From 1 to 8 July 2019, IDEV undertook a scoping mission to Ghana in preparation for its impact evaluation of the AfDB-funded Fufulso-Sawla Road Project. The main objective of the scoping mission was to consult stakeholders and get a better understanding of road development in Ghana as well as the availability of household survey data for the evaluation. The project, which was carried out between 2011 and 2015, saw the construction of a road connecting Fufulso and Sawla in Northern Ghana, and a series of ancillary works. The evaluation aims to provide credible estimates of the project's impact on beneficiary households and communities.
This is the Forth impact evaluation IDEV is carrying out, following two such evaluations of rural water supply and sanitation programs in Tanzania and Ethiopia, and an irrigation project in Malawi. What makes these evaluations stand out is that they aim to attribute development results to a specific intervention, linking cause and effect. This evaluation will specifically examine the net effect of the Fufulso-Sawla road on the intensity of the traffic, the travel time and the travel cost, and the net effect of the road and related ancillary works on household income, employment, and access to social and economic services.
The evaluation will inform AfDB Management’s decisions when it comes to financing future integrated road interventions. By identifying what works, what does not work and why, the evaluation will provide lessons to improve the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of new road interventions funded by the Bank. The final summary report of the evaluation will be submitted to the AfDB Board of Directors at the end of December 2019.
The Fufulso-Sawla project is a flagship for the Bank due to its inclusive all-in-one integrated package, providing a holistic response to the socio-economic needs of the beneficiary districts. Besides the construction of 147.5 km of road, the ancillary works along the main road corridor included among others: (i) rehabilitation and expansion of the main District Hospital at Damango; (ii) construction/rehabilitation of 8 main health centers; (iii) the construction of new and rehabilitation of existing educational facilities including classroom blocks, teachers’ quarters, and kitchen for preparing school meals, (iv) construction of Mognori Bridge to better provide all-weather access for transportation of agricultural inputs and produce; (v) construction of a water treatment plant and borehole; and (vi) construction of 4 main markets.
The mission was jointly carried out by the IDEV team, comprising Joseph Mouanda, Eric Kere and Clement Mensah, and the team from the Catholic University of America, who has been hired as consultant and includes Maria Sophia Aguirre, Kathryn Kroeker, and James T. Warburton. The teams were accompanied by Mr. Burmi Camara, Country Economist at the Bank’s country office in Ghana. The team carried out field visits to nine sites in the project area to engage with some of the beneficiary communities and other stakeholders who contributed to the implementation of the Fufulso-Sawla Road Project.