TOWARDS A CONCEPTUAL-FRAMEWORK OF HOUSEHOLD COPING - REFLECTIONS FROMRURAL WEST-AFRICA

The study and application of household coping have largely been confin ed to the problems of famine and food insecurity. Based on field insig hts from West Africa, this paper argues that understanding how househo lds cope and allocate resources in times of crisis is of immense value to a broad array of development interventions. It also introduces a c onceptual framework that evaluates household coping in exogenous and e ndogenous contexts. The application of this framework may provide a mo re informed approach to development intervention design, implementatio n and targeting that is sensitive to the differential needs and experi ences of rural households and communities.