Economic Recovery and Market Systems

An ethnic Somali woman leads her camels to water at a well rehabilitated with USAID/OFDA support in Isiolo County, Kenya.

Laura Meissner, USAID/OFDA

Natural disasters and conflicts adversely affect local economies by destroying homes and businesses, damaging assets, and disrupting transportation and markets. The third pillar within the mandate of USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) is to reduce the economic impact of disasters. To help communities resume economic activity and rebuild livelihoods, USAID/OFDA supports economic recovery and market systems (ERMS) activities in disaster-affected communities, as well as ERMS interventions that build people’s capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters.

ERMS interventions strengthen key market systems and help populations restore livelihoods and purchasing power at the household, local, and regional levels. USAID/OFDA-supported economic recovery programs complement individual and community efforts to recover from a disaster and prevent reliance on continued humanitarian aid. In Fiscal Year 2015, USAID/OFDA provided nearly $37.7 million to support economic recovery activities in 22 countries throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as worldwide and regional interventions.

Economic Recovery and Market Systems Archive

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