A Mokoro team with expertise in social protection, humanitarian response, and evaluation led this evaluation of WFP’s cash‑based transfers and social protection activities in Moldova, assessing how emergency assistance transitioned to national systems and how WFP prepared for a responsible exit between March 2022 and August 2025.

The evaluation examined WFP’s rapid entry into Moldova following the start of the Ukraine crisis in early 2022, when WFP first provided hot meals to refugees and cash support to host households. As the response expanded under successive strategic plans, WFP began supporting vulnerable Moldovans and strengthening the national social protection system. This included digitalising social assistance processes, improving the system’s ability to respond to shocks, and supporting local social canteens. The evaluation assessed how WFP’s role evolved from delivering emergency aid to helping the Government of Moldova strengthen its long‑term systems and capacity.

Mokoro used a mixed‑methods approach tailored to the context. This included outcome harvesting with frontline social workers to understand the effects of WFP’s capacity support, as well as structured timeline analysis and document‑production mapping to understand how WFP’s strategy, partnerships and responsibilities in Moldova changed over time. Fieldwork in Moldova over a two‑week period included consultations with government, United Nations agencies, civil society and other partners. Gender and inclusion were integrated throughout the design and analysis.

The evaluation produced a final report, an evaluation brief, and a standalone case study, providing evidence to guide WFP’s responsible exit from Moldova and offering lessons for future social protection engagement in fragile and refugee‑hosting contexts.

The photograph illustrating this project was taken by Sasha Pleshco and published under the ‘Unsplash’ license.