Author Topic: Mustachian Giving Challenge - Mustachians Against Malaria!  (Read 37490 times)

arebelspy

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Mustachian Giving Challenge - Mustachians Against Malaria!
« on: December 17, 2017, 10:11:42 AM »
(I am cross-posting this to multiple subforums just during the holiday season. This individual thread is locked, but you can comment or view the unlocked discussion thread here, in the Throw Down The Gauntlet subforum.)

Hey Mustachians!

A fellow forum member, joelthewriter, approached me about starting a giving challenge to the Against Malaria foundation. Apparently there is a charity drive happening among a number of subreddits, and he got the idea that Mustachians might like to participate as well.

Given that many of us are fans of the Effective Altruism movement, and GiveWell, the Against Malaria Foundation seems like a very effective use for our dollars.

The Against Malaria Foundation (https://www.againstmalaria.com) is an organization that works to distribute insecticide-treated bed nets in the developing world. This charity was chosen in accordance with effective altruism1  principles—doing the absolute most good possible with the dollars we donate. AMF is widely regarded as one of the most (if not the most) effective charity in the world in terms of impact per dollar spent. AMF has received the 'Top Charity' rating from GiveWell2 in five of the last six years, as well as 'Top Charity' ratings from Giving What We Can3 and The Life You Can Save4 for six years running.  More info/stats below.

Here's what to do:
  • Donate to the Mustachians Against Malaria page: https://www.againstmalaria.com/MMM.
  • Share that link, spread, and ask for others to donate as well (in your name, even, or in lieu of gifts).


Back to the cause. Some malaria facts:
Quote
Malaria kills nearly half a million people every year and more than 200 million fall ill. Before bed nets were made available, it was many times that. Nets are a proven intervention—a more effective a way of saving lives than any other.
  • 70% of the deaths are children under 5
  • Malaria is the world's single largest killer of pregnant women
  • 90% of the deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa
Yet malaria is totally preventable and treatable. Nobody need die. Prevention is better than treatment.
  • The most effective means of prevention is sleeping under a mosquito net
  • Specifically a Long-Lasting Insecticide treated Net (LLIN)
  • Each net costs $2.5/€2,2/£1.7

Malaria is one of the largest causes of human suffering in the world and we can prevent it. At a rough approximation every 1000 nets saves a life, and prevents dozens of others from the misery of contracting malaria. And it's an economic issue too—malaria acts as a drag on economic activity and actively impoverishes the third world. Every dollar towards malaria prevention leads to 12 dollars in economic gain5.

All donations are anonymous if desired, and for a great cause. Further links below:

Happy Holidays and Happy Donating!

DONATE TO THE AGAINST MALARIA FOUNDATION HERE: https://www.againstmalaria.com/MMM

*Much credit to Reddit u/MrDannyOcean from whom joelthewriter cribbed much of this post.

1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_altruism
2https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities
3https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/top-charities/
4https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/best-charities
5http://earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/about/director/pubs/sachsmalariafeb02.pdf
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