Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis Toolkit

This report presents learning from the first pilot study that used the EMMA toolkit to assess an emergency market system. It analyzes how the toolkit was used, what did and did not work well, the training given to participants, the exercise's organization and recommendations for adapting the toolkit for future use. Participants felt that EMMA is an appropriate tool if used not too long after a crisis and that it highlights issues relating to market analysis that are not always well understood by emergency aid workers. However, team members also said that they did not have enough time to understand the toolkit before going into the field and suggested allowing more time for training, analysis and reflection during future assessments.

In recent years, the high frequency of severe droughts in the Horn of Africa has undermined the ability of households in the region to recover from these crises. This document summarizes the findings from an EMMA carried out on the water market system in Kenya's Wajir County from August-September 2012, before detailing the report's response recommendations. This report makes the following recommendations for market-based programming: supporting water access through water vouchers in villages with no borehole and through water vouchers for free water provision directly at boreholes where they exist; integrating cash for water into food security-focused cash transfer programs; improving the capacity of water points; and supporting the operation and maintenance of boreholes. The report recommends a number of complementary activities to improve the market environment, infrastructure and services.

Drought cycles in the Horn of Africa are now progressively shorter, with droughts occurring every 5 years or less. In a context where 80% of the population are poor or very poor, and have experienced both high food prices and restrictions on traditional livelihood strategies, the frequency of these droughts has seriously undermined the ability of the local population to recover from these shocks. This EMMA assessment aimed to shed light on the water market system in Wajir County. While water is available to meet the needs of the target population, during dry times, access to water is sometimes limited by a lack of permanent water sources and by their lack of purchasing power. This report makes the following recommendations for market-based programming: supporting water access through water vouchers in villages with no borehole and through water vouchers for free water provision directly at boreholes where they exist; integrating cash for water into food security-focused cash transfer programs; improving the capacity of water points; and supporting the operation and maintenance of boreholes. The report recommends a number of complementary activities to improve the market environment, infrastructure and services.