Review of the population and family planning services project, USAID/Jamaica

Special evaluation is based on review of project documents and demographic data and on interviews with USAID/J and implementing agency personnel. The project has been most successful in the area of demographic data collection: the performance of the Government of Jamaica"s (GOJ) Registrar General"s Department (RGD) and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) have improved appreciably, in no small part due to A.I.D. assistance, and the University of the West Indies (UWI) has produced 2 population studies. Training at UWI has been less successful, as only 12 students matriculated during the first 2 years of the Population Studies program. Little progress has been made in the crucial area of disseminating information on population and demographic matters to as wide an audience as possible. The Planning Institute of Jamaica"s (PIOJ) Population Unit is the only agency which has information dissemination as an explicit goal, and its performance has been disappointing. Administrative shortcomings at the implementing National Family Planning Board (NFPB) apparently curtail its effectiveness in handling non-FP activities, although the Board has shown considerable interest in increased dissemination of population policy information. While non-FP activities remain important and should be supported, Jamaica, with a population growth rate of only 1.2% a year, has reached the stage where FP and contraceptive delivery programs should be emphasized; these should be complemented insofar as possible by information dissemination, data gathering and analysis, and research and training. It is recommended, inter alia, that the GOJ give independent status to the NFPB for greater prominence and reorganize project components into an entity to deal directly with USAID/J; as the leader in information dissemination, the PIOJ should develop a program for schoolchildren, hiring an advisor and short-term TA as needed; the results of STATIN and RGD studies should be made more accessible; UWI"s program for demographers must be made more attractive; and funding should be considered for short-term U.S. training for Jamaican population officials and for a Caribbean-wide training program.