Abstract
A team of three consultants conducted a midterm performance evaluation of the Mayer Hashi (MH) (Smiling Mother) project, an Associate Award supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Bangladesh under the Global Responding to the Need for Family Planning through Expanded Contraceptive Choices and Program Services (RESPOND) project. The evaluation was conducted in AprilMay 2012. The $12 million award applies from May 2009September 2013, and the evaluation covered the project period from June 2009December 2011.MH is being implemented in 21 districts in three low-performing divisions of Bangladesh (Chittagong, Barisal, and Sylhet) and is addressing two important areas in family planning and maternal health that have not received adequate attention and have not shown significant results in the recent past: 1) the need for family planning through the expansion of access, quality, and use of long-acting and permanent methods of contraception (LA/PM) and 2) selective maternal health services to prevent postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), including active management of the third stage of labor (AMTSL) and the community-based provision of misoprostol. The key purposes of this performance evaluation were to: 1) review, analyze, and evaluate the effectiveness of the MH project in achieving program objectives to date; 2) identify major constraints in achieving expected project results; and 3) provide specific recommendations and lessons learned on strategies and approaches the program should pursue over the last two years of implementation and in future program planning. The evaluation methodology consisted of data analysis, extensive interviews with partners, stakeholders, and beneficiaries, and field visits to project sites.