Coronavirus crisis shows a need to track donation dollars. Here’s how China’s tech industry, through blockchain and AI, can help

History repeats itself with a scandal over the handling of public donations, this time amid a deadly virus outbreak in China, damaging public confidence

Crisis relief operations are time-sensitive and complex, but the technology to improve them is available and should be deployed

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Medical staff members in protective suits are seen at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital, in the capital city of Hubei province, on January 25. The present crisis should be seen as a call to arms for China’s tech industry. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:00am, 5 Feb 2020Updated: 5:42am, 5 Feb 2020

Much anger has been directed at the Hubei Red Cross for its handling of donations intended for the Wuhan coronavirus crisis. After Beijing ordered all public donations to be funnelled through five government-backed charity organisations, there was widespread concern that donations were not being put to use where needed.

So, how can we do better in delivering supplies to people in need and instilling confidence in the organisations charged with managing humanitarian crises? Doing better may depend on the modernisation of charities through technology.

“One of the lessons learned was that emergency response must be better developed at the local level.” This was what the Red Cross said on the 10th anniversary of the deadly 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. Billions of dollars that had been donated after the disaster were mishandled. But what has been learned?

In the current crisis, private industry has had to come to the fore to solve the problem. While Cainiao, a logistics company in the Alibaba Group, and SF Express have coordinated delivery logistics, Jiuzhou Tong, a company listed in Shanghai, has been assisting the Red Cross to more efficiently receive and distribute donations. Yet these are a stopgap fix. An enduring solution is still needed that can fundamentally change how such crises are handled.

A 13-day-old baby survivor of the May 12, 2008, earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan, receives treatment five days later. Billions of dollars that had been donated after the disaster were mishandled, but has the lesson been learned? Photo: AFP

After all, charities should be prepared to deal with crises. By their nature, crises are large-scale, happen quickly and unexpectedly, and become increasingly serious the longer it takes for an effective response to emerge.

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