NEW YORK (October 16, 2008) - Concern Worldwide has concluded pilot programs in Kenya and Malawi that used mobile phone and smart card technology to deliver critical aid to populations caught in conflict, deprived of livelihoods and housing, and hit by rising food prices.

In Kenya's Kerio valley—where communities had fallen victim to the chaos and violence trigged by the country's disputed elections earlier this year—Concern, in collaboration with mobile phone company SafariCom, distributed financial aid to some 3000 people for a total of $53,000.

The aid was delivered via text messages sent to mobile phones that, along with solar-powered chargers, had been distributed to 560 households. Each recipient had registered a password with the mobile phone company, whose local agents dispensed the cash.

The method of aid delivery is not only cheaper, but also faster and more secure. Two key benefits are: distribution of the phones primarily to women, who are often excluded from vital decision-making; and putting money rather than direct food aid in the hands of families to allow people to buy necessities as they see fit—including cooking oil and fresh vegetables, items usually missing from traditional food aid shipments.

An evaluation of the programs found that cash transfers can significantly boost local economies and stimulate the agricultural sector, while they are also less stigmatizing for recipients who otherwise would have to stand in food lines in full view of the community at large.

In a companion program in Malawi along the same lines—in response to this year's sharp rise in food prices as well as the country's poor harvests of recent years—Concern provided mobile ATM and biometric smart cards to again mainly women, whose identities were registered via finger prints, and who upon presenting the cards could obtain cash from local agents. Some 16,000 households were included in the pilot.

"This technology can get the money here in minutes, as opposed to the very difficult logistics and high transportation costs of bringing in food," says Anne O'Mahony, Concern's Kenya country director. "For people suffering extreme hunger, that's a huge difference."

For more information on the pilot programs and/ or to speak with Anne O'Mahony, please contact:

Joop Koopman Office +1 212 557-8000 | Mobile +1 917 608 1989 Joop.koopman@concern.net