- The most promising ways we've found to help developing-world women are in the area of health. We believe that changing attitudes and creating empowerment are worthy goals, but have not found organizations with a strong case that they can accomplish these goals directly.
- Historically, interventions to reduce maternal mortality have a spotty track record. We have no recommended charity that focuses primarily on women's issues (more)
- We recommend 2 organizations, both of which work on issues that pertain particularly strongly to women's health in the developing world: Population Services International and Partners in Health
How do charities help?
Charities work on a number of issues that directly affect women. Some charities focus on improving women's health by running programs to reduce deaths or complications resulting from childbirth. Others seek to empower women by increasing their financial capacity through microcredit (providing loans) or job training. Some organizations focus on education, providing scholarships or financial assistance to girls so that they can attend school. Some organizations seek to combat sexist attitudes that may result in domestic abuse and other problems. And, finally, some organizations try to combat sex slavery and trafficking.
In line with our research into international aid in general, we believe that programs focused on health offer donors the best opportunity to accomplish good with their donation.1 Programs focused on economic empowerment or education may work, but past programs have a spotty track record.2
We believe that the goal of "gender equality" is a worthy one, but trying to change attitudes in a very different culture is an uphill battle, and women, themselves, value other things more highly.3
What are the challenges of finding a great charity?
Complications relating to childbirth are one of the primary health issues affecting women. A woman in a developing country is 97 times more likely to die as a result of pregnancy than a woman in a developed country. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about how to close the gap. We have found no developing-world programs with strong track records for this goal,4 and have found at least one example of a program's being carried out for decades before being discontinued, largely due to a lack of evidence of effectiveness.5
See our review of programs aiming to reduce maternal mortality for more information.
Where should you give?
Given the checkered history of interventions focused narrowly on maternal mortality, we support two charities that take a different approach.
- Population Services International, which promotes and distributes condoms that reduce unwanted pregnancies, ultimately reducing the number of maternal deaths during childbirth. Condoms have the additional benefit of preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. For more, see our full review of PSI.
- Partners in Health, a group that provides comprehensive health care to individuals in the developing world by creating and managing hospitals, health centers, and a network of community health workers. We believe that full-service hospitals are among donors' best options to comprehensively prevent maternal deaths during childbirth. PIH's work has the additional benefit of improving health more broadly for the communities they serve, including treating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and pnuemonia, other significant problems in the developing world. For more, see our full review of PIH.
- 1.
See our overview of international giving and our overview of developing-world health.
- 2.
See our overview of economic empowerment and our overview of developing-world education.
- 3.
See our discussion of What problems do people in the developing world believe are most pressing?. Note that responses from men and women did not differ substantially.
- 4.
See our report on maternal mortality for more information.
- 5.
See our discussion of training programs for traditional birth attendants.
