Humanitarian Innovation: Drones, Biometrics, and Unintended Harms

Asiimwe Kyomugisha T.

Faculty of Business, Kampala International University, Uganda

                                                                                                   ABSTRACT
Humanitarian innovation increasingly relies on advanced technologies such as drones and biometric systems to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of aid delivery. While these tools offer significant operational benefits including improved logistics, real-time data collection, and secure identification of beneficiaries they also introduce complex ethical, legal, and social challenges. This study examines the interplay between drones, biometrics, and unintended harms within humanitarian contexts. Drawing on existing literature and case-based insights, it highlights how technological interventions may inadvertently generate risks related to privacy violations, surveillance, bias, dependency, and the erosion of humanitarian principles such as neutrality and independence. The analysis further explores how these technologies reshape power dynamics between humanitarian actors and affected populations, raising concerns about accountability, consent, and governance. While drones facilitate rapid response and access to remote areas, and biometrics improve aid targeting and fraud prevention, both systems carry the potential for misuse and long-term harm if inadequately regulated. The study concludes that humanitarian innovation must be guided by robust ethical frameworks, participatory governance, and contextsensitive implementation strategies to balance technological benefits with the protection of human dignity and rights.

Keywords: Humanitarian Innovation, Drones in Humanitarian Action, Biometric Technologies, Unintended Harms and Data Ethics and Governance.

CITE AS: Asiimwe Kyomugisha T.. (2026). Humanitarian Innovation: Drones, Biometrics, andUnintended Harms. Research Output Journal of Arts and Management 5(1):26-32.
https://doi.org/10.59298/ROJAM/2026/512632