NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, January 18, 2016

A $15 billion shortfall in global humanitarian aid could be addressed by tapping into innovative sources of finance, such as smartphone apps, the football industry and wealthy Islamic donors, a United Nations panel of experts said on Sunday.

Despite rising global wealth, the ‘outdated’ aid system has been unable to meet all the world’s needs, including those stemming from financial crises, natural disasters and violent extremism, said the nine panelists in a new report.

Among the ideas discussed were micro payments levied on so-called mass volume transactions, such as airline tickets, said Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commission vice president who co-chaired the panel, adding that such schemes already existed.

For example, the UN’s global health initiative, UNITAID, funds its work in finding new ways to treat, prevent and diagnose malaria with an air ticket surtax, the report said.