The History of HEA

The practice of humanitarian assistance has long struggled to proceed on the basis of coherent evidence. In the beginning, the charitable intention was seen as sufficient, but over the years there have been increased calls for accountability and for alignment with principles of proportionality and appropriateness, so that those who receive aid are the ones who need it most and the right kind of assistance is given at the right time and for the right period.

To this end Household Economy Analysis (HEA) has been an important and increasingly applied tool over the past 20 years, and indeed it is difficult to think of any equivalent decision-oriented analytical framework that has been applied in so consistent a manner for such a period of time. For this reason, and because its development has gone alongside fundamental improvements to our understanding of food security and livelihoods, the history of HEA is a story worth telling.