Aren’t you double-counting DALYs here? Imagine 2 charities:
Charity 1 prevents Malaria deaths in children.
Charity 2 pays for the costs of living of poor people.
If Charity 1 prevents a Malaria death and then Charity 2 pays for the costs of living of the saved person, each will count each year as a DALY win per x$ donated. But they can’t both claim full credit.
Of course, maybe the person won’t be poor. Maybe they’ll be a great inventor. Or maybe they’ll be a violent criminal. Or something in between.
And what is the unpleasantness of using Malaria bed nets in hot regions? It is my understanding that in order to prevent one death, hundreds of people need to use it on a daily basis for years (though I am not an expert on the matter). How much does this reduce quality of life?
Aren’t you double-counting DALYs here? Imagine 2 charities:
Charity 1 prevents Malaria deaths in children. Charity 2 pays for the costs of living of poor people.
If Charity 1 prevents a Malaria death and then Charity 2 pays for the costs of living of the saved person, each will count each year as a DALY win per x$ donated. But they can’t both claim full credit.
Great question. Yes, you’d be double counting in this case. The DALY is not perfect, and should always be seen as just a general rough guide, and never be the sole influence for making decisions. As they say, all models are wrong, but some are useful :)
Malaria nets are unpleasant to sleep under, but it’s much better than getting malaria. I’m not aware of any studies that measure how much of a reduction in quality of life they result in, but I imagine the effect to be quite small.
Aren’t you double-counting DALYs here? Imagine 2 charities:
Charity 1 prevents Malaria deaths in children. Charity 2 pays for the costs of living of poor people.
If Charity 1 prevents a Malaria death and then Charity 2 pays for the costs of living of the saved person, each will count each year as a DALY win per x$ donated. But they can’t both claim full credit.
Of course, maybe the person won’t be poor. Maybe they’ll be a great inventor. Or maybe they’ll be a violent criminal. Or something in between.
And what is the unpleasantness of using Malaria bed nets in hot regions? It is my understanding that in order to prevent one death, hundreds of people need to use it on a daily basis for years (though I am not an expert on the matter). How much does this reduce quality of life?
Also, the sooner malaria is controlled, the fewer bed-net-nights there will be overall??
Depends on how realistic it is to eliminate malaria completely.
Charity 1 prevents Malaria deaths in children. Charity 2 pays for the costs of living of poor people.
If Charity 1 prevents a Malaria death and then Charity 2 pays for the costs of living of the saved person, each will count each year as a DALY win per x$ donated. But they can’t both claim full credit.
Great question. Yes, you’d be double counting in this case. The DALY is not perfect, and should always be seen as just a general rough guide, and never be the sole influence for making decisions. As they say, all models are wrong, but some are useful :)
Malaria nets are unpleasant to sleep under, but it’s much better than getting malaria. I’m not aware of any studies that measure how much of a reduction in quality of life they result in, but I imagine the effect to be quite small.