Measuring Markets That Supply Cash-Based Humanitarian Interventions

Abstract

The humanitarian sector is rapidly shifting to a new business model that combines a high reliance on cash-based interventions with traditional goods distributions for humanitarian response. While one reason that agencies are shifting to “cash” is to contribute to recovery, growth and resilience of local markets, measurement of the effect of interventions on markets is not commonly done. This chapter focuses on how to harness lessons from commercial and global health supply chain performance measurement models to better inform how humanitarian actors measure markets and/or supply chains that support new cash-based initiatives in emergencies. We approach this question by first describing the shift to cash and reviewing recent literature on measurement of supply chains and markets. Next we review three existing models of supply chains/markets that may be relevant to this discussion. We then examine and contrast several case studies of cash-based market interventions used in emergency responses in the Philippines, Jordan, Lebanon, Haiti, and the Sahel. Finally, we pull these threads together by revisiting the three supply chain models and providing insights on measures for markets that supply cash-based interventions.