Thanks for linking to this article and providing highlights. I tend to take this kind of criticism very seriously, and despite my pushback in the next paragraph, I still think we should pay attention to it.
On the other hand, it appears to me that very clearly many global health NGOs supported by GiveWell would have results mostly unfelt by those in poverty, not because they’re ineffective, but because they’re preventative. If AMF succeeded in its mission, all you got from it was a mosquito net. You can’t know that your own child would’ve otherwise been the one to die from malaria. The same goes for deworming and food fortification (the latter might even be entirely unfelt by a consumer).
100% great point!. Because preventative effects are spread out over such long time periods, it’s almost impossible for someone t associate the cause (mosquito net, deworming and fortification) with the effect (longer, healthier life for their kids)..
Thanks for linking to this article and providing highlights. I tend to take this kind of criticism very seriously, and despite my pushback in the next paragraph, I still think we should pay attention to it.
On the other hand, it appears to me that very clearly many global health NGOs supported by GiveWell would have results mostly unfelt by those in poverty, not because they’re ineffective, but because they’re preventative. If AMF succeeded in its mission, all you got from it was a mosquito net. You can’t know that your own child would’ve otherwise been the one to die from malaria. The same goes for deworming and food fortification (the latter might even be entirely unfelt by a consumer).
100% great point!. Because preventative effects are spread out over such long time periods, it’s almost impossible for someone t associate the cause (mosquito net, deworming and fortification) with the effect (longer, healthier life for their kids)..