We have published a more recent version of this page. See our most recent version of this page.
Last updated: March 2021
This page lists interventions we have researched to identify candidates for our list of top charities. Our priority programs have the following characteristics:
- The evidence for their effectiveness appears to have relatively high external validity and thus generalizability: it is relatively clear which components of the program are important for effectiveness, and thus we expect a higher-than-usual chance of being able to meaningfully assess a charity's impact when it focuses on these programs.
- They appear to be potentially highly cost-effective.
Table of Contents
Below we list the programs we have considered as potential priority programs.
For older versions of this page, see the 2009 version, the 2012 version, the August 2017 version, and our summary of our 2009-2011 criteria for evaluating programs.
Priority Programs
| Program | Has GiveWell completed an evidence review? | GiveWell report | GiveWell's current conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridges to Prosperity | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Cash transfers | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Cataract surgery | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Community-based intervention packages to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Deworming | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| HPV vaccination to prevent cervical cancer | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Immunization to prevent maternal and neonatal tetanus | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Iron fortification | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Iron supplementation for school-age children | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Kangaroo mother care | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Mass distribution of azithromycin to reduce child mortality | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Mass distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| New Incentives (conditional cash transfers to increase infant vaccination) | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Probiotic supplementation for preterm newborns | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Salt iodization | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Seasonal malaria chemoprevention | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Supplementary immunization activities to prevent measles | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Surgery to repair obstetric fistula | Yes | Report | Some evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Vitamin A supplementation | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Voluntary medical male circumcision to curb HIV and cervical cancer | Yes | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV/AIDS | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Alive & Thrive (intensive breastfeeding promotion) | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Some evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Breastfeeding promotion | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Some evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Community-based management of acute malnutrition | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Some evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Community salt substitution for reducing cardiovascular risk | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Some evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Eyeglasses to improve workers' manual dexterity | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Some evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi) for malaria | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Oral Rehydration Solution | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Precision Agriculture for Development (mobile-based agricultural advice) | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Some evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Sayana® Press | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Probably has reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| SMS reminders for immunization | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Limited evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Syphilis screening and treatment during pregnancy | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Some evidence of effectiveness; promising |
| Immunizations | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Probably has reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Malaria treatment | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Probably has reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Mass administration of ivermectin and albendazole to control lymphatic filariasis | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Review update underway |
| Mass administration of ivermectin to control onchocerciasis | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Probably has reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Probably has reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Therapeutic zinc supplementation | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Probably has reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Trachoma control | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Probably has reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
| Tuberculosis case finding and first-line treatment | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Probably has reasonably strong evidence of effectiveness |
Other Programs We've Investigated
| Program | Has GiveWell completed an evidence review? | GiveWell report | GiveWell's current conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean cookstoves | Yes | Report | Limited evidence of effectiveness to date |
| Conditional subsidies for seasonal labor migration in northern Bangladesh | Yes | Report | Mixed evidence; research ongoing |
| Condom promotion and distribution | Yes | Report | Limited evidence of effectiveness |
| Distribution of eyeglasses in developing countries | Yes | Report | Evidence is less compelling |
| Early childhood psychosocial stimulation | Yes | Report | Evidence is less compelling |
| Education in developing countries | Yes | Report | Limited evidence of effectiveness to date |
| Immunization to prevent meningitis A | Yes | Report | Lack of room for more funding |
| Integrated community case management | Yes | Report | Limited evidence of effectiveness |
| Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy | Yes | Report | Limited evidence of effectiveness |
| Mass media to promote behavior change | Yes | Report | Limited evidence of effectiveness to date |
| Non-therapeutic zinc supplementation/fortification | Yes | Report | Evidence is less compelling |
| Soft skills certification | Yes | Report | Evidence is less compelling |
| Water quality (filtration, chlorination) | Yes | Report | Evidence is less compelling |
| Interventions to promote handwashing | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Evidence is less compelling |
| Oral Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV | Yes, but at a shallow level | Report | Limited evidence of cost-effectiveness |
| Maternal mortality reduction | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Evidence is less compelling |
| Microfinance | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Limited evidence of effectiveness |
| Water infrastructure | Yes, but not up-to-date | Report | Evidence is less compelling |
How We Identified Programs for Investigation
We first started working on identifying promising programs for investigation in 2009. At that time, we focused on reviewing two sources:
- The Copenhagen Consensus, the only case we have seen of an independent panel of experts attempting to identify the most promising philanthropic investments (discussed more here)
- Millions Saved, the best collection we have found of large-scale, well-documented past successes in international aid (discussed more here)
If a program was both featured in one of these two publications and similar to a program focused on by one or more of the charities we reviewed, we generally conducted further investigation into the program. Details on which programs are featured in these two publications, which similar programs are focused on by the charities we've reviewed, and which programs we investigated are available here (XLS).
Over time, we have added programs to this list; we have added any program that seems to potentially fit the criteria laid out at the top of the page. We place more emphasis than we previously did on external validity, and less on estimated cost-effectiveness, for reasons laid out in a 2012 blog post.
We previously listed our best guesses about the evidence for interventions we had not completed reviews of; we no longer think this provides useful information and have removed these lines from this page.