“According to independent sources, it can save a life for a little under $2,400 on average, a price that likely beats that of any other organization”
GiveWell doesn’t claim that. First, AMF is not at this exact moment one of their recommended charities until it is able to commit more of its stockpiled cash reserves. Second, GiveWell has not yet evaluated vast swathes of the charity world, and is actively investing in finding better opportunities, with one of GiveWell’s founders saying that he personally expects that a pick twice as good will likely be found in a few years. Third, so long as there is significant noise and uncertainty in evaluating and identifying charities, top-recommended does not translate into ‘actual best’ with high confidence, since rankings reflect a mix or underlying quality and noise. Fourth, as of March 9, 2014, GiveWell’s page on AMF says this:
“Using $6.13 as the total cost per net, we estimate the cost per child life saved through an AMF LLIN distribution at about $3,400”
“According to independent sources, it can save a life for a little under $2,400 on average, a price that likely beats that of any other organization”
GiveWell doesn’t claim that. First, AMF is not at this exact moment one of their recommended charities until it is able to commit more of its stockpiled cash reserves. Second, GiveWell has not yet evaluated vast swathes of the charity world, and is actively investing in finding better opportunities, with one of GiveWell’s founders saying that he personally expects that a pick twice as good will likely be found in a few years. Third, so long as there is significant noise and uncertainty in evaluating and identifying charities, top-recommended does not translate into ‘actual best’ with high confidence, since rankings reflect a mix or underlying quality and noise. Fourth, as of March 9, 2014, GiveWell’s page on AMF says this:
“Using $6.13 as the total cost per net, we estimate the cost per child life saved through an AMF LLIN distribution at about $3,400”
Thanks, Carl. That’s right. I think the overstatement crept in due to poor editing on my part. Apologies for the error.