Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis Toolkit

The Global Wash Cluster's (GWC's) Technical Working Group on markets, established following a resolution during the October 2015 GWC meeting in Nairobi, has just released a paper outlining its position on cash and market-based programming. The paper responds to the push towards cash transfer programming in humanitarian contexts, positing that, while cash certainly has a role to play in delivering "a more appropriate and human-centred humanitarian response, there is concern that without fully recognising the technical complexity of the WASH sector, a push towards 'cash-based programming as the preferred and default method of support' risks focusing on the provision of WASH goods and services to the detriment of more holistic rights based, and public health approaches." The paper discusses some of the main challenges and risks associated with adopting market-based programming to achieve WASH outcomes and proposes some solutions for tackling them, such as continuing to develop the evidence base on market-based programming and WASH. With the publication of this paper, the GWC joins the Global Shelter Cluster (which released a position paper of its own earlier this year) in the global discussion on the role of cash and markets in non-food security and livelihoods sectors. Read the full paper here.