This report provides an account of two participatory rural appraisal (PRA) field exercises. The aim of the field work was for participants of a workshop for health planners and sanitarians to gain practical experience of using PRA tools.
A detailed outline of training activities is presented. The training included 5 days in the classroom, and 3 days conducting field work. The training schedule, exercises, rationale and evaluation are explained, as is the way in which the theory of PRA and the practical tools were approached.
The Ogaden Needs Assessment Study was undertaken as a joint exercise between SCF(UK) and the Pastoral Surveillance Team of the RRC Early Warning and Planning Services. The trigger for the study was the influx into the Ogaden of thousands of returnees from Somalia and concern about capacity of the region to support the growing population. A rural sample survey was carried out using two helicopters. The objective was to establish the nutritional status of children and also to get data on grain production, consumption, sale and exchange, and the prospects of the food economy.