The project “Primary Health Care Service Support for Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) and Host Communities (HC) in Cox’s Bazar District of Bangladesh”, implemented by Dhaka Community Hospital Trust (DCHT) and Peace Winds Japan (PWJ), aimed to strengthen primary healthcare services for one of the world’s most vulnerable populations. This initiative provided critical health services to the FDMN population residing in Camp 14 of Ukhiya Upazila and the host communities in Telkhola and Gujogona villages under Palong Khali Union. Funded by the Japan Platform (JPF), the project ran from September 1, 2021, to July 1, 2022, to improve healthcare access and foster disease prevention for FDMNs and host communities.

The project had two core components:

1. Provision of Primary Health Care Services: Services included Antenatal Care (ANC), Postnatal Care (PNC), family planning, immunization, management of infectious diseases, and emergency care. Over 4,500 beneficiaries accessed these services, including both camp residents and host communities. Bi-monthly health awareness sessions addressed topics like hygiene, family planning, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and fire safety, fostering behavioral changes.
2. Community-Based Health Promotion Activities: Four communities (two blocks from Camp 14 and two villages in Palong Khali Union) were identified to enhance health-seeking behavior. Community volunteers conducted door-to-door outreach, raised awareness, and developed local capacities for sustainable health outcomes.

The third-party evaluation of the project aimed to verify project outcomes, beneficiary satisfaction, and adherence to humanitarian principles and standards. By incorporating the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) and OECD-DAC evaluation criteria, the evaluation also analyzed localization components and the project’s contributions to Joint Response Plan (JRP) 2021.

The objectives of the evaluation included:

• To verify actual outputs and outcomes of the project with the available data
• To verify that the humanitarian principles and standards including Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) are respected.
• To understand the beneficiary satisfaction
• To assess the contributions of the project to Joint Response Plan 2021 and JPF’s program goals.

To document and extract lessons learned and best practices and provide robust recommendations to improve the future projects and programme.

Key Highlights of the Assignment

DM WATCH LIMITED conducted a comprehensive third-party evaluation of the Primary Health Care Service Support Project, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to deliver robust insights and recommendations. Key activities included:

Inception Phase:

• Held discussions with JPF, PWJ, and DCHT to finalize evaluation objectives and scope.
• Reviewed relevant project documents, including the JRP 2021 and Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS).
• Developed and submitted a detailed inception report, including study design, data collection tools, and an evaluation framework.

Primary Data Collection:

• Conducted structured household surveys in Camp 14 and Palong Khali Union, sampling 120 respondents.
• Collected qualitative data through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), In-Depth Interviews (IDIs), and Physical Observations.
• Documented two success stories highlighting project achievements.

Data Management and Analysis:

• Ensured data quality through validation checks, daily reviews, and feedback sessions.
• Processed and cleaned quantitative data using SPSS and Excel, performing descriptive and inferential statistical analyses.
• Analyzed qualitative data through thematic coding and content analysis, triangulating findings with quantitative results.

Reporting and Dissemination:

• Prepared a draft evaluation report summarizing findings, key learnings, and strategic recommendations.
• Organized a validation workshop with key stakeholders to refine findings.
• Submitted the final evaluation report, incorporating feedback, and shared clean datasets for future reference.