United Nations Food Programme Testing out Blockchain Technology in Africa

During the last couple of months, the United Nations has become involved in several interesting blockchain projects, most targeted towards humanitarian purposes. Now, recent reports indicate that the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is looking to expand blockchain technology testing in Africa.

 As part of the Building Blocks project, the UN is looking forward to test a system for supply chain management. To put things better into perspective, the blockchain-based project will be used to keep track of food delivery within East Africa. More exactly, the system will be used by UN agents to monitor food arriving in the Djibouti port, on its way to Ethiopia, where the organization’s food operations are situated.

Robert Opp, the WFP director for innovation and change, recently made a press statement saying that the pilot project seeks to answer one question: "Can we increase efficiency by knowing in real time where the food is, be able to demonstrate the food's origin in shipment points, and have this traceability record?"

By leveraging the system, the UN can reap several benefits. Firstly, food safety will be maintained, as the system will keep track of perishable food, and help keep out contamination. Secondly, the food shipments can be distributed with more ease to those in need, as the supply chain system is consolidated. In the long run, this can also lead to lower costs.

Apart from its supply chain project, the WFP is working on another blockchain-based initiative, targeted toward Syrian refugee women living in Jordan refugee camps. The WFP will grant Syrian women access to a blockchain system where they can manage their personal data, and control all forms of third-party access.

According to Robert Opp, "We want to know how easy it is for people to interact with a system like blockchain and understand, 'this is my data, and I can control access (…) we yet have to figure out how it will look."

The project will work via the identity system built by the UN as part of the Building Blocks project. The system entails users to scan their irises in order to verify their identities, then allowing them to purchase groceries and receive cash back at participating supermarkets. All transactions are recorded on a private blockchain. The educational initiative will be targeted towards women involved in the cash-for-work program, which aims to provide lucrative work opportunities for women in refugee camps.

At this moment in time, the WFP has not given a timeline, so it is not yet known when the projects will be implemented at full scale. The efforts do however showcase the huge potential of blockchain technology in charity and humanitarian work.