HOW HAS HEA BEEN USED?

As HEA has gained increasing acceptance throughout the world, new uses and applications of it have emerged. Identifying realistic interventions requires an appreciation of the constraints faced by the poor and the opportunities open to them to lock into the wider economy. The holistic view of household operations and strategies that HEA offers is essential for understanding the effect of shocks on people’s food security; it also forms a powerful basis for setting up livelihoods-based monitoring and evaluation frameworkds; and identifying and planning emergency, rehabilitation and development interventions. Over the years, HEA has been used to:

• develop food security early warning systems
• conduct emergency needs assessments
• inform monitoring and evaluation frameworks
• contribute to response planning
• support market interventions
• link health and education to livelihood analysis
• plan social protection and safety net programs
• conduct policy analysis
• measure and compare poverty levels
• better understand the constraints on female headed households
• devise livelihood-based economic recovery programs
• contribute to contingency planning
• understand and monitor poverty in urban settings
• monitoring and evaluation