Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg Simple and effective methods for helping people that nonprofits often ignore (with Kanika Bahl)
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Apr 30, 2025 Kanika Bahl, CEO of Evidence Action and former leader at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, delves into the overlooked yet effective solutions in nonprofit work. She discusses why nonprofits often bypass simple methods, emphasizing the importance of cost-effective health interventions like deworming programs. Bahl highlights the long-term economic impact of these initiatives and the complexities of behavioral change. The conversation also touches on the challenges of funding and the need for evidence-based approaches in philanthropy.
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Invisible Low-Cost Solutions Overlooked
- Simple, low-cost solutions like safe water chlorination save many lives but remain underfunded.
- Their invisibility to beneficiaries and lack of demand reduces prioritization by donors and governments.
Maternal Syphilis Prevention Success
- Maternal syphilis causes devastating but preventable outcomes, yet is vastly underfunded compared to HIV/AIDS.
- A 35-cent dual test plus a 50-cent penicillin shot can prevent 80% of these outcomes, shown by successful government programs.
Behavior Change Limits Impact
- For health interventions, behavior change can cause major drop-offs in effectiveness.
- Selecting programs with minimal behavior change requirements enables more efficient, larger scale impact.