Evaluation of the EU cooperation with the Central African Republic

The strategic use of cooperation instruments within the framework of an integrated approach to the Central African crisis has enabled the EU to exert discreet but effective influence on the process of reconciliation and stabilisation of the country. This is one of the conclusions of our evaluation of the EU cooperation with the Central African Republic (CAR).

The Human Development Index (HDI) shows that the CAR remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The aim of the EU support in the CAR is to contribute to peace, stabilisation, and socioeconomic development.

Focus

The evaluation focuses on the development cooperation of the European Union (EU) with the Central African Republic (CAR), the cooperation strategy since 2008 and its implementation from 2014 to 2019. It covers both financial and non-financial actions (including political dialogue and policies and joint programming). The evaluation is structured around the macro-sectors of economic governance and public administration, justice, democratic governance, security, education, health (including urban water and sanitation), as well as rural resilience, job creation and the management of natural resources. We also marginally analysed the support for major infrastructure networks and regional economic integration.

Methodology

This evaluation was commissioned by the Evaluation Unit of the Directorate General of International Partnerships. The evaluation took place from April 2019 to February 2021. It used the Contribution Analysis approach and was based on the intervention logic and 11 evaluation questions. It used a sample of interventions which covered 71% of the overall portfolio. The methodology was adapted to the Covid-19 context to obtain sufficient data to answer the evaluation questions.

For more information, please read the evaluation report on https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/evaluation-eu-cooperation-central-african-republic-2008-2019_en.