Monthly Corner

Evaluation of UN Women’s Work on the Care Economy in East and Southern Africa 

A regional study of gender equality observatories in West and Central Africa, carried out by Claudy Vouhé for UN Women

Sources: UN Women

This regional study offers an inventory and analysis of the legal framework of gender observatories, their attributions, functions and missions. It is based on exchanges with 21 countries, in particular the eleven countries that have created observatories. It compares the internal organisation and budgets of the observatories between countries, looks at operational practices, in particular the degree of involvement in the collection and use of data, and identifies obstacles and good practices in terms of influencing pro-gender equality public policies. Finally, the study draws up a list of strategic recommendations intended for observatories, supervisory bodies and technical and financial partners.

MSSRF Publication - November 2025 - Shared by Rajalakshmi

Ritu Dewan - EPW editorial  comment on Labour Codes

Eniola Adeyemi Articles on Medium Journal, 2025

An analysis of the “soft life” conversation as it emerges on social media, unpacking how aspirations for ease and rest intersect with broader socio-economic structures, gendered labour expectations, and notions of dignity and justice

Tara Prasad Gnyawali Article - 2025

This article focused on the story of community living in a wildlife corridor that links India and Nepal, namely the Khata Corridor, which bridges Bardiya National Park of Nepal and Katarnia Wildlife Sanctuary of Uttar Pradesh, India.
This article revealed how the wildlife mobility in the corridor affects community livelihoods, mobility, and social inclusion, with a sense of differential impacts on farming and marginalised communities.

Lesedi Senamele Matlala - Recent Article in Evaluation Journal, 2025

Events

Vacancies

UN Women has announced an opportunity for experienced creatives to join its global mission to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The organization is recruiting a Multimedia Producer (Retainer Consultant) to support communication and advocacy under the EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies Programme.

This home-based, part-time consultancy is ideal for a seasoned multimedia professional who can translate complex ideas into visually compelling storytelling aligned with UN Women’s values.

Application Deadline: 28 November 2025
Job ID: 30286
Contract Duration: 1 year (approximately 200 working days)
Consultancy Type: Individual, home-based

Members

BLOG: ‘WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN PROTRACTED CRISES: LEARNING THROUGH EVALUATION’

Blog for the Global Evaluation of UNICEF’s WASH Programming in Protracted Crises, 2014-19

https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/files/Blog_WiPC_Evaluation_22July2020.pdf

What did we learn?
Some of the most important findings1 include the following points:
• UNICEF is successful in meeting targets for water supply but there has been less success in
sanitation and hygiene
• UNICEF’s ability to be truly accountable to affected populations is limited by the difficulty in
articulating expected outcomes or changes in lives
• UNICEF collects extensive output data, but outcome data are insufficient, which makes it
challenging to truly understand programme effectiveness and respond appropriately
• There is a significant emphasis on standards and norms for service provision and coverage,
but equal priority is not given to standards relating to equity and quality
• Partnerships are a core strength and appear to be generally well managed, especially
relationships with government and local authorities
• The Global WASH Cluster’s leadership is well recognized but, UNICEF was seen to have
ground in thought leadership
• UNICEF is still developing its strategy and capacity in urban WASH interventions
• UNICEF has set out a transformational agenda on linking humanitarian and development but
some pillars – risk-informed programming, integrated needs assessment and analysis, and
user engagement – are currently at preliminary stages
• WASH sections of country offices in protracted crises are typically stretched in ensuring the
ongoing provision of basic WASH services, and sometime experience challenges in
implementing changes at country level.


What do we recommend?
Given what we have learned, we recommend to:
• Develop an organizational definition of protracted crises
• Ensure an equal focus on water and sanitation/hygiene
• Articulate the changes that are expected as result of WASH programming
• Improve the collection and use of data for WASH programming
• Give quality and equity considerations equal weight with coverage
• Build partnerships which fully embrace localization
• Reclaim thought leadership
• Strengthen coordination
• Build on UNICEF’s core strengths in urban WASH
• Ensure that WiPC programmes align with UNICEF’s commitments to LHD
• Build country office capacity for new ways of working.

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Comment by Laura Gagliardone on September 1, 2020 at 14:33

Hi Rituu, thanks for the question. One thing, among others, that has worked very well and could be replicated in other evaluations has been the co-creation of the recommendations with the UNICEF WASH unit, our counterpart in the UNICEF Programming Division. Such co-creation has prepared fertile ground for a realistic and implementable management response. 

Comment by Rituu B Nanda on August 31, 2020 at 9:44

Hi Laura, thanks for this post. I would like to learn from your experience. What is one thing  ( amongst many) you did well in the evaluation process?

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