17 Goals to Transform Our World
The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.
Blockchain may be relevant to the implementation of each of the 17 goals promoted by the United Nations.
Let's see the first
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
“More than 700 million people, or 10% of the world population, still live in extreme poverty and is struggling to fulfil the most basic needs like health, education, and access to water and sanitation, to name a few. The majority of people living on less than $1.90 a day live in sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, the poverty rate in rural areas is 17.2 per cent—more than three times higher than in urban areas.
Having a job does not guarantee a decent living. In fact, 8 per cent of employed workers and their families worldwide lived in extreme poverty in 2018. Poverty affects children disproportionately. One out of five children live in extreme poverty. Ensuring social protection for all children and other vulnerable groups is critical to reduce poverty.
Poverty has many dimensions, but its causes include unemployment, social exclusion, and high vulnerability of certain populations to disasters, diseases and other phenomena which prevent them from being productive. Growing inequality is detrimental to economic growth and undermines social cohesion, increasing political and social tensions and, in some circumstances, driving instability and conflicts.”
Targets reachable also thanks to the Blockchain
1.3 Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable
1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
1.5 By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters
1.A Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions
1.B Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions
Some start-ups based on blockchain, are precisely functional to achieve these goals in the poorest countries of the world. For example BanQu, which claims to have created the first and only blockchain designed to help lift people out of extreme poverty by connecting them to global supply chains. Tony Milikin, chief sustainability and procurement officer AB InBev, commented on the partnership:
Together, we are working to improve access to modern banking for thousands of farmers in underserved rural markets, driving inclusive growth and contributing to our own 2025 Sustainability Goal as well as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
In addition, the company says the funds will help ensure its presence in Africa, Asia and Latin America. BanQu operates in 12 countries, including Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malawi, Somalia, South Africa, Syria, Uganda, the United States and Zambia, and plans to expand into China and Mexico by the end of the year.
BanQu helps refugees, displaced persons and the world's poorest people to build their own economic identity on the blockchain.
Recently, Microsoft also presented a decentralized identity network built on the Bitcoin network, with the goal of allowing users to take control of their personal data and content.
Other fintech companies can support the poorest people by lowering commissions on payments or financial transactions thanks to the blockckain. For example Coins.ph operates in the Philippines, where electronic money transfer is very popular but can be expensive. The company has built a mobile application that works with blockchain technology and allows cheaper, faster and more direct fund transfers for those with limited access to formal banking operations. Users can open an account by simply entering a phone number and digitally verifying their identity. Transactions are settled instantly and at a fraction of the fees charged by traditional banks. This translates into increased disposable income, better resilience to economic shocks and greater participation of the most vulnerable populations in the financial system.
