- Published by
- ILO
This ILO report draws on over a decade of implementing its Approach to Inclusive Market Systems (AIMS) across more than 20 countries to distil lessons on applying MSD in fragile and forced displacement contexts.
Developed with UNHCR in 2014, AIMS adapts standard MSD principles to address the specific constraints faced by refugees and host communities, combining market development ('pull') interventions with targeted capacity-building ('push') measures to create pathways to decent work.
Seven core lessons cover context-specific strategy, balancing push and pull, working in conflict-affected settings, aligning with humanitarian aid, progressing towards decent work, fostering social cohesion and integrating climate resilience. Case studies span Uganda, Lebanon, Kenya, Nepal, Sudan and Sri Lanka.
The paper is aimed at practitioners with existing MSD experience and argues that sustainable livelihoods in displacement settings depend on private sector engagement, adaptive programming and closer coherence across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.