International Alert: Mid-term evaluation report (November 2020)

The Islamic State in West Africa or the Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWA/ISWAP) formerly known and referred to as Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihad is a group of Sunnah people devoted to preaching and Jihad. Most commonly known and referred to as Boko Haram, the group is a terrorist organisation based mainly in north-eastern parts of Nigeria but is also known to be active in Chad, Niger and Northern Cameroon. Since the inception of the current insurgency which actively started in 2009, the Boko Haram conflict has left nearly 168 million people in need humanitarian of assistance and protection.

The dynamics that present itself with regards to the continuous prevalence of all forms of insurgent violence within any given area can be very difficult to track. This fact makes any peace building efforts more herculean in nature than it would naturally be. This postulation is true for the current nature of violence within the NE regions of Nigeria. Data from researches and humanitarian aid work by the plethora of non-governmental and governmental organisations/institutions engaging with the victims of the insurgency within the region are abundant.

Several humanitarian organizations have been documented as making attempts towards such activities that see to the improvement in the acceptance levels of community members of the returning survivors. This informs International Alert’s (IA’s) projects focused on the rehabilitation and reintegration of persons affected by Boko Haram into their families and communities or other communities. The project titled: “Hadin Kan Mu Karfin Mu (Our Unity, Our Strength):

Reinforcing the Resilience and Reintegration of Conflict Affected Women and Children and Promoting Community Peacebuilding, Northeast Nigeria”, is one of such many ongoing interventions designed by IA and currently under implementation in several LGA’s within Borno State Nigeria in partnership with Centre for Social Cohesion Peace and Empowerment (CENSCOPE) a Local NGO based in Borno State working in collaboration with Community Leaders and with funding from Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF-UK Government).

The project targets women and children survivors of Boko Haram violence, community and religious leaders, and communities displaced by the ongoing conflict situation in Borno state. The project is currently under implementation in Gubio IDP camp, Teacher’s Village IDP camp,

Sulumri Host community, and Shehuri North host community in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council;

Bulabulin Sallake and Kamchege IDP camps in Dikwa LGA; GSSS IDP camp and Host community in Bama LGA.

This mid-term evaluation is designed to determine the level of impact and sustainable possibilities that its initiation is having on its target beneficiaries and areas of improvement if any. As with the initial design and development of the project, the mid-term evaluation is tied to specific objectives designed to provide an in-depth understanding of the complex nature of the situation in which these women and girls survivors find themselves. It provides context specific data on the needs of the survivors and determine the capacity of the community members and their leaders to sustain

Source: International Alert