I found a very interesting article that was posted on October 28th on the UK Telegraph's online newspaper. The article was written by Richard Spencer, and it was about a very innovative way of delivering food aid to Iraqi refugees who are still living in Syria. This program is being initiated by the United Nation's World Food Programme.
The plan involves the use of cell phones and the oploading of the food aid vouchers by way of a text message, the vouchers could then be redeemed at any government owned food outlet that caters to the refugee population. The rational for this type delivery system is based on the fact that most of the people who would use the current aid program already have cell phones.
Spencer's article went on to explain how the changing profile of refugees is driving aid organizations to adapt their means and methods of delivering aid. By taking advantage of the resources provided by new technology and the expanded capabilities of the mobile phone and it's infrastructure, food aid can be less centralized and can actually get to the intended recipient and closer to where the recipient lives.
Thanks for sharing this timely piece. A couple of implementation questions-- would people need to "print" the voucher, or simply show the mobile device to the retailer? Additionally, and without meaning to be too cynical, I wonder if with this step forward there is also the risk of individuals exploiting this initiative by way of trying to falsely duplicate vouchers and/or stealing cell phones. It will be interesting to follow the implementation of this pilot program.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding of Spencer's article is that there would be some electronic means of redeeming the vouchers and this would be done only at the government outlet stores. And I don't see any cynicism in your concerns, I would call it realism. Of course there will be some exploitation, there always is. But in this way the aid is brought closer to the end users, with less of it being available for higher ups to divert for their own private use. I would like to believe that there is some system of identification so that voucher's are redeemed by the correct recipient. Also, that some system of canceling stolen or lost electronic vouchers will be implemented; a system that is also capable of replacing lost or stolen vouchers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing this to our attention. It will be interesting to see how this plays out-- as it is yet another step in becoming even more reliant on cell phones!!
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