POPULATION POLICY ANALYSIS

Evaluation covers the period 1/80-9/80 and is based on a review of documents, a Fellows Program seminar, discussions with project staff, and visits to the headquarters of the contractor, Battelle Institute (BI), and to project sites. Population policy conferences, workshops, and seminars have been held in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Haiti, Egypt, and Brazil; and indigenous research organizations have been supported in these countries (except Mexico and Brazil). Information education communication projects were implemented in Peru, Ecuador (where a population research bibliography was also prepared), Guatemala, Honduras, and Egypt. In addition, research projects were conducted in Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, and Egypt. Semi-annual U.S. workshops were held to allow fellows to discuss the policy implications of their research. Six papers on population and development policy issues have been written, and a book in Spanish on community-based distribution and commercial retail sales is due to be published in Mexico. Twelve countries have been involved in the project -- a number too large to allow for adequate impact. Phase two of the project, which began 7/80, will accordingly be limited to 10 countries; work has already begun in six. A more concentrated approach emphasizing infrastructure support to country populations has been taken. Rapid population growth has caused project emphasis to shift to Africa; work is being organized in Nigeria, Sudan, Rwanda, and possibly Cameroon -- countries still lacking specific population policies. It is recommended that AID/W revise the project"s purpose to reduce the countries involved from 12 to 10, with emphasis on Africa and the Near East; develop specific country stategies and write detailed policy development strategy reports; synthesize existing research instead of conducting new research; hold regional workshops on population development; and exclude references to 18-month work cycles for each project phase.