The Republic of Cabo Verde is a lower middle-income country with a stable democracy. It faces some structural economic challenges, mostly due to its location and topography, which were exacerbated by the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism, the sector the country depends on for income and jobs.

In Cabo Verde, UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF work together as a Joint Office, with the aim of presenting a unified presence and integrated programme delivery. The implementation of this model still faces challenges due to the lack of integrated financial and accountability instruments.

The Common Country Programme rolled out by the Joint Office made some important contributions to the country’s development results. Notable successes are in its support for new education, health and energy policies, provision of cash assistance and COVID-19 vaccines, and the promotion of gender equality.

Moving forward, as the three agencies continue their support to Cabo Verde, the next Common Country Programme should fully establish the Joint Office governance model, with all of its checks and balances. In addition, the Joint Office should step up its efforts to assist the Government to identify new sources of financing to support sustainable and equitable recovery post-pandemic.

This Joint Independent Common Country Programme Evaluation was jointly commissioned by the Independent Evaluation Office of UNDP, UNFPA Evaluation Office and the Evaluation Office of UNICEF. The evaluation covers the United Nations Common Country Programme interventions implemented between 2018 to 2022.

The Maternal and Newborn Health Thematic Fund (MHTF) is a key contributor to the UNFPA presence and leadership of maternal health at the global level. The MHTF was established in 2008, and this evaluation covers its third phase from 2018 to 2022.

The evaluation assesses the extent to which the MHTF has contributed to strengthening health systems, improving quality of care, and advancing equity, human rights and accountability to stakeholders in 32 high-burden countries. It determines MHTF’s ability to scale up integration of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) with maternal and newborn health (MNH) services. The evaluation also identifies key lessons and challenges of the MHTF that will inform its next phase.

The evaluation finds that, with the MHTF, UNFPA is a partner of choice providing visible and valued support to critical MNH priorities. The MHTF is a technically sophisticated tool for supporting MNH in programme countries, especially in its four priority areas of midwifery, emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC), Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) and fistula. Midwifery is the anchor of the MHTF and the cornerstone of the UNFPA MNH response. The MHTF delivers value for money, both globally and for individual countries. However, the MHTF is not clearly positioned within a holistic UNFPA MNH strategic framework. If not addressed, critical gaps highlighted by the evaluation will limit the relevance and the sustainability of the MHTF investments.

The evaluation recommends the MHTF to expand into a new phase focusing on SRHR-MNH integration and support. The MHTF should also be positioned within a comprehensive UNFPA maternal health strategy and action plan.