Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB): A guide to calculate the transfer value

The Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) for the Philippines outlines the minimum culturally-adjusted items for survival of a household of five for one month, post Typhoon. The basket comprises the basic energy requirements of 2,100 kilocalories per day, shelter needs for disaster-affected households, non-food items, WASH, health, clothing and education items as well as necessary services, basic livelihood restoration items and minimal debt relief.

The MEB is developed for use by humanitarian organizations designing and/or implementing cash assistance programs in the Philippines. This document presents the standard MEB value based on consensus among the Cash Working Group (CWG) members and the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) and outlines a Transfer Value (TV) for humanitarian cash transfers based on a percentage coverage of the MEB.

This document underlines the way in which the MEB and the TV were designed. The objective of this document is to harmonize the delivery of humanitarian cash assistance across the Philippines among all cash transfer practitioners.