Poor governance, corruption, conflict, and natural disasters limit Central Africa’s capacity for political and economic development. The Central African Republic (CAR) suffers from endemic violence between local militias that breeds instability. Since 2013, conflict in the CAR has resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of nearly 600,000 people. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), internal conflict between armed groups has displaced millions and contributed to a worsening food crisis. In the Republic of the Congo (ROC), impacts of climate change have displaced portions of the population and damaged critical infrastructure. The ROC also hosts refugees fleeing violence in its neighboring countries – CAR and the DRC – causing a strain on resources.
USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) implements various humanitarian projects in the region to support development through emergency and non-emergency aid. For example, USAID has partnered with the World Food Program, UNHCR and UNICEF, to provide emergency food assistance and hygiene infrastructure.
In 2020, ORB International partnered with Management Systems International (MSI) to implement the Central Africa Regional Third-Party Monitoring (CART) Project. CART aims to establish third-party monitoring and operational support services to help USAID/BHA understand trends on humanitarian services in all three central african countries.
Until 2023, ORB is responsible for activities including but not limited to:
- Data collection tool development;
- Training and supervision of enumerators;
- Quality control and assurance of data collection;
- Data collection across implementing partners (IPs).
Currently, ORB completes around 20 site visits a month across the region, inclusive of document reviews, surveys, interviews, direct observations, and other forms of data collection. This data is used to identify key challenges for mitigation, lessons learned, and understand program effectiveness. The results of this project will help USAID/BHA improve program accountability and efficiency, enhance delivery effectiveness, and improve beneficiaries’ access to services.