Anna Whitson-Diaz from the Stellar Development Foundation discusses Stellar's focus on financial inclusion and humanitarian aid delivery. The SDF has partnered with UNHCR to deliver direct cash assistance using blockchain technology, distributing over $5 million to Ukrainian refugees.
Anna Whitson-Diaz, who works for the Stellar Development Foundation after a decade at UNDP, explains how Stellar differs from typical cryptocurrency by prioritizing financial inclusion rather than speculation. She highlights Stellar's multi-year partnership with UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, which has developed open-source technology for delivering humanitarian aid directly to beneficiaries. The program has been operational for nearly two years, distributing over $5 million in direct cash assistance to more than 2,500 households in Ukraine. Whitson-Diaz emphasizes the need for faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments and calls for more partners, particularly national and regional NGOs, to help scale digital payment technology for populations in need.