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Markets

Well-functioning markets are a lifeline for people affected by crises. Effective cash and voucher assistance (CVA) uses and supports local markets. Market analysis must therefore be a key part of the response cycle, for cash programming and other forms of humanitarian assistance.

When designing a humanitarian intervention and deciding whether to use CVA, a market analysis should be part of the overall response analysis. Supporting markets to function well has been shown to lead to faster recovery and increased resilience in disaster affected areas.

Many organizations have invested in the development of tools to support market analysis and are considering market-based programming more holistically. This includes interventions that use the market (such as cash transfers to affected populations), as well as interventions that directly support markets (such as conditional grants to traders to get their market back up and running).

Latest

External Evaluation of SDC/HA Emergency Cash Pilot For Earthquake Affected Households in Bubq, Albania

Report

In November 2019, Albania was hit by a large earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4, causing 51 people to lose their lives and injuring 913 people. Around 47,000 additional people were directly affected by the earthquake. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) immediately deployed a rapid...

15 April 2020

Cash Feasibility Assessment for NorthWest Syria

Report

The objective of this cash feasibility assessment for northwest Syria is to provide evidence-based, structured analysis of the various dimensions that make cash and vouchers interventions feasible. The primary audience for this document are all the organizations either currently involved in cash-based...

7 April 2020

Statement on Likely Impacts of COVID-19 on Humanitarian Cash Transfers in Yemen

Report

The COVID-19 pandemic has now spread to the Middle East. Countries across the region are imposing measures to prevent further spread of the virus. Currently there are no confirmed cases in Yemen, but it is highly likely that COVID-19 will eventually reach the country. Organizations are shifting funding...

April 2020

MERS Guidance in Response to COVID-19

Guidelines and Tools

Markets play a critical role in how people survive, as well as being physical places where people meet to buy and sell goods. As COVID-19 disrupts the normal activities and relationships of communities we can look to the Minimum Economic Recovery Standards for some guidance on what to do. Now, when social...

30 March 2020

Sphere: Humanitarian Standards and Coronavirus 2020

Guidelines and Tools

Coronavirus is spreading globally. How can individuals, communities,
humanitarian actors, local and national authorities best respond to uphold the rights of all affected people?

26 March 2020

ICRC Tipsheet: Cash and Voucher Assistance and COVID-19

Guidelines and Tools

This tipsheet serves as guidance to help field teams think through different ways:
1) to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through ongoing Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA);
2) inform the adaptation of CVA in the context of COVID-19;
3) promote sensitivity to evolving markets dynamics.
This tipsheet is...

21 March 2020

The Case for Cash in Responding to Humanitarian Crises in Malawi

Report

A policy paper by the Malawi INGO Cash Consortium which makes the case for cash assistance as a response modality to humanitarian crises. It gives a brief overview of global evidence for cash and previous cash experience in Malawi, and makes several key recommendations. One of these key recommendations is...

12 March 2020

South Sudan Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI)

Report

In an effort to better inform cash-based interventions and understand market dynamics in South Sudan, the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) was created by the South Sudan Cash Working Group (CWG) in August 2019. The initiative is guided by the JMMI Technical Working Group (JMMI-TWG), led by REACH...

23 January 2020

It’s Planning Season Again – What CVA actors need to know about changes to the Humanitarian Programme Cycle

Blog Post

This time last year we wrote a planning season call to arms, urging Cash Working Groups (CWGs) and Clusters to work together for better inclusion of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) in the Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP). Well planning season has rolled around again, this time with some significant...

30 August 2019

Guidance on Market Based Programming for Humanitarian WASH Practitioners

Guidelines and Tools

The purpose of this document is to provide practical guidance in preparedness, assessment, program design, implementation and monitoring related to Market-Based Programming (MBP) in humanitarian WASH assistance, and more specifically on: How to identify linkages between markets and WASH services &...

12 August 2019

A New Blueprint for the Future of Financial Assistance

Blog Post

Ahead of our workshop on the Future of Financial Assistance in Amman on 24 and 25 July, Paula Gil Baizan, independent expert and a member of the steering committee for the CALP Network’s Future of Financial Assistance work, encourages us to re-imagine the blueprint upon which we build the future of...

15 July 2019

Recommended transfer values for Cash and Vouchers Assistance in the 2019 drought response

Report

This brief provides an updated set of regional recommended transfer values based on the March 2019 MEB (the most updated MEB at the time of writing) and serves to provide guidance to the cash and voucher component of the 2019 drought response. The recommendations are directed at transfers for IPC phases 3...

May 2019

Market Assessment in Bandua, Inanjou and Buzi

Report

This report presents the outcome of an assessment in three markets following the impact of cyclone Idai. The overall objectives of the market assessment were to understand the functionality of the markets at the current stage and its ability to cater to the increased multi-sectoral needs if vouchers are...

April 2019

Cash Enthusiast’s Guide to Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week

Blog Post

The fifth Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) will be held at the International Conference Centre (CICG) in Geneva, Switzerland from 4-8 February 2019.

1 February 2019