities. Accordingly, PCI is planning on adding staff resources where necessary. The relationship between the Headquarters and Bolivia offices of PCI is excellent and helped facilitate program implementation. (Author abstract)