International Access to Justice for Women Project meeting starts in Sierra Leone

Representatives from five countries where the Access To Justice for Women (A2JW) Project is being implemented are in Sierra Leone for a three-day meeting that will give them the opportunity to review the mid-term evaluation recommendations made by the Donor Agency, DFID, and map a way forward for the second year of implementation for the multi-country project.

Sylvia Goba, the International Project Coordinator, who also sits in the ActionAid Sierra Leone office, said that all the five countries need to restrategise to ensure that the activities are speaking to the expected outputs of the project.

“For example, some countries have interpreted sensitization and awareness raising as policy work. That is wrong. What people do at the policy level should be speaking to the realities on the ground”. She said.

Nicky Curtin, Emergency Funding Manager, ActionAid Uk and who manages the contract with DFID said that DFID carried out an external review in December against the six outputs of the project and came up with twelve key recommendations, which they shall be discussing in detail during the meeting..

“By the time we end this meeting, we should be able to revise the log frame, look at targets and see whether they are realistic, capture information with real quantitative and qualitative data and above all, design an effective a monitoring and evaluation plan”. She said

The A2JW Project is being implemented in Uganda, Liberia, Somaliland, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and it works on activities that will build on the supply and demand side of Justice by ensuring women feel confident to access services that they need and the service providers are able to give them the services as, and when they need it. The goal of the project is to enhance security and safety for marginalized women in conflict-affected communities.

In Sierra Leone, the project is implemented in three districts, Bo, Kono and Bombali districts.