Economic Recovery and Market Systems (ERMS) initiatives are critical for communities to sustainably recover from disasters. Natural disasters and complex emergencies can destroy houses, damage productive assets, and disrupt transportation and market infrastructure, affecting economic activity at the household, community, and regional levels. To address this, USAID/OFDA supports ERMS to help affected communities resume economic activity and rebuild livelihoods.
In Fiscal Year 2010, USAID/OFDA provided more than $97 million to support ERMS initiatives in 22 countries. As of Fiscal Year 2011, the agency had provided approximately $35 million to support ERMS activities in 16 countries throughout Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and the Middle East. A functional economy is essential for communities to recover from disasters, with businesses needing to reopen, families needing to re-establish livelihoods, and banks needing to provide financial services.
ERMS interventions aim to reduce the economic impact of disasters by targeting populations to restore livelihoods and increase purchasing power. These interventions also support key market systems to return to normal functioning at the household, local, and regional levels. USAID/OFDA’s ERMS programming complements people’s own efforts to recover from disasters and helps keep them from becoming reliant on continued humanitarian aid.
In Pakistan, following the unprecedented flooding in July and August 2010, USAID/OFDA provided more than $22.2 million for ERMS programs. Grantees conducted cash-for-work programs that employed affected individuals to clear flooded land, restore irrigation channels, rehabilitate health facilities, and clean and repair water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure damaged by the floods. These programs benefited up to 1.6 million flood-affected individuals.
In Sudan, USAID/OFDA is expanding support to innovative, market-driven programs that match identified needs and market opportunities with the interests and skills of returnees and host communities. USAID/OFDA-funded projects seek to balance the needs of returnees with those of host community members to mitigate potential conflict. Grantees American Refugee Committee (ARC) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) support livelihoods activities through the formation of village savings and loan associations in Upper Nile and Central Equatoria states, facilitating returnee and host communities’ access to credit and savings.
Several USAID/OFDA programs focus on agricultural livelihoods restoration and risk reduction, due to the predominance of the agricultural sector in the local economy. USAID/OFDA grantee CRS is facilitating access to agricultural inputs through trade fairs, in partnership with local market actors, benefiting approximately 2,000 households. In addition, USAID/OFDA partner Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is conducting a pilot program in disaster risk reduction (DRR) by training youth in construction techniques for flood-proofing granaries and homesteads.
To better understand the linkages between livelihoods and natural and complex disasters, USAID/OFDA has provided more than $1.1 million to support research at the Feinstein International Center (FIC) at Tufts University. The three-year project uses field-based and desk research to provide technical advice for populations of concern, including those at risk of pandemics, economic upheaval, and conflict. FIC disseminates research findings to USAID/OFDA grantees and the wider humanitarian community through the publication of case studies and reports, helping to inform ongoing and future humanitarian programming.