Published: November 2020; Updated October 2026
Estimating the impact of your donations
For information about our general approach to estimating the impact of the programs and funding opportunities we recommend, see this page.
Research hours
As of October 2026, GiveWell has 63 full-time research staff.1 Their names and roles can be found here.
Each staff member contributes about 1,840 hours per year (40 hours per week multiplied by 46 weeks, accounting for holidays and time off). We assume that one-quarter of their time is spent on non-research work, such as staff meetings. We thus roughly estimate that they collectively conduct more than 85,000 hours of research per year (63 staff multiplied by 1,840 hours per year multiplied by 75% of time on research).
Impact of malaria
Estimates of annual malaria deaths vary from about 610,000 to 670,000.2 About 95% of the malaria deaths reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) for 2024 were in the WHO African Region, and children under five years old accounted for three-quarters of those malaria deaths.3
More than 70% of total malaria deaths were children under five years old in Africa (95% of total malaria deaths in Africa multiplied by 75% of malaria deaths occurring in children under five results in 71.3%).
Impact of vitamin A deficiency
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease project estimates that vitamin A deficiency increases the risk of diarrhea, measles, and lower respiratory tract infections.4 Across the countries and regions where GiveWell has modeled Helen Keller Intl programs, we estimate the average prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in children under five is 28%.5
Impact of vaccine-preventable diseases
Worldwide, at least 15% of infants did not receive all recommended childhood vaccines.6 In Nigeria, where New Incentives operates, 38% of infants did not receive all recommended vaccines.7
Sources
- 1
This includes only those members of the research team whose primary responsibility is research; it excludes, for example, those focused on research operations or project management.
- 2
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project estimates about 670,000 global deaths from malaria in 2023. See Our World in Data, “Malaria deaths by world region” (chart based on GBD data): 669,705 malaria deaths in 2023. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates approximately 610,000 malaria deaths in 2024. “Globally in 2024, there were an estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610 000 malaria deaths in 80 countries.” WHO, Malaria Fact Sheet 2025.
- 3
“In 2024, the WHO African Region was home to 95% of malaria cases (265 million) and 95% (579 000) of malaria deaths. Children under 5 accounted for about 75% of all malaria deaths in the Region.” WHO, Malaria Fact Sheet 2025.
- 4
"In its Global Burden of Disease (GBD), IHME models VAD [vitamin A deficiency] as both a direct cause of years lived with disability (YLDs) and as a risk factor for three other diseases (diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), and measles)." GiveWell's non-verbatim summary of a conversation with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, April 5, 2019
- 5
See here in GiveWell’s vitamin A supplementation cost-effectiveness analysis.
- 6
“In 2025, global coverage of the third dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine – often used as a marker of how well countries are providing routine immunization services to children – stood at 85 per cent, as per the latest WHO and UNICEF estimates of national immunization coverage (WUENIC).” UNICEF, "Immunization," 2026. We say “at least” because coverage tends to be lower for other vaccines. For global vaccination rates, see Our World in Data, Vaccination coverage, World, 2024.
- 7
In 2025, 62% of infants in Nigeria received the third dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3)vaccine. Our World in Data, Vaccination coverage, Nigeria, 1984-2025