How to Save a Life for $5,500
On #GivingTuesday make your dollar go further by helping the world’s most neglected people, and the most effective charity supporting them.
Every day malaria kills almost 1,200 people, according to the World Health Organization.
Twelve hundred people every day.
A gunman killed 60 people in the Las Vegas massacre on October 1, 2017. Horrific.
Now, imagine that a similar shooting happening in your city that same day.
Now imagine that shooting happening in 18 more cities that same day.
- Las Vegas ~60 killed
- Your city ~60 killed
- New York City ~60 killed
- Los Angeles ~60 killed
- Chicago ~60 killed
- Houston ~60 killed
- Philadelphia ~60 killed
- Phoenix ~60 killed
- San Antonio ~60 killed
- San Diego ~60 killed
- Dallas~60 killed
- Austin ~60 killed
- Washington DC ~60 killed
- Boston ~60 killed
- San Francisco ~60 killed
- Denver ~60 killed
- Seattle ~60 killed
- Miami ~60 killed
That would equal 1,200 people.
That’s how many people malaria is killing on a daily basis.
Now imagine those 20 mass shootings happening every day, 365 days a year.
That would equal ~430,000 people killed in a year.
That’s how many people the World Health Organization estimates malaria kills each year.
Unicef holds that the number is higher — stating malaria kills about 1,000,000 people, mostly children, each year.
By comparison, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi’s and collaborators murdered approximately 500,000 Jews per year during the Holocaust, leading to 6,000,000 people killed.
While not a genocide, the malaria endemic is as serious as the Holocaust.
But, it won’t take a world war to solve it.
The main step we can take to end malaria is support the use of a simple tool:
Insecticide bed nets.
These nets, like the one in the photo above, cover a person’s sleeping quarters. They cost about $4 to purchase and distribute. Yes, four dollars.
They’re treated with insecticide, so that the mosquitoes who land on it die. The long lasting insecticide bed nets top charities use last for four to five years.
Many high-quality scientific studies have documented the ability of bed nets to save lives.
The CDC notes: “ITNs [insecticide treated nets] have been shown to reduce the death of children under 5 years from all causes by about 20%.”
In a recent article NPR noted that bed nets have been the cornerstone of aid, “helping to drive down the number of deaths from malaria dramatically. There were roughly 438,000 deaths in 2015, according to the World Health Organization, a significant drop from the 800,000-plus deaths in the year 2000.”
Meanwhile, Malaria Journal notes:
“Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) are a highly effective means for preventing malaria infection and reducing associated morbidity and mortality.”
-Malaria Journal
The Gates Foundation notes that the insecticides used on the bed nets may be becoming less effective. But, they still remain the best way to fight malaria.
But, there’s a problem.
The world’s top-rated charity faces a large budget shortfall.
Charity analyzer GiveWell, rigorously surveys different organizations to figure out who the most effective charity is.
The Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) has been one of their top-rated charities since 2012.
GiveWell recommends people give ALL of their donations to AMF.
The charity analyzer highly recommends AMF because of rigorous surveys that have tested the efficacy of the organization’s work, the low cost AMF has for buying and distributing nets, and the overall success of using long lasting insecticide nets.
Because of this, it’s roughly estimated, the Against Malaria Foundation can save a life for every $5,500 it receives.
But, the organization faces massive budget shortfalls, approximated at $50 million for this year, and in the hundreds of millions of dollars for 2018–2020.
If they were to receive that first $50 million, AMF could save over 9,000 lives.
Here is what 9,000 lives looks like:
Horrific as it sounds, imagine someone set up a missile, and could wipe that Bernie rally out. Or that Trump rally. Or that lecture hall in India. They held it hostage, and requested $50 million to save those lives.
Would people or governments pool together to contribute $50 million to save 9,000 hostages?
In a heartbeat.
That would represent just .2% of the United State’s $23 billion foreign aid budget.
But, could the Against Malaria Foundation get that $50 million?
That remains to be seen.
It’s a much harder proposition because people in the developed world as a whole don’t care about people being killed in the developing world.
Our lives are great, relatively.
The United States eliminated malaria in 1951.
In 2017, 66 years later, it still rocks the developing world.
And that’s where we come in. We can both financially contribute to end malaria, and tell our friends and family to do the same.
If you make over $50,000 USD annually, you are amongst the richest 1% of people in the whole world. If you make over $30,000 USD annually, you are in the top 5%.
Meanwhile, “Nearly 1/2 of the world’s population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day,” according to DoSomething.
As a person living in the United States, whether rich, poor or middle class, we have an outstanding opportunity to improve the quality of life for the world’s most oppressed people.
There are many organizations you can contribute to at home. But, ultimately your dollar goes 100x further if donated to the right organization abroad.
The right organization to donate to is the Against Malaria Foundation.
Their rigorous assessment, low cost of distribution, and efficacy of action, set them apart from other organizations.
Whatever you can contribute, I encourage you to do so both on this #GivingTuesday. Then, contribute again each month. Keep doing that for years to come.
Encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Together, we can make people care about the lives of people in the developing world, and contribute to end neglected tropical disease.
Contribute here: https://www.againstmalaria.com/Donation.aspx
Then, share this article with at least five friends, encouraging them to do the same.
Thank you.
