5. Chapter 5: PILOT INTERVENTION AND EVALUATION FINDINGS
5.4 Operational evaluation
As described in the methods chapter (section 3.6), the impact of women’s participation on the overall tsetse control operation and its sustainability was assessed in three ways: i) through evaluation of target deployment, ii) assessment of target maintenance at three time points and iii) through calculation of its cost- effectiveness.
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Quality of target deployment
A total of 194 targets were deployed by women across an area of 13.9 km2 (Figure 5.10). The results show that therewere some gaps in deployment on some sections along the river that occurred due to the difficulty in agreeing where the exact boundaries between the villages lay. The overall density of deployed targets however, was ~14 targets per km2, which far exceeded the recommended level of 6 targets per km2 [47] and this density was sufficient to control tsetse population in the intervention area.
Target maintenance
Fully functional targets (with inserted wooden poles or hanging targets with attached ropes) were distributed to the women in the deployment phase (Village 1: 42 targets, Village 2: 108 targets, Village 3: 44 targets; Total: 194). Figure 5.11 and Figure 5.12 show the percentage of these fully functional targets and how they were maintained over 6 months intervention. Field assessment of deployment showed that targets were deployed in the recommended way – within 5 m of the river (ground targets) and less than 50 centimetres above water level (hanging targets). The area around each target was cleared of vegetation and 95% of the deployed targets were fully visible when assessed. Three months after deployment, 75% of targets were still fully functional and 65% of the sites were cleared of vegetation. The percentages declined to 51% and 38% respectively six months after deployment. This compares very
102 favourably with the nearby large-scale operation24 where only 22% (107/475) of the targets were functional six months after deployment25 (personal communication, Esterhuizen J., January, 2013).
24 External operation was implemented without community participation; communities in the trial area only received information on intervention and explanation on tsetse control tools.
25 No data for target sites-condition is available from externally-led intervention.
Figure 5.11: Graph showing the percentage of functional targets (6 months long intervention)
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Cost-effectiveness
The cost of action research
The total cost of action research included all the elements related to preparation, intervention and evaluation and was calculated for the overall area of 13.9 km2. Expenditure, travel and time inputs were recorded during the work and are summarised in the tables below converting USD to UGX as appropriate26. The total external (research team) financial input was 9,612 USD (Table 5.1), the total internal (community) financial input was equivalent to USD 186 (Table 5.2). This gives a total research programme cost of: USD 9,798, or USD 3,266 per village (for 3 villages) or USD 705 per km2 (for 13.9 km2), of which 78% was used by the research team for transport. Of the community inputs, 90% (or 1.7% of the total cost) was for participant time, calculated as an opportunity cost.
26 Conversions from UGX to USD were done at the rate of UGX 2595 = USD 1, as explained in section 3.6/cost effectiveness. Figures for the USD conversions are rounded, so there may be some minor differences due to the calculations being undertaken using more decimal places than are given in the summary tables or text.
Figure 5.12: Graph showing the percentage of fully cleared target sites (6 months long intervention)
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Table 5.1: Costs of full action research programme in 2013: external inputs
Item and category USD
Staff
Researcher27 (2 months’ salary at USD 597.36/month) 1195 Researcher daily field allowance (17 days at USD 5.78/day) 98 Driver and translator/facilitator (17 days’ pay each at USD
11.56/day) 393
Transport
Use of Toyota pick-up (5712 km at USD 1.17 per km) 6683
Fuel (635 litres at USD 1.464 per litre) 930
Equipment
Targets (194 at USD 1.10) 213
Ropes for hanging targets (1 at USD 20.81) 21
Stationery (materials used at mentoring meeting) 12 Refreshments
Samosas 63
Napkins and sugar 4
Total external 9612
The researcher spent 44 days involved in work related to intervention and evaluation, which is equivalent to two months comprised of 17 days to prepare, 17 days in the field and 10 days data management. The monthly salary rate paid to the team leader was that for a local entomologist of USD 597 and a daily field allowance of just under USD 6 per day was added. Similarly, local salary rates for the driver and translator/facilitator were used. The research team spent 40 hours in meetings and 68 hours driving (17 meetings x 4 hours driving) resulting in a total of 108 hours. Transport involved 17 days travel in a Toyota land cruiser over a total of 5,712 (336 km per field trip). The running cost per km, including depreciation, were estimated over a year’s use and came to USD 1.17 [49]. The targets cost USD 1 each plus an estimated USD 0.10 for transport by sea versus USD 0.13 to 0.40 for transport by air (ibid.). A total of 194 targets were deployed (approximately 10 per woman participating in the programme), giving an average density of 14.0 targets per km2. Stationery consisted of two marker pens, a flip chart stand and a paper. For mentoring meetings, the research team provided refreshments consisting of locally made samosas and napkins and on one occasion a kilogram of sugar for the tea, which was provided by participants. The research team did not give any gifts to the community members.
27 To make costing comparable to ‘externally-led intervention’, researcher salary and allowances were valued at Uganda government local rates for a senior entomologist. The objective of costing the action research was not to cost it as a research project, but rather to obtain a baseline for calculation of community based programme.
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Table 5.2: Costs of full action research programme in 2013: internal inputs
Item and category USD
Staff
Opportunity cost of women’s time (USD 8.35 each, for 32.5 hours work, by
20 women) 167
Estimated depreciation on owned equipment used for project work Table, 3 chairs and sitting mat (total value USD 10.40) estimated life 6 months for furniture, 3 months for mat, so depreciation over 3 weeks
would be USD 1.59) 2
Equipment for clearing vegetation: slashers and pangas (15 at USD 1.73), hoes (3 at USD 2.70), sickles (2 at USD 1.54), total value USD 37.19, estimated life 1 year’s full use, so depreciation over 3 weeks would be
USD 2.30 2
Gum boots (9 pairs at USD 7.71) estimated life 1 year ‘s full use, so
depreciation over 3 weeks would be USD 4 4
Refreshments
Mangoes, roasted maize and tea 5
Gifts given to research team
Avocados, mangoes and a necklace 6
Total internal 186
The time invested by community members (20 women) was calculated at 32.5 hours each, valued at UGX 433,560. The significance of this and how its value was calculated is discussed below under ‘opportunity cost’. Although 20 women in total were involved in the implementation of all operational phases, a greater number participated in the meetings. There were no transport costs as participants walked to meetings or to undertake the various tasks entailed by the intervention. The time taken to walk to and from the meetings (~0.5 hour/person, total), however, is included in the ‘staff’ calculations. The equipment consisted of chairs, tables and mats, which were used for a fortnight. The mats cost 6,000 UGX and were estimated to have a useful life of 3 months. The tables cost UGX 3,000 and chairs UGX 18,000; with a useful life of 1 year. So 1/12 and 1/24 of their respective values was included in the cost of this project. The total market value for slashers, pangas, hoe, sickle and gum boots was depreciated over the 3 –week period during which tsetse control activities were carried out. For remaining equipment, refreshments and gifts given to the research team, costs are calculated at actual prices paid or the market value.
Opportunity cost of women’s time
In total, 20 women were actively involved in all phases of action research. During the programme, each woman dedicated, on average 32.5 hours over a period of six months (Table 5.3, Action research). Over two thirds of this time (21 hours) was spent walking to and attending mentoring meetings.
106 I carried out a calculation of the opportunity cost by calculating how much income participants potentially sacrificed by giving time to attend mentoring meetings and activities, time that would otherwise have been spent on income generating activities. Participants reported that the most common income generation activity in the research location is paid labour for working in a landowner’s fields; this typically includes preparation for planting (re-digging the soil) or harvesting. According to participants, these paid activities are carried out by men and women and there is no gender differential in payment. For instance, workers typically receive UGX 30,000 (USD 11.56) for digging a quarter of a field (~ 0.1 Ha). The participants also reported that it takes on average three people, three days (working approximately five hours a day) to finish digging a quarter of a field. In short, each person receives UGX 667 (just over USD 0.25) per hour of work.
Using this calculation, a woman who regularly participated in our programme would have sacrificed a total of UGX 21,678 (or USD 8.35) of potential income. This amount, according to the socio-demographic questionnaire (section 4.3; Appendix C, Table C2) is equivalent to almost half of a household’s monthly cash income, which was estimated to be UGX 38,000.
Cost of a community-based intervention over a three year period
The overall cost of action research included elements that were linked to the research processes rather than the tsetse control itself. A number of meetings with women were organized to evaluate how their perceptions of managing intervention changed over time. The likely costs of community-based intervention were accordingly adjusted by excluding the items that were purely for research.
The likely cost of a community managed intervention, if it ran for three years and with support of an expert Ugandan team (entomologist, driver and facilitator), was estimated over an area equivalent to action research area (~ 13.9 km2). We allowed for one deployment and one target maintenance (re- deployment) round every year. In this situation, sensitization was planned for only in year 1. It has been shown that once good knowledge and acceptance of tsetse control tools are achieved through the sensitisation of local people, the necessary level of community awareness is likely to be sustained for at least the three years, as assumed in the costings below [138]. Similarly, the measurement of the rivers to plan target deployment was assumed to be necessary only in the first year, as target positions remain unchanged for the entire duration of intervention.
107 For the internal inputs, the time inputs of village women were assumed to be reduced from the 32.5 hours required for the action research process to 19 hours in year 1, and then to 12.5 hours in year 2 and 3 (Table 5.3).
Table 5.3: Inputs of time by each woman participating in tsetse control Action research
programme (as implemented over 6 months)
Estimated for 3-year control programme
Activity Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Number of meetings 7 3 2 2
Time required for activities
Time walking to and from meeting (hours)28 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Time at meeting (hours) 2.5 2 2 2
Sub-total: time for meetings (hours) 21 7.5 5 5
Sensitising community members (hours) 1 1 0 0
Measuring river (hours) 3 3 0 0
Target deployment (once a year) 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5
Target maintenance (once a year) 4 4 4 4
Total hours 32.5 19 12.5 12.5
For the external contributions, the time inputs were estimated as follows. The external team leader (district entomologist) and driver would spend one third of the month working on the tsetse control intervention. The total field days estimated are five for the team leader29 and seven30 for driver and facilitator (Table 5.4). The calculation of transport is based on the use of a motorbike for seven days and 336 kilometres (Table 5.4) for each field trip. The distribution of targets was costed as being undertaken using a motorbike that would carry both the team leader and driver. This follows common practice in other current local operations in assuming that two people would share a motorbike, instead of requiring a 4x4 pick-up or similar vehicle for this activity. The number of targets deployed in the area was rounded up to 200 from the 194 actually issued during the action research programme, bringing the average density up to 14.4 per km2. With an average life of 6 months, 1200 targets would be required for three years of deployment.
28 15 minutes was an average walking time to the meeting place.
29 Five field days for the team leaders were estimated for: introduction and training on targets (2 days), planning (1 day), demonstration of deployment (1 day), post deployment debriefing (1 day).
30 Two additional field days were added for delivery of the targets to the villages on deployment day and maintenance day 6 months later.
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Table 5.4: Estimated cost of a three year implementation programme: external inputs
Item and category USD
Staff
Team leader - entomologist (1/3 of a month, including 5 field days) – 1/3 of
monthly salary of USD 597.36 199
Entomologist’s daily field allowance (5 days at USD 5.78) 29 Driver (1/3 of a month, all of it spent in the field) 1/3 of monthly salary of USD
135 45
Driver’s daily field allowance (7 days at USD 4.24) 30 Facilitator (locally recruited, 7 days at USD 11.56) 81 Transport
Use of motorbike (336 km per field day for 7 days, making 2352 km at USD
0.33 per km) 776
Fuel (123 litres at USD 1.46 per litre) 180
Equipment
Targets (1200 at USD 1.10) 1320
Ropes for hanging targets (6 at USD 20.81) 125
Stationery (UGX 20,000 per year) 23
Slashers/pangas (bought for villagers, 20 at USD 1.73, 3 year life, 10% of
depreciation to project, total cost USD 3.47) 4
Gumboots (bought for villagers, 20 at USD 7.71, 10% of depreciation to project,
total cost USD 15.41) 15
Refreshments
Samosas, napkins, sugar (provided over 3 years) 77 Total external 2904
Table 5.5: Estimated cost of a three year implementation programme: internal community inputs
Item and category USD
Staff
Opportunity cost of women’s time (USD 11.31 each, for 44 hours work, by 20
women) 226
Equipment
Table, 3 chairs and sitting mat (total value USD 10.40, estimated life 6 months,
so depreciation over 2 x 3 weeks would be USD 2.60) 3 Refreshments
Mangoes, roasted maize and tea (USD 3 per year) 9
Gifts given to team
Fruit, etc. (USD 3 per year) 9
Total internal 247
On the basis of the above, for a three year intervention, the external inputs totalled USD 2,904 and USD 968 per year (Table 5.4) and the internal inputs came to USD 247 in total and USD 82 per year (Table 5.5). The overall percentage breakdown of costs was 92% for the external inputs 8% for the internal inputs.
109 The overall cost of a three year community-based programme would total USD 3,151, USD 1,050 per year or USD 75.6 per km2 per year, excluding all research components as well as the cost of monitoring tsetse populations.
In this cost analysis, not all the categories were comparable to the costing of the government-based delivery model that was costed through externally led interventions [49]. After adjustments were made for differences in transport and target densities (details in Appendix D2), the community scheme was USD 43.4 per km2 as compared to USD 71.2 for the local government scheme (assuming the exclusion of tsetse monitoring and surveying).