Promise, Power, and Charisma: Evaluating the Realities of Integrating Blockchain Technologies into Humanitarian Contexts

Blockchain has increasingly been positioned in the humanitarian aid sector as a revolutionary technology that can deliver decentralizing and transparent alternatives to traditional aid systems. Yet examinations of blockchain’s practical implementation in humanitarian contexts reveals gaps between what it promises and what it delivers. This paper examines Oxfam’s UnBlocked Cash (UBC) project in Vanuatu, a blockchain-enabled cash-and-voucher assistance (CVA) program, to interrogate how such blockchain-based systems are implemented on the ground. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with organizational stakeholders, we show how the allure of “charismatic” technology mobilizes funding, attention, and enthusiasm around promises of decentralization, transparency, and choice, while consolidating control over data and infrastructure amongst non-ni-Vanuatu actors. We analyze how blockchain intertwines with existing power structures, transparency claims, and inclusion in post-disaster aid delivery, highlighting tensions around sovereignty and governance. In addition, we offer insights for HCI practitioners around limitations and considerations for designing humanitarian technologies in low resource settings.