The French development agency, the AFD, commissioned ITAR to conduct the evaluation of the agency’s response to the 2020 Beirut Port explosion. The evaluation assessed 11 projects across multiple sectors—including health, MHPSS, economic resilience, education and vocational training, and urban rehabilitation—through: 1) in-depth evaluations of six projects; 2) documentary analysis of five additional projects; and 3) a cross-sectional analysis of all eleven projects.
The study aimed to:
- Assess AFD’s response using OECD-DAC criteria, focusing on relevance and added value as a development donor in an emergency context;
- Develop strategic and operational recommendations for future crisis response, both in Lebanon and beyond; and
- Analyse the perception and visibility of AFD and France as donors.
The evaluation concluded with a series of workshops engaging AFD teams and implementing partners to refine and prioritise recommendations for future crisis response strategies.
