This April, Marketlinks Discusses the Economic Impacts of COVID-19

COVID-19 is a crisis that will have a global economic impact for months to come. We’re already starting to see ways this pandemic is affecting market systems, and we’re seeing that practitioners are discovering new ways to be supportive during these tough times. 

This April, we wanted to highlight a few blog posts that show how practitioners around the world are stepping up to support market systems. 

• Working with Savings Groups During COVID-19
  COVID-19 poses crucial health and economic risks for savings groups as markets falter, mobility is restricted, and community gathering is restrained. As the majority of members are women, who are likely to be primary caregivers in a health crisis, this puts them at special risk of additional burdens. 
  
  CARE just released guidance to help implementers consider how best to support savings groups and their members during this crisis. The tips also address how to support savings groups as leaders of community-level response efforts and maintain safety nets. 
   
• Investing in a Solution: Private Sector Response to COVID-19
  With the global outbreak of COVID-19, private enterprises are reconnecting the positive relationship between capital investment and improving society in a mutually reinforcing cycle. The pandemic is demonstrating that the health of the one is determined by the health of the other. This blog post highlights private sector companies that are responding to the COVID-19 outbreak and how they are making a difference.
   
• USAID COVID-19 Guidance to Implementing Partners
  Given the unpredictable and ongoing nature of the outbreak, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is committed to providing additional information to implementing partners as needed. 
  
  The guidance document includes links to information sources on COVID-19 and addresses such topics as redirecting resources, disruptions to implementation, allowability of costs related to COVID-19, evacuations for USAID contractors and their families, and Defense Base Act insurance. 
   
• Discussion on Challenges and Strategies for M&E in the Time of COVID-19
  This Implementer-Led Design, Evidence, Analysis and Learning activity was a community conversation on the challenges and strategies for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the time of COVID-19. Since the M&E community is adjusting its practices to support program needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, this online discussion allowed practitioners to discuss M&E challenges during the pandemic and hear how other organizations are addressing these challenges. 
   

We welcome your submissions. If you have a resource, case study, or blog to contribute to this topic, please help us share with the Marketlinks learning community. Upload your content from the 'post' button on the home page or send us an info@marketlinks.org to get started.