For decades global relief agencies along with the United Nations have been stymied in trying to provide direct relief to needy individuals, especially in countries ruled by tyrannical dictators. And there are many examples where these entities have tried to ship in food, medicine, and other items only to have the government seize them for their own purposes or profit.
But with the rise of digital banking, smartphones, and now blockchain technology, the ability for agencies to get relief directly to individuals in need has suddenly become much easier. And with the United Nations having already done such direct relief efforts through the Ethereum Blockchain in recent weeks, the boundaries for aiding refugees, those on welfare, and any in need could one day be moved to the blockchain, thus eliminating billions in bureaucratic costs, and thousands of unnecessary pitfalls.
The United Nations World Food Programme uses the Ethereum Blockchain to transfer vouchers based on cryptocurrencies to refugees in Syria. The platform was able to transfer cryptocurrency vouchers to a total of 10,000 people. It was done through another platform that was created by Parity Technologies.
Parity Technologies is a startup company led by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood.
"Funds that were sent to the refugees were specifically used for buying food. With the success of this project, the World Food Programme (WFP) plans to extend the project even further to cover 100,000 people in Jordan by late 2018."
With this, the UN is planning more Blockchain technology-related projects that can help them move aid to disaster-stricken countries even faster. - Cointelegraph
In the meantime for sovereign economies, moving benefit programs out of bloated government bureaucracies onto the Ethereum Blockchain could also eliminate unnecessary waste as well as making it easier to get welfare payments directly into the hands of those in need.
