Blockchain technology has reshaped digital tools and made sending and receiving money easy. It has revolutionised the aid sector by making the way of sending and receiving money digitally. Most humanitarian aid agents are non-governmental organisations and blockchains. However, a new technology not yet familiar to everyone is in a better place to be adopted in these agents for crypto is decentralised. It could help streamline the aid sector and make it corrupt to perform its duties efficiently.
There have been various challenges in the humanitarian aid agencies, making the core purpose of helping those suffering due to various factors, including famine, conflict or even disasters, a challenge. The challenge of accountability and transparency has been an issue with humanitarian agencies. Blockchain technology has been providing a solution to these challenges.
Banks and other financial institutions have transferred cash to those in need. This has involved transaction costs and delays in receiving the amount. Though it is a new technology, adopting its use in the agencies has seemingly been seen to put away these challenges by enabling ease of cash transfer, tracking the supply and coordinating delivery, and information management. Some non-governmental organisations based outside Africa, which help those in difficulties, have relied on financial institutions to send money.
This has been time-consuming when people are in difficulties and need immediate help, but the cash cannot be instantly received. Blockchain technology enables sending and receiving cash instantly, helping rescue people who need immediate help. Humanitarian agencies have agents located in various parts of the world. They rely on these agents to get information on where people suffer from conflicts or disasters. Sending money through the agents to the victims reduces the amount sent because involving a third party, in most cases, leads to corruption.
The agents could be corruptive and lessen the amount entitled to the suffering individuals. Blockchain allows sending money directly to people, and this reduces corruption. Money is sent directly to the intended party, thus solving the corruption problem. The use of blockchain technology improves transparency in humanitarian agents. Recording the transactions made on a digital ledger improves transparency among humanitarian aid agents. The digital ledger used for recording transactions efficiently ensures that any transaction can be tracked.
However, blockchain technology could solve problems that exist in the aid sector, but connectivity is challenging. Blockchain technology operates through a medium of Internet-connected devices, and connectivity is a problem in most areas. There are places where getting connected is an issue, and relying on crypto is a problem.
There is a need to innovate the crypto sector to ensure they can be accessed in any area where they are needed. Just like financial institutions are not found in all parts of the world, and accessing them has been a challenge, making crypto what people need it to be is necessary. Crypto is the saviour of the monetary systems, but it can only be seen as the saviour if it can address all the challenges, including the connectivity challenge.
Though it’s long been in operation in most of Western countries, it’s now making inroads here in our continent. It’s now high time we jump into the bandwagon too.