New Partnership between Luxembourg and World Food Programme’s Innovation Accelerator

In addition to the annual contributions to the World Food Programme (WFP) within the framework of its strategic partnership agreement, Luxembourg has decided to enter a new partnership with the World Food Programme’s Innovation Accelerator, based in Munich. As part of this partnership, Luxembourg supports the WFP in its endeavor to seek for innovative solutions, to spur progress towards Zero Hunger as well as to identify new and bold responses to humanitarian and development challenges as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Luxembourg and the World Food Programme believe that the way forward in the fight against hunger is identifying and testing new solutions in an agile way. With the support of Luxembourg, WFP will foster the innovations needed to eradicate hunger.

Luxembourg’s contribution will be inter alia used to move towards a common UN blockchain system, more precisely towards an interagency pilot program that leverages blockchain technology to enhance the effectiveness of cash-based interventions (CBIs). The pilot will build upon WFPs existing “Building Blocks” project in Jordan, where more than 100.000 people residing in camps benefit from technology that improves the efficiency, security and transparency of cash payments for food purchases. Over the coming months, other new innovative projects will be identified as part of this partnership.

In that context Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs Romain Schneider underlined that “in order to overcome the persistent challenges that exist in the fight against hunger, we need to capture the benefits of innovation and harness new technologies like blockchain”

The Partnership between Luxembourg and the WFP Innovation Accelerator is announced in the margins of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) Plenary meeting (hosted by the Government of Luxembourg this year) which is an annual gathering of ETC partners to discuss ongoing operations, key strategic developments and initiatives within the humanitarian ICT sector and other pertinent issues relating to the cluster.