An Irish medical aid project – AID:Tech – is celebrating the successful delivery of three babies “on the blockchain” in Tanzania. The project is a collaboration between AID:Tech and PharmAccess and was initially created to help address controversies that came up in the charitable sector concerning the fair distributions of donations. In a bid to track the aid given while supporting vulnerable women, the founders decided to utilise the blockchain to facilitate the distribution of aid while sharing data with the common goal of streamlining the support process.

AID:Tech has been working with PharmAccess in Tanzania to identify pregnant women and give them the care they require. The project issues each pregnant woman with a digital ID that allows them to have access to pregnancy vitamins like folic acid and tracks their pregnancy progress using the data that is added to the blockchain from when they first register to each medical appointment until birth. July 13, 2018, saw the first baby delivery recorded on the blockchain, which was followed by two more babies on July 19, 2018. The system has now made it possible for their mothers to gain access to postnatal care, follow up appointments and medication as needed, according to Forbes.

The Founding of AID:Tech

AID:Tech was co-founded by CEO Joseph Thompson to provide more transparency in the issuance of aid after he had to deal with charitable fraud and disorganisation. In 2009, Thompson has participated in the Marathon des Sables and managed to raise $122,000. The race takes place in the Sahara Desert and is known as one of the toughest races globally.

He donated the money to his chosen charity and asked for an update on how the funds were being used only for them to confess that they lost the donation instead of it being used for the intended purpose. The ability for donors to fully have transparency and see how their donations are being used is quite key as it helps detect fraud. Adamant to bring change to the charitable industry, Thomson, who holds an MSc in Digital Currencies, partnered with Niall Dennehy to co-found AID:Tech. The organisation’s mission is to provide legally recognised digital identities to specific individuals allowing them to directly receive the intended aid.

Room for Advancement

As the AID:Tech project continues to grow and experience its first set of challenges, its founders are looking for ways to ensure that it can keep up with the demand considering that blockchain technology is a pretty young technology and the potential of it being used large scale is yet to be tested even though its traceability factor is working efficiently. The project has experienced several challenges along the way with attempted fraud just being one of the issues.

AID:Tech is transforming the charitable sector one step at a time thanks to collaborations and investments. From welfare distribution in the East African country of Tanzania to the homeless in Ireland, the AID:Tech pilot projects are proving to be a success.