A Note from CEO, Kanika Bahl

 

The last several months have been extremely busy across Evidence Action. Our biggest news is the expansion of Dispensers for Safe Water – with plans to double the size of the program and reach 5M additional people by 2023! Our teams in Uganda and Malawi are working around the clock to identify communities and obtain their active engagement on the chlorine dispensers, with installations slated to begin in September. By next year we’ll be providing safe water access to a total of 9 million people across Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi. This growth has tremendous impact on saving young children’s lives, particularly in light of the recent meta-analysis which showed safe water reduces all-cause child mortality by about 25%. If you’d like to learn more about our expansion plans, and the research that led to a new investment in this program, read this blog or sign up to attend GiveWell’s June 22 (virtual) donor event.

Just last week we celebrated an important milestone – 10 years of Kenya’s National School-Based Deworming Program. This program has enormous impact, with evidence from Kenya showing that for every dollar spent on deworming, each treated child will earn over $230 more over their lifetime. With over 6 million children reached annually, the program has resulted in significant decreases in worm infections. The Government of Kenya, with our support, continues to use impact data to advance and adapt the program as worm burdens fall due to the program’s success. 

We’ve also recently obtained significant support for our Accelerator, our engine for new program development at Evidence Action. We are excited to expand our capacity to find and scale the next generation of evidence-based and cost-effective programs. Stay tuned for updates on our forthcoming growth!  

Warmly,



The 10th anniversary of the National School-Based Deworming Programme in Kenya was celebrated in Busia County on June 15th, 2022.
Articles
We're doubling the size of Dispensers for Safe Water,
reaching millions more people and saving the lives of young children
This article summarizes highlights of the program’s 10th anniversary event, including remarks from  Kenya’s ministries of health and education on the program’s important impacts.
Laying foundations of good health in school classrooms across India
The Government of India is committed to improving the health of millions of children and adolescents through a number of public health interventions, including its flagship nutrition program Anemia Mukt Bharat (Anemia-free India). Evidence Action’s robust government partnerships help both to ensure children receive iron and folic acid supplementation as well as deworming, and to reinforce important messages on healthy behaviors through school curriculum.
 
Newsworthy

National School Based Deworming Programme Marks 10 years (Kenya News)
This article summarizes highlights of the program’s 10th anniversary event, including remarks from  Kenya’s ministries of health and education on the program’s important impacts.

Meet Nobel winner feted for helping our children (Kenya Star) 
This article features Professor Michael Kremer’s trip to Kenya and cites the Dispensers for Safe Water program for its contributions to reducing child mortality.

Why Open Philanthropy’s backing this evidence-based solution to safe water (Inside Philanthropy – paywall)
This article features Professor Michael Kremer’s trip to Kenya and cites the Dispensers for Safe Water program for its contributions to reducing child mortality.

Action-able

On June 22, GiveWell is hosting a donor briefing on the topic of safe water. Brett Sedgewick, our Senior Director of Programs, will join Professor Michael Kremer of the Development Innovation Lab and Elie Hassenfeld and Catherine Hollander of GiveWell for an online panel diving into the evidence and cost-effectiveness of safe water interventions including our Dispensers for Safe Water program. More information and sign up here. 

Watch! If you can’t make it to the donor briefing, you can view a similar panel “Dispensers for Safe Water Experiments” that recently took place at the Effective Altruism Global meeting in London. The discussion highlights the roles and need for researchers, practitioners, and donors to translate evidence into actual impact and the effect that can have on communities.

Work for Impact

For all current openings, please visit our Careers page.

Staff Spotlight
Anil Tambay - Country Director, India

Anil Tambay is Country Director for EAII Advisors, Evidence Action’s technical partner in India. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi and the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, Anil’s diverse career spans over 30 years, five countries, and both the nonprofit and corporate sectors. He has been in country director roles for over 14 years, living and working most recently in Tanzania and Bangladesh with Marie Stopes. Before that, he was with Oxfam GB in a regional role covering six countries in East Asia, and as a country director. For more than a decade he was a vice president with the Indian NGO, BAIF Development Research Foundation based in Pune. 

Anil brings a deep expertise in strategic leadership, organizational development, donor relationship management, program implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. He is well-recognized by his prior organizations and peers for his strong people management and communication skills, and for his ability to drive exceptional performance and results while enabling a positive workplace culture.

We asked Anil to share some insights about his experience at Evidence Action and the development sector.

How would you describe your role?
EXCITING! An opportunity to lead and shape an entire organization in India in our cherished culture specific mold to enable high performance in achieving our objectives with the various governments in India. Working across all our teams in 11 states and ensuring that we have the right mix of people, skills, and attitudes. Strategic visioning based action to ensure EAII is fit for purpose now and in the future in… alignment with critical national goals.

What initially drew you to work in global development?
Making a difference much larger than myself and for the less fortunate.

What inspires you the most about working with Evidence Action?
Evidence Action [in India] works through empowering the government without creating parallel structures. This is the most sustainable approach to making a difference where it matters. Evidence Action has a fantastic organizational culture which aligns with my own in every respect. There is complete alignment between ethos and actions which I simply love. It is also a high performing organization and FUN to work in.

Can you speak to a specific moment on the job that was especially rewarding?
Meeting large groups of our team members in-person after two years of pandemic lockdowns has been a highlight.

What is your favorite part about your role?
Coaching team members on to better performance, capacity, confidence, and enjoyment in their roles.

What do you hope to see from the programs you work with at Evidence Action moving forward?
I work for the day when we can conclude that there is no further need for our work. The government will be doing all that needs to be done.

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