IB partner Prodigy Systems leads project to identify those in need and prevent criminals from manipulating humanitarian aid system to divert food and monetary assistance in famine-stricken, war-torn country.
Spartanburg, SC – 07 April 2020 – Integrated Biometrics (IB), the world leader in mobile FBI-certified biometric fingerprint scanners, today announced the company’s supporting role in a program designed to save millions from starvation due to famine and war in the nation of Yemen. In 2019, the United Nations reported that 24 million Yemenis—more than 75 percent of the country’s population—needed food and other humanitarian aid. When the largest global humanitarian food relief agency mobilized to address Yemen’s crisis, they quickly realized they could not effectively distribute food without first addressing the country’s lack of verifiable identity. Yemen had no reliable national ID database or legal identity framework in place, making the challenges of delivering relief even more daunting. Read the full story (with images) here.
Based in Yemen’s capital of Sana’a, Prodigy Systems was tasked with developing a system for registering and authenticating both heads of households and other adult members of families in need—a task made far more challenging by vast expanses of rough terrain, minimal communications and data infrastructures. In addition, internal and external conflicts had not only destroyed food production and distribution systems but left millions of refugees within Yemen’s borders. Prodigy responded with a fully mobile biometric enrollment and verification solution based on fingerprint scanners provided by Integrated Biometrics.
As a Yemeni company, this project is extremely important to us. We are honored to be part of an endeavor that will save the lives of so many of our fellow citizens. Our team will enroll more than a million Yemenis in as many as 75,000 different locations across great distances in areas with little or no reliable network infrastructure. IB’s Five-0 ten-print scanner gives us the mobility and reliability we required to fulfill this important mission. – Adnan Al-Harazi, CEO of Prodigy Systems
“For years, the world has watched as the people of Yemen have endured challenge after challenge – political instability, warfare, and famine,” said Integrated Biometrics EVP David Gerulski. “As a company, it’s in our DNA to see our products used to improve quality of life. We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in this humanitarian project that will save the lives of so many Yemenis citizens.”
About Integrated Biometrics
Integrated Biometrics (IB), a pioneer in biometric fingerprint technology, designs and manufactures advanced, high-resolution touchless and FBI-certified contact identity solutions for government, law enforcement, military, social services, and a wide range of commercial applications. IB’s lightweight scanners, supported by our patented light-emitting sensor (LES) technology, outperform traditional fingerprint devices in size, power consumption, portability, and reliability. Global organizations rely on IB’s products to enroll and verify identities quickly and accurately, even in remote locations under extreme conditions. Commercial enterprises, government and financial services organizations depend on IB to build innovative, secure applications to establish identity in accordance with national and international standards. For more information, visit: https://www.integratedbiometrics.com.
