October 22, 2010
DIPECHO Evaluation, Nicaragua ©2007 DARA
DG ECHO selected DARA in 2007 to evaluate the DIPECHO Action Plans in Central America in order to analyse how their programmes have helped the at risk population and the institutions prepare and respond to subsequent Disasters. Since 1990, more than ten million people have been affected by natural hazards in Central America, one of the regions that suffers the most from all kinds of natural hazards. This situation, the result of both natural factors and disastrous environmental management, has caused the region to be considered one of the priority action zones of the Disaster Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO) of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO). Specifically, the evaluation conducted by DARA in September-November 2007 examined the coherence between the DIPECHO strategic imperatives and the five priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action, established in 2005, in the World Conference on Disaster Reduction. The evaluation process used by DARA consisted of direct visits to the projects financed by the European Commission in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, where popular evaluation processes were carried out. DARA’s team visited a total of 15 projects. Interviews were carried out with over 120 non-project stakeholders from national and local government, NGOs, international agencies, universities, DG ECHO and other EU services.
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