Evaluation of “Japan’s Non-Project Grant Aid for Provision of Japanese Local Products for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (FY2014)”

Link to the full report

Background, Objectives, and Scope of the Evaluation

This evaluation was conducted on the “Non-Project Grant Aid for Provision of Japanese Local Products for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (FY2014)” (hereinafter referred to as “2014 Non-Project Grant Aid for Provision of Japanese Local Products”) (grant amount: 1 billion JPY), which was implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (hereinafter referred to as “MOFA”). The purpose of this project-level evaluation was to obtain recommendations from the evaluation results that can be used for similar projects in the future and to fulfill accountability to the public.

The 2014 Non-Project Grant Aid for Provision of Japanese Local Products was implemented with the aim of reducing the financial burden on the Government of Jordan, which has increased due to the acceptance of a large number of Syrian refugees, by providing medical equipment produced in the regions of Japan except Tokyo metropolitan area or in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. It also aimed to raise awareness of the locally produced Japanese medical equipment, to create continuous demand, thereby to contribute to revitalization of the local economy and reconstruction of the disaster areas.

Summary of Evaluation Results

(1) Relevance of Plans

In response to the Syrian crisis, the Government of Jordan has positioned healthcare sector as one of the priority areas in the national development objectives and the Syrian refugee response plans, and this project was in line with the needs expressed in those plans. In addition, the Government of Japan has been promoting cooperation utilizing Japan’s advanced medical technology as part of its support to the Middle East region to ensure peace and stability. The Country Assistance Policy for Jordan positioned “reduction of poverty and minimizing social disparities,” including assistance in the healthcare sector, as one of the Priority Areas. This project was consistent with the diplomatic and development cooperation policies of the Government of Japan.

Furthermore, at the time of the implementation of this project, three years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Government of Japan was promoting the strengthening of the foundations of the Japanese economy by capturing the vitality of overseas growth markets and the overseas expansion of Japanese companies through public-private partnerships. It was appropriate that this project was selected as a Non-Project Grant Aid for Provision of Japanese Local Products which provides equipment produced in Japan.

In the planning stage, although a change to the contents of the grant aid were agreed upon between the two governments during the period between the time of request and signing of the Exchange of Notes (hereinafter referred to as “E/N”), no records of the related discussions were kept, and it was not possible to confirm the specific history of the change. However, the work during the planning stage of this project was carried out without delay in accordance with the standard implementation structure of the Economic and Social Development Programme (formerly known as Non-Project Grant Aid (hereinafter referred to as “Non-Project Grant Aid”)) and in line with its standard workflow.
(Evaluation Result: Satisfactory)

(2) Effectiveness of Results

During the implementation and monitoring stages of this project, the works were carried out without any problems in accordance with the standard workflow, and the payment was implemented as planned in terms of both amount and timing. The requested equipment selected by the intergovernmental committee was procured through competitive bidding and delivered to four hospitals in Jordan under the condition that the main manufacturing sites were regions outside Tokyo metropolitan area or the “specific disaster area” of the Great East Japan Earthquake. In addition to the initial operational training at the time of delivery, additional trainings were provided by the local agent, and other proactive efforts were made to ensure proper use and maintenance of the equipment. On the other hand, local media coverage was limited to the E/N signing, and there was no media coverage on the equipment delivery due to the fact that the handover ceremony was not held. 

In this project, warranty periods of up to three years were set for some of the equipment requiring high level of maintenance. In addition, even after the warranty period expired, the maintenance contracts with the local agents were renewed through the Jordanian Ministry of Health (MOH) budget. All of the delivered equipment has been in good working order to date and is used on a daily basis, especially in government hospitals that accept patients from low- and middle-income groups.
(Evaluation Result: Satisfactory)

*Ratings: Highly Satisfactory; Satisfactory; Partially Satisfactory; Unsatisfactory

Recommendations Based on Evaluation Results

(1) Conducting Handover Ceremony and Effective Publicity

In this project, the E/N signing was reported in both English and Arabic in the local press, but the equipment handover ceremony was not held and was not reported in the local press at any time during the implementation stage. However, the completion of the equipment delivery was in 2018, before the outbreak of COVID-19, which indicates the possibility to hold a handover ceremony. 

In the Grant Aid for the Economic and Social Development Programme (formerly Non-Project Grant Aid), which has promotion of Japanese equipment and overseas expansion of Japanese companies as one of the objectives, it is important to effectively publicize Japan’s assistance. In order to enhance the publicity effects of such assistance, it is advisable to ensure that handover ceremonies are held. As the case of this project, in cases where multiple procurements are made, a handover ceremony could be held for each package.

(2) Preservation of Document Records

In this project, there was a significant change in the contents of the assistance between the time of the request and the E/N signing. Normally, no official records are required for discussions prior to the E/N signing, and records of daily discussions with the partner government via telephone or email are destroyed after a certain period of time. Therefore, the history of the change and the evidence of the agreement regarding the contents of this project could not be confirmed through this evaluation survey. However, in order to conduct effective third-party evaluations, it is desirable to record the details of the agreement and its background as much as possible in writing documents, especially for critical decisions and changes, and to review the retention period of such records. 

In addition, when implementing ODA based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, it is important to record lessons learned about successes, areas for improvement, and areas for reflection, and to track them even after several years have passed since the implementation of the project, so that they can be used in the implementation of future projects.

Angiography systems, Fluoroscopy machine