Evidence Action

Evidence Action scales evidence-based and cost-effective programs to reduce the burden of poverty for millions of people. Their approach fills the gap between research about what works and solutions for people in need. Evidence Action operates in ten countries in Africa and Asia and positively impacts the lives of hundreds of millions each year in a measurable way.

Currently, Evidence Action operates two at-scale programs. Their Deworm the World Initiative, grounded in rigorous evidence on the impact of mass school-based deworming on children’s short and long-term outcomes, has achieved extraordinary scale and now supports governments to treat over 275 million children across five countries in Africa and Asia at an average cost per treatment of less than 0.50 USD. It has been recognized as a GiveWell Top Charity for five consecutive years. Meanwhile, Dispensers for Safe Water serves approximately 4 million people across rural Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi through a network of 27,500 dispensers, providing access at water sources to life-saving chlorine for cleaning household drinking water. MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) identified dispensers as the most cost-effective water treatment intervention it had evaluated.

To build the next generation of highly cost-effective, at-scale programs, Evidence Action also has an in-house incubator, known as “Beta,” dedicated to sourcing promising, evidence-based innovations. Beta designs, prototypes, tests, and delivers measurably impactful, cost-effective programs that are ready for scaled implementation by Evidence Action or its partners, including governments and local and international non-governmental organizations. Beta often partners during the incubation process with leading academics and other experts. Beta is currently testing multiple evidence-based interventions, including No Lean Season, a partnership with Y-RISE Faculty Director, Professor Mushfiq Mobarak, on seasonal migration and a GiveWell Top Charity. Beta is also in the early stages of developing, piloting, and testing an early childhood stimulation intervention in Africa in partnership with Y-RISE affiliate, Professor Costas Meghir.