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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

Market Systems in Libya: Assessment of the Wheat Flour, Insulin, Tomato and Soap Supply Chains

Report

The Market Systems in Libya assessment aims to provide humanitarian organisations with a better understanding of market dynamics in Libya, information on key supply chains and how they have been impacted by ongoing conflict, and the necessary foundation to examine the potential of scaling up market and...

October 2017

UNHCR Multi-Sector Market Assessment (MSMA): Charcoal, water, low-income rental housing and core-relief items in Maiduguri, Jere and Konduga, Borno State, Nigeria

Report

To assess the capacity of markets to respond to cash based initiatives (CBI), including multi-purpose cash grants (MPG), the UNHCR Multi-Sector Market Assessment (MSMA) was piloted in Maiduguri Municipal Council (MMC), Jere and Konduga Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Borno State, Nigeria in July 2017....

October 2017

Libya Cash and Markets Working Group (CMWG) Advocacy and Communications Plan

Report

The Libya Cash & Markets Working Group (CMWG) Strategic Framework & 2017 Workplan outlines ‘communication and advocacy’ as a ‘deliverable’ for supporting ‘HC/HCT decision making’.
Throughout March & April 2017, the CMWG Steering Committee used a series of tools as part of a seven-step process...

August 2017

Supporting markets in emergencies. Scoping study

Report

A review of recent humanitarian interventions that support local markets in emergency contexts revealed a limited scope and breadth of this type of activity. While many agencies show good creativity and understanding of market systems in emergencies, most activities are in the form of small grants to...

May 2017

Cash and Markets Monthly Dashboard DRAFT April 2017

Guidelines and Tools

• The cash and markets, monthly dashboard presents current data on market prices of key commodities and the cost of the minimum expenditure basked (MEB) across Somalia. In addition, it also provides key highlights relevant to cash and market interventions.
• Page one presents the cost of the food MEB...

April 2017

MEB and Transfer Value Guide

Guidelines and Tools

This document is the harmonized Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) and transfer value of the Libya Cash & Markets WG (CMWG) for April – June 2017 (Q2). Currently the data available is only enough to inform calculations for Libyans (IDPs and host).

29 March 2017

NFI Market Assessment Report – Somalia

Report

The Shelter Cluster, through its regional coordinators rolled out NFI market assessments in six towns including Mogadishu, Kismayo, Bossaso, Baidoa and Dobley through a rapid mobile technology based market survey tool. The purpose of the survey was to establish where NFI markets exist and what items are...

March 2017

Fitting aid to context: community experiences of aid delivery in northern Syria

Report

The ongoing conflict in Syria has left 13.5 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance. Several local and international organisations provide aid to northern Syria, but their chosen modalities fail to effectively meet community members’ needs.  While aiming to respond to immediate short-term...

2017

Aid in context: the importance of market-based approaches to aid delivery in northern Syria

Report

With the Syrian conflict now in its seventh year, 13.5 million Syrians need humanitarian aid. But aid in northern Syria focuses inflexibly on food kits that are expensive to administer, designed to satisfy short-term needs. Many people sell their food aid to pay for other urgent needs. This
undermines...

2017

Interim Guidance Note on Determining Cash Transfers Values for Food Security

Guidelines and Tools

The objective of this guidance note, as laid out in the Terms of Reference, is to: Leverage FSC partners’ knowledge and experience to develop guidance on cash transfer value logic for both unconditional and relevant food security cash for work/assets3 programming. It focusses on acute food insecurity...

2017

Improving the Uptake of Humanitarian Market Analysis

Guidelines and Tools

Market assessments and market-based programming are now widely considered best practice in humanitarian programming, especially among food security and livelihoods actors. They are embedded in various standard-bearing initiatives, and there are a number of tools for emergency market analysis and...

2017

Mobile Money in Somalia – Household Survey and Market Analysis

Report

Key findings from an assessment of mobile money in Somalia. Provides information about mobile money penetration; practicalities; usage; perceptions and the use of shillings versus dollars.

2017

Karamoja Market Assessment

Report

A market assessment of the feasibility of cash transfers in the Karamoja region – Executive summary

2017

Checking Back – Using Cash and Vouchers in Somalia: Recommendations from the 2011-12 Somalia Drought Response

Report

This paper brings together recommendations from some of the key reports and evaluations from the 2011 Somalia drought response. The process of preparing this paper involved reviewing 17 reports and identifying five that had recommendations which could be useful for all agencies involved the current...

2017

Multisectoral Basic Needs and Market Assessment Moyo Uganda

Report

A multisectoral basic needs and market assessment done in Palorinya settlement and the host communities within Moyo district. Focuses are on basic needs and cash feasibility, the education system gaps, the firewood issues and access to loans and credit.
Data were gathered in December 2017, with...

2017

Rapid Market Assessment Sofala Province, Mozambique

Report

The joint TDY between USAID/FFP and FEWS NET Mozambique to Sofala Province, Mozambique had two distinct objectives: 1) Assess current food security and market conditions including: a) Scale of humanitarian assistance relative to needs
b) Understand maize market structure, conduct and performance
c)...

2017

Using Cash and Vouchers in Somalia in 2017: The Need to Build on Learning from the 2011-12 Somalia Drought Response

Report

During the 2011-12 drought response in Somalia, cash and vouchers were distributed at scale – a response that was unusual in such a context at that time. In 2017 cash is accepted as highly appropriate and is a major part of response plans. While it may not always be possible to apply all best...

2017