Deworm the World Initiative

Deworm the World Initiative (abbreviated DtWI) is an initiative led by Evidence Action, a division of Innovations for Poverty Action, that works to support governments in massively expanding school-based deworming programs around the world.^[1] According to its website, it claims to have reached 40 million children in 27 countries around the world.^[2]

The initiative was originally led by a non-profit called Deworm the World, with co-founder and president the development economist Michael Kremer.^[3] Having initially having been jointly supported by the Partnership for Child Development and Innovations for Poverty Action, the initiative was taken over by the newly formed Evidence Action in late 2013.

Charity evaluator GiveWell listed DtWI as one of three top charities (without any relative ranking) for 2013 end-of-year giving.^[4] In December 2014, GiveWell listed DtWI as one of its top four recommended charities, alongside Against Malaria Foundation, GiveDirectly, and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative.^[5][6]

Honors and recognition

Deworm the World was featured in the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2012.^[7] It was also honored by Bill Clinton at the 2008 annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative.^[8] In March 2012, the Poverty Busters Giving Circle made a donation to Deworm the World.^[9][10]

External reviews

GiveWell review

December 2014 review and inclusion in top charities

In December 2014, charity evaluator GiveWell published an updated review of DtWI.^[11] 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 DtWI was operating its programs in places where deworming programs already existed was now resolved.

Based on the review, GiveWell included DtWI in its list of four top charities for the year announced on December 1, 2014. The other top charities were Against Malaria Foundation, GiveDirectly, and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative. Based on GiveWell's recommendation, Good Ventures allocated $250,000 to DtWI. GiveWell said that, accounting for the Good Ventures recommendation, it would allocate 7% of marginal donations to DtWI.^[5]

November 2013 review

In November 2013, charity evaluator GiveWell reviewed the Deworm the World Initiative.^[12] Based on the review, GiveWell listed DtWI among its three top charities (with no relative ranking) alongside GiveDirectly and the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative.^[4][6] GiveWell set a "minimum target" of funds to raise for each charity, and its minimum target for DtWI was USD 2 million.^[4]

GiveWell listed a number of strengths and weaknesses of DtWI in its official review.^[12] The main strengths GiveWell saw were:

• Focus on a program with a strong track record and excellent cost-effectiveness.
• Standout transparency.
• Room for more funding.

The major unresolved issues GiveWell saw were:

• The difficulty of assessing the impact of an organization whose role is advocacy and technical assistance, rather than direct implementation.
• The apparent fact that DtWI is working in states with existing disease control programs including some that administer the drug used in deworming.
• The marginal value of additional unrestricted funds for DtWI.
• The fact that GiveWell found the data on the quality of the deworming programs that DtWI has been involved in to be relatively limited.

November 2012 review

GiveWell had previously reviewed Deworm the World (prior to its being taken over by Evidence Action) in November 2012, with the conclusion that "we won't be prioritizing the organization in question as a potential top charity."^[13]

Reviews by others

The website of the Innovations for Poverty Action lists the school-based deworming program being carried out by Deworm the World as a program with "Proven Impact" and recommends donating to the program.^[14]

Effective giving advocacy group and charity evaluator Giving What We Can recommends Deworm the World as #3 on its list of top three recommended charities, below Against Malaria Foundation and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative.^[15] Giving What We Can has published a case study of the operations of Deworm the World in Bihar, a state in India.^[16]

Media and blog coverage

Blog coverage

The blog of Innovations for Poverty Action, an initiative partner of Deworm the World, has repeatedly mentioned and discussed the activities of Deworm the World.^[10][17][18] Deworm the World has also received mentions on the blog of the World Bank^[19] and the blog of Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.^[8]

References

External links

• Official website