Future of Aid
Resilient with Blockchain
The problem
THE REALITIES OF AID
Over 110 million people have been displaced and are on the move today. Each one is staring down the impossible decision to leave everything behind. As these figures grow yearly, aid organizations worldwide work tirelessly to meet the need. For years, they have collaborated with the tech sector to innovate to deliver assistance faster, as speed is of the essence in humanitarian action.
But a problem this urgent requires new thinking. The challenges are significant. So is the opportunity to make a difference.
Dive deeper into the current barriers that stand in the way of organizations delivering aid with IRC President David Miliband.
Big problems require new thinking
THE FUTURE OF HUMANITARIAN AID
One year ago, the UNHCR launched a first-of-its-kind aid disbursement system built on blockchain – Stellar Aid Assist – to deliver funds to people throughout Ukraine
How does it work?
1 network and 1 technical deployment. A stable digital asset. A user-friendly wallet and global reach enabling the delivery of urgently-needed cash assistance to vulnerable populations quickly and transparently.
It’s simple. It’s the future.
It takes an ecosystem
POWERING GLOBAL AID DELIVERY
A year in review
$1 million disbursed
One year since the program in Ukraine launched, UNHCR’s pilot program of Stellar Aid Assist has disbursed more than $1.1 million dollars to over 1500 individuals. The Stellar Disbursement Platform, the powerful tech powering disbursements, has been rebuilt, open-sourced and leveraged for bulk payments globally. A new regions and new organizations are on the horizon.
We are using the integrated Stellar blockchain technology for disbursement in Ukraine to meet different needs in delivering aid assistance; so whether it's multi-purpose cash, cash for rent, or cash for gender-based violence, the SDP solution provides full traceability and accountability to follow the data, and follow the money to ensure delivery of aid assistance with integrated financial reporting tools we expect.
Carmen Hett, Treasurer, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Meet the innovators
BUILDING FOR RESILIENCE
Every technological advance starts as an idea, dreamt by someone pushing to solve the unsolvable, and refusing to accept that the status quo is good enough. Meet the people behind Stellar Aid Assist, a first-of-its-kind aid disbursement system.
Our partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation enables the IRC to offer a new way for clients in Ukraine to receive much needed cash assistance, including the option to receive assistance in USD, which is essential in helping to rebuild their lives.
David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee
The realities for people on the move
FACING THE UNKNOWN, BUT NOT ALONE
At this year's Art Basel, we celebrated life and art with an event in partnership with Friends with Benefits for Casa Tochan, a shelter in Mexico City that houses people on their journey to rebuilding their lives. The funds were disbursed directly to tenants of the shelter using the Stellar Disbursement Platform, the same technical deployment that powers Stellar Aid Assist and delivers aid to displaced individuals and families in Ukraine.
How it works
STELLAR AID ASSIST IN UKRAINE
For more on the pilots in partnership with UNHCR read the case study.
The project itself is a vivid example of how blockchain has the potential to transform and revolutionize the way humanitarian funds are allocated.
Oleksandr Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine on IT industry Development
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