Tech for good: helping in a humanitarian crisis

Normally I try to keep my posts on here fairly light-hearted. For one thing, I hope they’ll be more enjoyable to read. And to be honest, it’s more fun for me too. But with everything going on in the world at the moment – not least the situation in Ukraine – it doesn’t feel quite right to be doing that.

The war between Russia and Ukraine is just the latest in a long string of violent conflicts that has resulted in people having to flee their home countries, leaving their possessions, communities and even family members behind. The phrase “refugee crisis” is not a new one, and unfortunately does not seem as if it will disappear anytime soon.

Watching from a distance as the news unfolds can feel utterly hopeless – according to UN figures from the end of last year, it was estimated that by the middle of 2021 84 million people around the world had been forcibly displaced, and more than 26 million were refugees. How do we tackle such a huge issue?

In this case, it helps to break the problem down a bit. As well as the primary need for a safe destination, refugees need reliable access to information such as how to find and ask for help, and when they do get to another location, it’s about things that the lucky among us take for granted – like having a place to stay, a bank account, and a way of earning money to survive and provide for our families.

Thanks to technology, there are many ways to help refugees – from Ukraine, from Syria, from Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar… and all the other places our fellow humans have felt the need to seek refuge from.

First, let’s not forget that some of the simplest measures can make a huge difference. With cash one of the most sought-after resources in times of crisis, transferring money – which has never been easier thanks to the internet – gives refugees a much-needed financial lifeline.

Now, as well as traditional methods of donating to charities like UNICEF, ActionAid, Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Rescue Committee, we are seeing different ways of collecting funds for food, medicines and other important supplies. For example, the Ukrainian government has raised more than $54 million in cryptocurrencies and the auction of a digital image of the Ukrainian flag also raised $6.75 million.

Social media has obviously proven very useful in terms of publishing details of ways to donate time, money or resources, as well as promoting events that bring individuals and groups together to share what they can do to help, assign tasks and work together to make more of an impact, while local groups have been set up to offer accommodation, money, transport and even look after pets.

Emergency shelter is another critical need, and sites like Unterkunft Ukraine and Host4Ukraine are taking registrations from European countries. 

Maintaining communication links is also vital, and it has been heartening to see private companies stepping in to secure these. While SpaceX activated its Starlink satellite broadband service in Ukraine, and sent more terminals there to keep the country online, many telecom operators are providing free calls to the country and/or waiving roaming charges.

Longer term, organizations such as Refugee Talent, which matches displaced people with potential employers, and Techfugees, which develops tech solutions aimed at helping refugees - and equips them with digital skills and open access to work opportunities in the tech sector - are fantastic innovations to help people settle and build a new life.

There will be many more needs and many more solutions out there of course. But even 10 years ago, some of the things I’ve mentioned would have been unthinkable. There are ways of getting aid to people that we just didn’t have before. While we wait in hope of peace, let’s use whatever we can to help wherever we can.

Photo credit: Peshkova