Why Convexity Champions Beneficiary Data Privacy in Humanitarian Programs

The world is radically changing the way it addresses humanitarian initiatives. One of the biggest aspects of this shift is influencing the proper handling of data. Misappropriation of beneficiary data has been a long-existing problem, and a proper and more dignified approach is imperative now more than ever. The two most outstanding beckons are the increasing cases of humanitarian crises globally, and the possible damage that could result from data leaks or mismanagement.??

Data Privacy in the Humanitarian Context

Data privacy refers to the obligation of data handlers to request individual consent for the retrieval, use, manipulation, storage, and deletion of their personal information.?

In the context of humanitarian aid beneficiaries, data privacy speaks of the right of beneficiaries to determine what information is gathered about them, where they are stored (whether in digital or physical spaces), the extent to which such information is used, how long they exist, and who has access to it. The term is closely associated with data protection which underlines the efforts mandated by data handlers to protect beneficiary data and prevent unauthorized access or use.?

Beneficiary Data

Beneficiaries are the creme de la creme of the humanitarian ecosystem. They are the topmost priority and all donations, strategies, and physical commitments are geared towards them, ensuring they are well-identified, properly addressed, and fully impacted.??

To begin the aid delivery process, humanitarian organisations must accurately collect and process beneficiaries' personal information. This makes certain that the right individual is being addressed. It also creates evidence of an appropriate aid disbursement process.

The types of data collected from beneficiaries include demographic data (age, gender, ethnicity); economic and financial data (income level, employment status, financial challenges); health and medical data (health status, medical history, genetic disorders); and the like.?

Field agents and the organisations they represent are responsible for implementing strategies that protect all collected data and offer privacy to every beneficiary they interact with. This is important because beneficiary data is of high value to the person and to the project they are involved in.

The Value of Beneficiary Data?

Beneficiary data plays a huge role and is consequently very valuable in the humanitarian aid delivery setting.?

Beneficiary Identification:

Beneficiary data refers to the personal information of individuals and groups being served in any given project. Such data directly identifies people, their financial or health status, religious or political associations, thought processes, and any previous or ongoing activities.?

The beneficiary information is precious in humanitarian projects since it ensures that the right individuals are targeted. For instance, a program designed to donate books to children will use age information data to determine who fits the criteria and who doesn’t. The program might further employ financial status data to identify less privileged children, treating them as a priority for the donation.?

At the same time, while beneficiary data helps humanitarian programs reach the right individuals, it also creates a potential security risk to data owners should their data fall into the wrong hands. This explains the need for solid data privacy routines.?

Program Effectiveness:

Humanitarian projects employ beneficiary data to guide their program execution process and strategies. One way in which this happens is that beneficiary data is regularly updated to show their specific activities and level of participation. The updated data is then used to crosscheck that beneficiaries do not receive more than the stipulated assistance in cash or supplies.?

In the case of delivering emergency medical treatment, cross-checking beneficiary data could help ensure that aid teams do not attend to one beneficiary multiple times, especially when others are waiting to be served.?

Marking beneficiary data against their participation helps eliminate the process of double spending. This proves that the availability of beneficiary data could significantly reduce overhead costs and promote timely program execution, fostering program effectiveness.??

Impact Reporting?

Humanitarian players such as donors always want to have a detailed impact report at the end of a program. This document tells how successful a specific program was, who it impacted and how, and what areas require improvements.?

Depending on the program objectives, beneficiary data could create an avenue for measuring and reporting impact. For example, let’s say that a humanitarian project has the objective of reaching at least 200 people in a target region. The collected beneficiary data will provide the counts, telling if the program reached its target number.?

Humanitarian Project Investigations:

Several things could go wrong during a humanitarian project. If such occurs, an investigation might be necessary. The beneficiary data can serve as evidence for investigations and provide insights into what went wrong. In some cases, the data could lead investigators to beneficiaries who can serve as witnesses to any allegations or inappropriate incidents during a project.??

The Importance of Implementing Beneficiary Data Privacy and Protection?

Offering data privacy and protection to beneficiaries involves allowing them to make crucial decisions about the collection and use of their data, and secondly, taking necessary steps to protect the beneficiary data at all times.?

There are two major advantages to this. The first, and most important, is the development of trust and a positive relationship.?

Data owners could find it stressful to give out information. In addition, there is usually an underlying feeling of doubt towards the entire process. Such doubt reduces the willingness of beneficiaries to collaborate. If left unchecked, it could complicate the aid delivery process and reduce program impact or effectiveness.?

Field agents and other humanitarian players must beat the beneficiary's trust issue by communicating openly with them. This will involve educating them on their rights as regards their personal data. Beneficiaries who are given such treatment will naturally become confident in the data collection and usage process. They will feel relaxed about giving their information for processing and may even go on to offer suggestions as well as feedback.

Making beneficiaries at ease about their information leaves a good impression on a project - not to mention the positive relationship it breeds between beneficiaries and philanthropic organisations. Moreover, the action expresses the effort of a non-profit to maintain the dignity of beneficiaries.?

Another upside of implementing beneficiary data privacy is that it aligns humanitarian organisations with international standards.?

The collection and use of beneficiary data in an integrity-friendly way is already a global requirement. Humanitarian organisations that want to operate internationally and be taken seriously, therefore, have to adjust their processes to fit this new requirement. Doing this brings benefits to the organisation, including fostering interest and encouraging the participation of donors and other relevant stakeholders.??

Using Technology To Achieve Data Privacy And Protection?

Data drives technology, and given that widespread technology acceptance and use are replacing the global digital divide, we cannot but consider the role of technology in achieving beneficiary data privacy and protection. For this discussion, we will introduce the Convexity Humanitarian Aid Transfer Solution (CHATS) - since it is a top-of-the-class technology for humanitarian initiatives and optimal drives data privacy and protection. Here are ways in which CHATS makes a difference.

Access Control Per User Type

One of the key ways to achieve data privacy and protection is by enforcing access control. This setup identifies all the possible operators or users of a system and then specifies what they can or cannot access regarding data or application features.?

The CHATS platform integrates access control to ensure that each class of users (from vendors to donors and field agents) only have access to information that is relevant to their operation. For instance, field agents responsible for onboarding beneficiaries do not have access to view the total number of beneficiaries on a project. Only the field admin is given this access.?

Storage of Data on Blockchain

Secure and reliable storage is an important element of data protection and privacy. Our CHATS platform excels at this, thanks to blockchain integration which allows immutable storage of beneficiary information, transaction details, and project specifics.??

Conclusion

The evolving landscape of humanitarian efforts places a premium on data privacy. This radical approach can be summarized as protecting data while giving data owners significant access and control. It covers beneficiaries, who are at risk of being manipulated and having their data used for purposes outside a project or humanitarian scope.?

Implementing beneficiary data privacy is a broad task that falls on donors, nonprofits and every other player in the humanitarian ecosystem. The responsibility should stem from sheer respect for the dignity of beneficiaries as well as an understanding of the risk to the individual.