FHI 360 has launched a strategic partnership with VIA Science, Inc. (VIA) — whose digital wallet and blockchain platform allows organizations to seamlessly deliver rapid relief funds — to pilot a new model of flexible financial assistance for Ukrainian veterans living with limb loss.
The partnership powers the Changing Lives with Innovative Funding (CLIF) project, a seven-month pilot in Dnipro, Ukraine, that delivers direct payments — made possible by a seed investment from VIA — to veterans through the VIA Wallet. Participants use those funds for products and services that meet their medical and accessibility needs from a vetted network of local suppliers.
In Ukraine, roughly one in three people requires humanitarian assistance. Veterans are among those with the most complex and under-resourced needs.
CLIF addresses a persistent gap in humanitarian response: getting money to people quickly, affordably and reliably in an active conflict environment. The model uses USDC stablecoin to protect against currency volatility and settles payments instantly — cutting through the fees and delays that come with traditional transfers in conflict settings. VIA’s wallet technology has been designed for disrupted environments like active war zones where internet and electricity are unreliable, making it well-suited for the challenges of delivering aid in Ukraine. This enables offline payments, meaning participants can use it to pay for goods or services, regardless of connectivity.
“We built the VIA Wallet to make financial access possible where and when people need it the most,” says Colin Gounden, co-founder and CEO of VIA. “Our work with FHI 360 enables veterans to get the care they need in an active war zone where infrastructure is disrupted and finances are often volatile. This is exactly the kind of application that the VIA Wallet was built to handle.”
“Digital innovation is about using the right technology for the right situations,” says FHI 360 Chief Digital and Information Technology Transformation Officer Daniel Messer. “Our partnership with VIA gives us a real opportunity to test whether flexible, blockchain-based payments can improve outcomes for veterans in Ukraine.”
CLIF builds on FHI 360’s four-year presence in Ukraine, where the organization has reached more than 630,000 people with health and protection services since the full-scale war began in February 2022. The pilot serves 100 veterans with a total of $40,000 in direct assistance, with results informing potential scale-up to additional cities and populations.
Learn more about the CLIF project: https://www.fhi360.org/projects/changing-lives-with-innovative-funding-clif-project/