Why I Support Malaria Charities
Maximising the impact of charitable donations this World Malaria Day
Five years ago, walking off a stag-do hangover in Bristol, I spotted a book that changed my life. Doing Good Better¹ by Dr William MacAskill argues that our altruism needs to be as effective as possible, which means that we need to make as much impact as possible for every pound or hour donated.
I found this concept to be remarkably empowering². The idea that not only can you focus your effort to have as much impact as possible, but that you have a responsibility to, created a lot of ideas for me and helped me to redefine how I saw work.
The fact that one can still make a huge impact, even if you don’t have much to give really appealed to me too. I’ve been there, felt powerless to help, so this lesson was revolutionary: no matter what your circumstances, you’re not powerless.
For this reason, whenever I get to choose a charity, I will always nominate a malaria charity³. The outlay is small (usually provision of mosquito nets or medicine) but the potential impact is massive: lives are literally being saved every day.
I still support the causes that are important to my friends and family when they are fundraising, and I have other causes that are close to my heart⁴, but I try…
