Circle have partnered with a fintech organisation Airtm and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to deliver aid to front-line medical workers in Venezuela using their USDC stable coin. My understanding is that this is the legitimate elected government, led by Juan Guaido. However, the regime of Nicolas Maduro still has control of the country, and we all are aware of the desperate state this nation is in. I'm not fully across the political side of this, but that's my current understanding.

As a reference you can read the full article from the Circle blog. An important highlight to note is that this is being done in partnership with and approval from the US government and its agencies. Circle is the company behind the USDC stablecoin, which is currently ranked 12 on @coingecko with a $2.8 billion market-cap. Airtm is a company with the goal of bringing financial services and allowing people access to their money regardless of what country they are in.

_{Image source: Circle website}

The most important thing to note in this from my perspective is the involvement of the US government, and it's tacit approval of crypto as the best way to conduct un-censorable transfers of money directly into the hands of those in need. The process of getting these funds disbursed is a bit convoluted, but I'll try summarize:

• US Treasury has seized funds from the Maduro regime.
• These funds are then deposited into US based bank accounts for the Guaido led Government.
• The Guaido govt then uses these funds to mint USDC.
• The USDC is then sent to Airtm.
• Airtm then disperses the funds directly to the accounts of Venezuelan health care workers as AirUSD which is their USD stablecoin.
• Health care workers receiving this aid can withdraw the funds using Airtm's network at free exchange rates instead of the Maduro governments controlled rates. Airtm also has a network of over half a million users in Venezuela which makes AirUSD a viable option for conducting day to day transactions.

The start of a foreign aid revolution.

The way I see it this could be the first move in a major shift in how foreign aid is distributed, with crypto and stable-coins at the forefront. Finding ways to put money into the hands of those that actually need it, and avoid the controls and censorship of illegitimate and oppressive regimes is the holy grail of foreign aid. We all know how often aid programs have seen little to no benefit flowing through to the people on the ground, with the best of intentions ending up benefiting no one but the very regime that has caused the economic crisis to begin with. Corruption and mishandling can amplify economic crises, and when you throw in a global health pandemic like the current situation in Venezuela, anything that can be done to put direct funds into the hands of those that desperately need it is a worthy pursuit.

Crypto is undoubtedly the best, fastest and most direct way to distribute aid, and it is encouraging to see that the US government departments are willing to work with the crypto industry to facilitate this process. If this program works, and can improve the circumstances of health care workers in Venezuela, then it can demonstrate the power of crypto. Currently, according to the linked blog post the crisis in the Venezuelan health care system is acute:

Doctors have been fleeing the country in recent years, and those healthcare workers that remain are grossly underpaid (earning between USD 4 and USD 18 per month) and lacking personal protective equipment (PPE). Donations of PPE are either not reaching the intended recipients or are barely making a dent in the amount that is still required. With imposed currency controls, typical bank receipts are subject to rigged forex rates, making banks useless for receiving payments, donations and remittances.

The crisis in Venezuela's health care system.

In August, Amnesty reported whistle blowers working in the health care sector were being repressed to the point of being detained without due process, for speaking out about the growing COVID 19 pandemic. They go on to highlight the desperate situation that health care workers are facing:

In recent years, approximately 50 per cent of the country´s doctors have left the country, according to the Venezuelan Medical Federation (FMV)...
The health workers who stayed in Venezuela earn between 4 and 18 USD a month, and many have had to walk to work, sometimes for over 10 km, as they cannot afford transport. According to the civil society watchdog Monitor Salud, 68% of 296 health workers surveyed in Caracas from March to June arrived at work without any food in their stomach before starting an arduous shift. The average living expenses of groceries and basic utilities per month for each Venezuelan are estimated at USD 513, according to the national research organization CENDAS.

These reports highlight the urgent need that this aid program addresses. Without a basic, functioning health care system, the Venezuelan crisis will continue to worsen, and undoubtedly more and more people will seek to flee the country, worsening the humanitarian crisis in surrounding nations. The article states that 5.2 million people have already fled the country. In the face of this bleak outlook, getting funds into the hands of health care workers directly, without the possibility of government censure, seems like a drop in the ocean of what is really required... But it's a start anyway.

With US government and departmental support, this program has the potential to be expanded beyond health care workers and have a positive impact on the lives of many Venezuelan's. One can only hope that the terrible suffering of the people of Venezuela will come to an end some day soon, and Crypto can be an essential part of the solution. Crypto was developed to be uncensorable money, the need for which is apparent now more than ever in many places around the world.

I'd love to hear from the HIVE Venezuelan community your thoughts on arrangements like this. Do you believe that these sorts of measures will help get the money to where it is really needed? Have you had experience with AirTM? Could crypto foreign aid be the way out of the current mess that Venezuela is in?

Thanks for reading,

JK.

Posted Using LeoFinance ^Beta