Terminal Evaluation of the UNEP/GEF Project “Continuing Regional Support for the POPs Global Monitoring Plan under the Stockholm Convention in the Africa Region (GEF ID 4886)” (2015-2024)

This report is a Terminal Evaluation of the UNEP/GEF project, “Continuing Regional Support for the POPs Global Monitoring Plan under the Stockholm Convention in the Africa Region (GEF ID 4886)”, implemented between 2015 and 2024. The project's overall goal was to strengthen the capacity to implement the updated POPs Global Monitoring Plan (GMP) and to create the conditions for sustainable monitoring of POPs in the African Region. The evaluation sought to assess project performance (in terms of relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency) and determine the sustainability of its results. The evaluation has two primary purposes: accountability and learning. Data collection methods included: in-depth interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and document reviews. Data analysis was based on applying triangulated data to assess performance against a reconstructed Theory of Change and its causal pathways. With an overall performance rating of Moderately Satisfactory, the 4th point on a six-point scale, the main findings include: i) The project demonstrated strong performance in strategic relevance and technical data quality. It was well aligned with UNEP and GEF strategic frameworks, the Stockholm Convention’s Global Monitoring Plan under Article 16, and WHO biomonitoring protocols, ensuring that outputs fed directly into Conference of Parties deliberations and global effectiveness evaluations, ii) The project delivered tangible capacity-building results, with several countries integrating project outputs into national monitoring frameworks and policy processes, and iii) The project faced serious implementation bottlenecks that affected its efficiency and impact. The shift from a planned five-year to an actual nine-year implementation represents a serious challenge. The main recommendations to UNEP include, but are not limited to,: i) establish a formal and standing knowledge management and communication strategies for national GMP coordinators and experts, anchored by Regional Centres, to institutionalize peer support, technical exchange, and rapid problem-solving beyond the project’s lifetime and ii) consider that the project design integrates links between POPs monitoring and policymaking at the national level to support the project's sustainability.