This summary presents evidence and key insights from evaluations on Â鶹ÊÓƵ's school feeding programmes in 9 countries in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe region.
The evaluation of the country strategic plan for Armenia for 2019¨C2025 was conducted between March 2024 and February 2025 to serve accountability and learning purposes and to inform the preparation of the next country strategic plan.
Today, Armenia¡¯s school feeding programme stands as a model of collaboration, demonstrating how strategic investment, multisectoral coordination and circular economy models can lead to sustainable success.
Annual Country Reports (ACR) are a key accountability document produced by country offices on a yearly basis which inform donors how their funds were used during the reporting year. Their purpose is to tell Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s performance story in an accurate, transparent and evidence-based manner by assessing the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of our operations in our pursuit towards zero hunger.
The Barrier analysis' objective was to assess the barriers and the potential for socio-economic integration of refugee and local population, as well as to inform the decisions of potential interventions and designs of future programmes. Legal Status, housing and living conditions, accessibility of services and employment opportunities were of intense focus for discussions as powerful enablers for social and economic integration.
This decentralized evaluation was commissioned by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Armenia Country Office and covers the School Feeding Programme (SFP) for the period of January 2018 to December 2023. It was carried out in 2024. The evaluation was commissioned to assess the programme's performance, fill evidence gaps, and inform the design of future school feeding interventions, as well as the new Country Strategic Plan. It was intended for both accountability and learning purposes.
From October 2022 to October 2023, US$ to AMD and RUB to AMD exchange rates remained low, but US$ to AMD saw a significant increase in October 2023. Remittances to Armenia in September 2023 totaled US$96.9 million, with Russia as the top contributor. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.1 percent in October 2023 compared to October 2022, while food prices decreased by 3 percent. The highest annual price drops were in "Oils and fats" (19 percent) and "Bread and cereals" (8.4 percent) groups. Certain regions had higher food prices (Armavir and Ararat) and lower prices (Tavush, Lori, Kotayk, Shirak, and Syunik). In fuel prices, regular diesel decreased by 12 percent in October 2023, while petrol increased by 9 percent from October 2022. However, both diesel and petrol prices increased by 8 and 7 percent, respectively, compared to September 2023.
Between September 2022 and September 2023, the exchange rates for US$ and RUB against Armenian Dram (AMD) went down, with a slight increase in US$ to AMD in September. Remittances coming into Armenia in August 2023 amounted to US$202.3 million, with Russia, the USA, Germany, Sweden, and the UK being the top senders. Food prices dropped by 3.1 percent, with the most significant decreases in meat, fish, and cereals. In some regions of Armenia, food prices decreased notably. Diesel prices decreased by 19 percent, but petrol prices increased by 1 percent from the previous year. Unemployment was 11.7 percent, and the average monthly wage was AMD 261,234. The cost of a basic food basket was AMD 34,825, and the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Emergency basket was AMD 14,403 or $37, with specific nutritional content.
The Fourth Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment (FSVA4) was conducted to understand the poverty and food insecurity linkages in Armenia and estimate the exclusion of food and nutrition insecure households from the Government's Family Living Standards Enhancement Benefit Programme (FLSEBP).
