Deworm the World Initiative
The Deworm the World Initiative is an initiative led by the non-governmental organisation Evidence Action, that works to support governments to develop school-based deworming programs around the world.[1] According to its website, it has reached 140 million children and works in Kenya, India, Ethiopia, and Vietnam.[2]
The initiative was originally an independent nonprofit organization called Deworm the World, co-founded by development economist Michael Kremer.[3] Initially supported by the Partnership for Child Development and Innovations for Poverty Action, Deworm the World became an initiative of the NGO Evidence Action in late 2013.[4]
Charity evaluator GiveWell lists the Deworm the World Initiative as one of three top charities in 2013.[5] In December 2014, GiveWell listed Deworm the World as one of its top four recommended charities, alongside Against Malaria Foundation, GiveDirectly, and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative.[6][7] In November 2015, GiveWell reaffirmed DtWI's status as a top charity, recommended that Good Ventures donate $10.8 million to the organization, and identified a funding gap of 11.4 million US dollars for the organization, though the entire funding for the organization's planned 2016 activities was covered.[8]
Contents
Work
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 870 million children are at risk of parasitic worm infection. Over 400 million of these children remain untreated, according to the WHO fact sheet on soil-transmitted helminths.[9] Worm infections interfere with nutrient uptake; can lead to anemia, malnourishment and impaired mental and physical development; and pose a serious threat to children’s health, education, and productivity. Infected children are often too sick or tired to concentrate at school, or to attend at all.[10] Deworm the World supports the governments of India and Kenya in their respective national school-based deworming programs, and works with the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative in supporting Ethiopia's national school-based deworming program.
GiveWell review
November 2015 review
In November 2015, GiveWell published an updated review of Deworm the World Initiative.[11] Based on this, GiveWell listed DtWI as one of its top charities for the end-of-year giving season.[8] GiveWell recommended that Good Ventures, a private foundation it works closely with, donate $10.8 million to meet DtWI's funding needs.
Although GiveWell recommended to donors to donate all marginal funds to Against Malaria Foundation, it offered a more detailed breakdown of the funding gaps of different organizations at different execution levels. The details for DtWI are described below.
| Level | Funding gap | Part of funding gap covered by Good Ventures | Cumulative funding gap | Part of cumulative funding gap covered by Good Ventures | Part of cumulative funding gap left for other donors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity-relevant (crucial for the organization's development and success; if they don't get this their future is in jeopardy) | $7.6 million | $7.6 million (100%) | $7.6 million | $7.6 million (100%) | 0 |
| Execution Level 2/possibly capacity-relevant | $3.2 million | $3.2 million (100%) | $10.8 million | $10.8 million (100%) | 0 |
| Execution Level 3 (if the organization has this amount over and above Execution Level 2, there is a ~95% chance they will not be bottlenecked for funding) | $8.2 million | 0 (0%) | $19.0 million | $10.8 million (56.84%) | $8.2 million |
November 2014 review
In November 2014, charity evaluator GiveWell published an updated review of DtWI.[12] The key strengths and unresolved issues remained the same as those in their earlier review from November 2013, with one change: the earlier unresolved issue of concern that Deworm the World was operating its programs in places where deworming programs already existed was now resolved.
Based on the review, GiveWell included Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative in its list of four top charities for the year announced on December 1, 2014.
November 2013 review
In November 2013, charity evaluator GiveWell reviewed the Deworm the World Initiative.[13] Based on the review, GiveWell listed Deworm the World among its three top charities (with no relative ranking) alongside GiveDirectly and the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative.[5][7] GiveWell set a "minimum target" of funds to raise for each charity, and its minimum target for Deworm the World was USD 2 million.[5]
Other reviews
Giving What We Can review
Effective altruism advocacy group Giving What We Can lists Deworm the World Initiative as one of its two promising charities (along with Project Healthy Children; the two established charities listed are Against Malaria Foundation and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative). The group did a case study of deworming activities in Bihar, India for which DtWI provided assistance. GWWC contrasts DtWI with Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, another deworming charity, as follows: DtWI focuses on helping governments carry out deworming programs, rather than carrying out the deworming program itself. Therefore, it bears less of the cost, and is potentially more scalable. On the flip side, many of the programs it assists with may have occurred without its help, leading to lower impact relative to the counterfactual.[14]
Investigation into Kenya deworming program
In September 2015, charity evaluator GiveWell published a report based on field investigations carried out by Jacob Kushner and Anthony Langat of the National School-Based Deworming Program conducted by the government of Kenya with technical assistance from Deworm the World Initiative. The investigations were funded by GiveWell. They cited three concerns with the program: parents' and children's concerns about side effects of the deworming medication, religious concerns, and the fact that the program did not reach students not enrolled in school. Responding to the report, GiveWell said that it did not raise any red flags for its recommendation of Deworm the World Initiative. Evidence Action also responded at length to the observations made in the report.[15]
References
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