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Strategy of intervention

What are you looking for?

Problems are often complex, and there are generally several ways to improve a situation. Aid agencies must decide on a strategy of intervention. The objective tree can be a good basis on which to draw up the strategy of intervention.

Example of high child mortality

The following points should be considered to find the best path:

  • What lies within our sphere of influence, and what does not?
  • Is the cost proportional to the results?
  • What are the preconditions for successful implementation?
  • What risks are there? How likely is it that they will occur? Could the consequences jeopardise the success of the project?
  • What desirable or undesirable effects are conceivable?

An intervention should be as effective as possible and the costs of carrying it through should remain proportionate. The necessary conditions for successful implementation must be realistically present. There should be no risks that are highly likely to occur and thereby jeopardise the success of the project. Undesirable side effects should be avoided as best as possible.

Evaluation of various measures

Chosen strategy of intervention

We implement a programme containing the following projects in the poorest parts of Country A from 2008 to 2015:

  1. Health course project
    We offer preventive health courses for young mothers so that they may find out about the links between drinking water and health and adjust their behaviour accordingly.
  2. Well-building project
    We improve the infrastructure and build wells so that within a short space of time more people have access to clean drinking water and use it instead of drinking unclean water.
  3. Medical care project
    We improve medical care for children by introducing mobile health clinics and handing out medicine.

Contribution to longer-term development goal (impact hypothesis)

Less children falling ill with diarrhoea as a result of increased use of clean drinking water and ill children receiving better medical care are both contributions to reducing child mortality in the affected region (Millennium Development Goal).