During 2004 Christian Care reviewed the performance of its programmes to ensure that they aligned with the organisation’s Strategic Objectives and had a significant impact on communities’ lives. The active programmes were at that time categorised into 9 thematic areas; Food Security and Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Dam Construction and Irrigation, Income Generation Projects, Livestock and Pasture Development, Disaster Relief, HIV and AIDS, Gender, Advocacy.
Christian Care has recognised that there were a number of overlaps within their 9 thematic programme areas that limited their effectiveness and impact on communities’ lives, such as the best use of human and financial resources across the organisation, and the achievement of the Strategic Objectives, i.e. spreading technical capacity too thin meant impact (Christian Cares ability to create sustainable good change with communities) was negatively affected. Programme review has led Christian Care to consolidate from 9 thematic areas to 6 thematic areas (3 of which focus on cross-cutting issues and support the others), as follows:
HIV and AIDS
Food Security and Nutrition
Emergencies and Disasters
Water and Sanitation
Development Education
Key cross cutting issues such as Gender, Environment and HIV and AIDS will be mainstreamed across Christian Care’s programmes. However, given the severity of the situation in Zimbabwe regarding HIV and AIDS as well as the nations rapidly deteriorating socio-politico and economic environment it was agreed that HIV and AIDS and Development Capacity Building issues should also remain as programmes in their own right.
