FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2017 GiveWell Announcement
WASHINGTON, DC | November 27, 2017 — Evidence Action is pleased to announce that GiveWell has recognized three of our programs this year.
Deworm the World Initiative received recognition as a Top Charity for a fifth year running. Deworm the World uses schools to reach over 201 million children at risk of worm infection at an average cost of less than $0.50 per treatment per child. Deworming improves health, education, and long-term productivity as children grow into adults.
No Lean Season is a much younger project, and we are incredibly excited to see it recognized as a Top Charity at this stage. As part of our Beta portfolio, the project is currently testing to scale in Bangladesh and piloting in Indonesia. No Lean Season offers loans of $19 for a bus ticket to poor, rural households. This helps them send a migrant to find temporary work during the “lean season,” when there are fewer jobs available in the countryside and families are often food insecure. Research shows that the program increases incomes by an average of 19% during the lean season, and that temporary migrants are able to put an additional meal per person per day on the table for their families, just when they need it most.
Dispensers for Safe Water, which provides access to safe water to nearly 5 million people through public chlorine dispensers, received a Standout Charity award. The program’s high adoption rate – approximately 5x that of comparable water treatment interventions – is driven by a sophisticated delivery platform that ensures “last mile” service in hard-to-reach places. Motivated volunteer promoters keep their community’s dispenser filled and provide ongoing community sensitization to remind users of the importance of treating drinking water. Program staff provide real-time monitoring and evaluation of performance data to better reach those in need. As a result, the program is highly cost-effective, providing clean water for less than $1 per person per year.
The growth and recognition of our programs is an important validation that Evidence Action’s model is indeed filling a gap between knowing what works and implementing actionable solutions to alleviate poverty today.
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Evidence Action is an international nonprofit that scales evidence-based and cost-effective programs to reduce the burden of poverty for millions of people. Our approach fills the gap between research about what works and solutions for people in need. We operate in ten countries across the globe and positively impact the lives of hundreds of millions every year in a measurable way.