I would also much prefer if altruism was obsolete. You could watch your hero stories on TV and be done with it. :)
Doctors sometimes pompously remark that medicine is the only profession that works towards its own obsolescence.
I see doctors more as organized rentseekers who peddle artificial scarcity. Not only don’t they invent the drugs they prescribe, they earn money because we need their permission before we can buy a prescription drug from the pharma industry. We can’t even sign a legal waiver to reject this paternalism.
Many times have I brought money into a doctor’s practice only to fetch the piece of paper that I needed to buy what I wanted to buy from other people.
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?