Against Malaria Foundation

Against Malaria Foundation

Founded	August 2004 (August 2004)
Founder	Rob Mather
Purpose	alleviating malaria
Location	London
Area served	sub-Saharan Africa
Key people	Rob Mather Sean Good Andrew Garner
Website	www.againstmalaria.com

The Against Malaria Foundation is a United Kingdom-based charity^[1] that provides long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) to populations at high risk of malaria, primarily in Africa. Since its founding in 2004, the foundation has raised $19.4 million^[2] and distributed 5.7 million LLINs.^[3] The average cost of nets to-date has been $4.32.^[4]

LLINs are distributed through partnerships with the International Red Cross, the Malaria Consortium and others, with partners responsible for all costs of distribution. Distributions include malaria education for the local population and are documented through reports, photos and video. Post-distribution surveys are carried out 6, 18, 30 and 42 months after the initial distribution to assess net usage and conditions.^[5]

The Against Malaria Foundation has nine trustees and an advisory committee drawn from leading malaria experts around the world.^[6] The charity is registered in the United Kingdom and governed by the laws of England and Wales. It is also registered in the USA, Germany, Canada, Japan and other countries.^[7] GiveWell, an independent charity evaluator, named AMF its top-rated charity worldwide in 2011 and 2012,^[8] but removed it from its list of charities in November 2013 due to room for more funding-related issues. It was once again recommended by GiveWell in 2014.

History

The Against Malaria Foundation was set up in August 2004^[9] with the purpose of handling money raised through the World Swim Against Malaria, a global fundraising event scheduled for Dec. 3, 2005. More than 250,000 people participated in the swim, which raised $1.3 million to buy mosquito nets. The money was used to buy 270,000 nets, which were distributed to protect an estimated 540,000 people from the risk of mosquito-borne malaria infection.^[10]

The World Swim Against Malaria was the brainchild of Rob Mather, a London-based strategy consultant. Mather had earlier organized a swim to raise money for a 2-year-old girl who was badly burned in a house fire. Held in December 2003, the “Swim for Terri”^[11] started as a three-person fundraiser and grew to include 10,000 swimmers in 73 countries.

In 2012, the Against Malaria Foundation did not undertake all planned distributions due to safety concerns in Mali and concerns about transparency with potential partners in Malawi and Togo.^[12]

Approach

One hundred percent of funds raised through the Against Malaria Foundation's website are used to purchase bednets, according to the foundation's founders.^[13] Distribution and education costs are covered by distribution partners. Administrative costs are covered by the charity's trustees and a small group of private donors. The foundation also benefits from in-kind contributions of services from lawyers, accountants, advertising agencies, professional translators, web technologists and others.^[14] In 2010, the Against Malaria Foundation took in £1.3 million and spent £1.6 million, with £1.4 million going directly to charitable activities.^[1]

The sequence for each distribution is as follows:^[15]

1. A distribution partner submits to AMF a proposal to distribute mosquito nets in a targeted high-risk area.
2. AMF’s Malaria Advisory Group reviews the proposal with requests for further information if necessary. The Group approves, amends or rejects the proposal based on available funding and the needs of the target area.
3. AMF and the distribution partner sign a contract laying out each parties’ obligations.
4. AMF raises the funds for the nets and purchases them directly from the manufacturer, while the distribution partner covers all non-net costs. The nets constitute the majority of the distribution’s costs. In some cases, the partner will raise funds through AMF's website, in which case all funds raised are ring-fenced for the partner's proposed distribution. All details of each distribution are made available to the public on dedicated “distribution pages.”
5. After sufficient funds have been raised, the distribution partner arranges the distribution logistics with the targeted community and pays for the nets to be shipped and stored nearby.
6. The distribution partner distributes the nets in the targeted community, and offers education on proper usage of the nets as well as general malaria education. As per the agreement with AMF, the partner documents the distribution via reports, photo and video.
7. The distribution partner files a post-distribution report with AMF.
8. The partner carries out post-distribution surveys 6, 18, 30 and 42 months after the distribution to monitor net usage and conditions.
9. The partner collects malaria case rate data on a quarterly basis, and emails the information to AMF.

Partners and supporters

Against Malaria Foundation is supported by more than 100 corporations.^[16] AMF’s principal partners are PwC, Citigroup, Speedo, Microsoft, Allen & Overy, Attenda, Vestergaard Frandsen, and Sumitomo Chemical. Speedo also partnered with AMF’s precursor organization, World Swim Against Malaria, and continues to raise money for bednets through swimming events.^[17]

AMF’s principal distribution partners are Population Services International, the Malaria Consortium, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, World Vision and Concern Universal.^[18] Sixty organizations fundraise for bednets using AMF’s website or their own.^[19]

GiveWell review

Charity evaluator GiveWell listed Against Malaria Foundation as its top-rated charity in 2011 and 2012, removed it from the top-rated charity list in November 2013, and reinstated it as a top-rated charity in 2014. Details of GiveWell's reviews are below.

2010 review and Silver Medal status

GiveWell published its first review of Against Malaria Foundation in 2010.^[20] In the review, GiveWell estimated that "when ITN distributions are effective, $182-$1126 prevents a death from malaria and prevents 320 less severe malaria episodes." This is a higher level of cost-effectiveness than GiveWell's current estimate, but at the time, appeared less cost-effective than GiveWell's top-rated charity VillageReach. GiveWell gave AMF a Silver Medal status and ranked it #3 in its list of top charities, behind VillageReach and Stop TB.^[21]

2011 review and top charity status

GiveWell published its second review of Against Malaria Foundation in November 2011.^[22] GiveWell ranked AMF as its top charity in 2011, listing Schistosomiasis Control Initiative as the #2 charity.^[23][24][25]

2012 review and top charity status

In November 2012, GiveWell named AMF as its top-rated charity for the second year in a row, along with GiveDirectly (ranked #2) and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (ranked #3).^[8][26] GiveWell also published a new lengthy review of AMF.^[27]

2013 review update and removal from list of top charities

In November 2013, GiveWell removed Against Malaria Foundation from its list of top-rated charities due to room for more funding-related issues.^[28] GiveWell also updated its review of AMF.^[27]

2014 review and reinstatement to top charity status

In December 2014, GiveWell reinstated Against Malaria Foundation as one of four top charities, citing the fact that Against Malaria Foundation had successfully 'committed the bulk of its current funds' to distributions of long-lasting insecticidal nets, an expectation that Against Malaria Foundation's programmes would continue to be exceptionally cost-effective, and Against Malaria Foundation's willingness to transparently communicate its successes and failures.^[29] GiveWell also named Deworm the World Initiative, GiveDirectly and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative as top charities, stating that 'reasonable people could reach a very wide variety of conclusions regarding which charity accomplishes the most good per dollar'.

Based on GiveWell's recommendation, Good Ventures donated $5 million to AMF. Taking into account the Good Ventures donation, GiveWell said that, if they were to control the allocation of marginal donations, they would allocate 67% to AMF.^[29]

Other external reviews

Giving What We Can review

Giving What We Can, a fundraising organization dedicated to ending global poverty, named AMF as the first of its four top rated charities.^[30] They also published their own review of AMF.^[31]

In December 2013, shortly after GiveWell delisted AMF from its list of top charities, Giving What We Can published a blog post stating that they continued to stand by AMF as their top recommendation.^[32]

Recommendation by The Life You Can Save

The Life You Can Save, a website that advocates the charitable philosophies of Peter Singer, recommends donating to AMF on the grounds that the charity focuses on the world's poorest people and saves a human life for roughly $1,800.^[33]

References

External links

• Against Malaria Foundation
• Against Malaria Foundation's Charity Commission page
• World Swim Against Malaria
• Against Malaria Foundation GiveWell's assessment of the Against Malaria Foundation. Includes extensive details about the organization's administration, funding, transparency and effectiveness.
• The Life You Can Save Website for Peter Singer's book "The Life You Can Save"
• Against Malaria Foundation Ntcheu case study Giving What We Can's account of AMF's distribution in Ntcheu, Malawi, including details of AMF's guiding principles and methodology

Malaria Biology Malaria Cerebral Blackwater fever Pregnancy-associated Plasmodium biology life cycle vivax falciparum ovale malariae Anopheles mosquito Lifecycle Schizont Merozoite Hypnozoite Gametocyte Control and prevention Public health DDT Mosquito net Malaria prophylaxis Mosquito control Sterile insect technique Genetic resistance Duffy antigen Sickle cell anaemia Thalassemia G6PDH deficiency Malaria vaccine Recombinant malaria vaccine RTS,S Diagnosis and treatment Diagnosis of Malaria Malaria culture Blood film Malaria antigen detection tests Antimalarials Artemisinin Mefloquine Proguanil Society and malaria Diseases of poverty Millennium Development Goals History of Malaria Roman fever National Malaria Eradication Program World Malaria Day Epidemiology Malaria and the Caribbean Malaria Atlas Project Organisations Roll Back Malaria Partnership Malaria Consortium Against Malaria Foundation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Imagine No Malaria Malaria No More Africa Fighting Malaria African Malaria Network Trust South African Malaria Initiative African Leaders Malaria Alliance Amazon Malaria Initiative The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Medicines for Malaria Venture