I just came across this [article detailing UN usage of an ethereum based program](https://qz.com/1118743/world-food-programmes-ethereum-based-blockchain-for-syrian-refugees-in-jordan/). 

The World Food Program is using blockchain, along with biometrics, to distribute food to 10500 Syrian refugees in a refugee camp in Jordan. They plan to extend the program to 100,000 people across four refugee camps within the next year. The technical details are not shared in the post, but it sounds like they may be using biometrics to create private keys for each refugee when they are processed into the camps, and then automatically distributing aid to the blockchain addresses associated with those keys. It's a very clever implementation.

I remember seeing this as a potential use case when I first started researching bitcoin four or five years ago, and its gratifying to see work moving in this direction. One agency at the UN is a small start, and politics within the UN will slow the spread, but if the implementation is successful it's only a matter of time before other agencies look really stupid for not using something similar.

![wfp-syria-blockchain-jordan-e1509649566365.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUyPHAmZa82sG53FP4xkCp2Ab3wnqdyw8rUsBfbYP9n1a/wfp-syria-blockchain-jordan-e1509649566365.jpg)