EA Talks

The Against Malaria Foundation is one of the most effective global health charities in the world, and the single most common donation target for EA Survey respondents (2018 and 2019). What makes this organization so special? How do they approach their work, and what challenges do they face? Founder and CEO Rob Mather answers these questions.Rob Mather is the founder and CEO of The Against Malaria Foundation. AMF has now raised more than $190 million, funding 86 million anti-mosquito bed nets protecting 155 million people in 35 countries, mainly in Africa.AMF uses technology, rigorous processes and clear accountability to ensure aid is delivered effectively. For seven of the past eight years, AMF has been a top-ranked charity of the independent charity evaluators GiveWell and The Life You Can Save.Why malaria?Malaria kills about 400,000 people every year and more than 200 million fall ill. Before bed nets were made available, it was three or more times that. Nets are a proven intervention – a more effective a way of saving lives than any other. There is still a long way to go and every death from malaria is preventable.70% of the deaths are children under 5Malaria is the world’s single largest killer of pregnant women90% of the deaths are in sub-Saharan AfricaYet 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 netSpecifically a Long-Lasting Insecticide treated Net (LLIN)Each net costs $2.00/€1,70/£1.50Every 50-250 nets distributed and installed equals 1 life savedGiven the scale of this problem, malaria is clearly a humanitarian issue.Malaria is also an economic issue. Malaria is the single greatest drag on the economy of Africa. Every $1m spent fighting malaria efficiently improves the GDP – the wealth – of the continent of Africa by $12m. Fighting malaria is a very good investment.As well as the approximately 400,000 people that die from malaria each year, more than 200 million fall sick with malaria. And that means a parent has to stay home with a sick child, teachers cannot teach, farmers cannot farm, drivers cannot drive, people cannot function. It fundamentally affects people working and productivity in Africa.Every $1m we spend fighting malaria efficiently we improve the GDP – the wealth – of the continent of Africa by $12m.If we want to help Africa out of the situation we all find it in beating malaria is very high up, if not top of, the list.This talk was taken from EA Global Asia and Pacific 2020. Click here to watch the talk with the PowerPoint presentation.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Over the past few decades, many advanced nations have become more disconnected. People have fewer friends, join fewer organisations, and are less likely to be members of political parties, churches and unions. At the same time, inequality is on the rise. By focusing on rigorous impact, effective altruism can boost the quality and quantity of philanthropy, helping to replace individualism and isolation with collectivism and cooperation.Andrew Leigh is the Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury and Charities, and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT. Prior to being elected in 2010, Andrew was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in Arts and Law. Andrew is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, and a past recipient of the ‘Young Economist Award’, a prize given every two years by the Economics Society of Australia to the best economist under 40.His books include Disconnected (2010), Battlers and Billionaires (2013), The Economics of Just About Everything (2014), The Luck of Politics (2015), Choosing Openness: Why Global Engagement is Best for Australia (2017), Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Changed Our World (2018), Innovation + Equality: How to Create a Future That Is More Star Trek Than Terminator (with Joshua Gans) (2019) and Reconnected: A Community Builder’s Handbook (with Nick Terrell) (2020). Andrew is a keen marathon runner, and hosts a podcast titled “The Good Life: Andrew Leigh in Conversation”, which is available on Apple Podcasts.Andrew is the father of three sons – Sebastian, Theodore and Zachary, and lives with his wife Gweneth in Canberra. He has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1991.This talk was taken from EA Global Asia and Pacific 2020. Click here to watch the talk on the Centre for Effective Altruism YouTube channel.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Jayasimha talks about the work of Global Food Partners to build the capacity of producers and provide them with financial incentives to transition to cage-free egg production successfully.From Jayasimha’s bio: “Currently, I am the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Global Food Partners. Under my leadership, I conceptualize, plan, and implement key initiatives to promote higher welfare production systems in the food sector. I also spearhead the development of innovative traceability and supply chain solutions for animal-sourced protein. In addition, I liaise with senior staff, stakeholders, and donors to ensure that the organisation’s support structure is driving operations forward with minimal expenditures.”This talk was taken from EA Global Asia and Pacific 2020. Click here to watch the talk with the PowerPoint presentation.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Work to improve the welfare of farmed animals is in its infancy; this is especially the case in the Asia Pacific. Thus, it is likely the most effective solutions lie ahead of us. Jonathon shares reflections on novel strategies based on EAST’s (benevolently) opportunistic approach to achieving change for animals in Taiwan.This episode relies more on the PowerPoint, so feel free to click below to watch Jonathon’s talk on YouTube.This talk was taken from EA Global Asia and Pacific 2020. Click here to watch the talk with the PowerPoint presentation.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Emily provides an introduction to the research collaboration READI – an organisation that conducts collaborative research to further the aims of the effective altruism movement. She outlines recent findings from the Survey of COVID-19 Responses to Understand Behaviour (SCRUB), which grew out of READI, regarding what the Australian public thinks about global catastrophic risks.This talk relies much on the PowerPoint presentation, so feel free to watch the presentation on YouTube via the link below.This talk was taken from EA Global Asia and Pacific 2020. Click here to watch the talk with the PowerPoint presentation.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Despite the buzz around data-driven decision-making, it’s much easier to say than to do. Tony shares how IDinsight developed its Learning Partnership model to enable global development decision-makers – from government ministers to NGO leaders – to use real-time data to inform their policies and programs. He shares how IDinsight’s embedded teams are able to be reactive to changing social and political landscapes, transforming how poverty is addressed globally. Prior to joining IDinsight, Tony worked as a researcher with the International Growth Center in partnership with Yale University on the design of evaluations looking at the impact of rural electrification in Sierra Leone. Tony has worked on the design of monitoring and evaluation systems for non-profits in India, evaluation of ed-tech platforms in Zambia, and the design of a youth homeless shelter in New Haven. Tony worked as a graduate intern with IDinsight where he worked on a team setting up a learning partnership with the Ministry of Education in Himachal Pradesh. Tony also worked as a manager at Deloitte focusing on research and development consulting. Tony recently graduated from Yale School of Management with an MBA and was listed as one of Poets and Quants Top 100 Best and Brightest 2020 MBA Graduates. He also has a Masters of Law from the University of Sydney and Bachelors of Finance and Law from the University of Queensland.This talk was taken from EA Global Asia and Pacific 2020. Click here to watch the talk with the PowerPoint presentation.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Considering starting your own charity? Nikita and Corrina discuss Fortify Health‘s startup journey, and the room for improvement in one important part of the current charity-startup landscape: contextual expertise. They make the call for more country-based founders to consider starting new, effective organisations and applying to the Charity Entrepreneurship programme.Nikita Patel previously worked in global health communications at Malaria Consortium.  She’s also worked as Research & Outreach Intern at the Centre for Effective Altruism, and Project Manager at Voenna Rampa Refugee Camp in Bulgaria. She graduated from University of Oxford with a BA in French and German, and is interested in animal welfare, mental health and tackling modern slavery. She enjoys cooking, language-learning, hiking and cycling.Corrina Vali previously founded and ran Saheli, a social enterprise that improves women’s access to affordable and high quality menstrual hygiene products in rural Gujarat. She’s been an OceanPath fellow with the Coady International Institute in Canada and an incubatee of the Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program. She graduated  from McGill University with a BA in International Development and Economics. She’s interested in development economics, public policy and global health. She enjoys dance, travel and food.This talk was taken from EA Global Asia and Pacific 2020. Click here to watch the talk with the PowerPoint presentation.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

In this episode, Johannes shares his thoughts on climate from an EA perspective including the latest recommendations from Founders Pledge on how to have an outsized impact through donations, as well as reflections on opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.Johannes joined the research team of Founders Pledge in 2019. He brings five years of experience working in a think tank advising decision-makers on climate policy, and has also researched the intersection between effective and feasible climate policies. Johannes holds an M.A. in social sciences from the University of Chicago and an M.Sc. in Sociology with a focus on research methods from the Interuniversity Centre for Social Science Theory and Methodology at the University of Groningen.This talk was taken from EA Global Asia and Pacific 2020. Click here to watch the talk with the PowerPoint presentation.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

In this episode, Jason explains why it’s important to determine which creatures have moral standing and how that knowledge might affect the way we prioritize interventions and causes. He showcases one method for grappling with this problem, and outlines what skills are necessary to make progress in this area.Jason Schukraft is a Senior Research Manager at Rethink Priorities. Before joining the RP team, Jason earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. Jason specializes in questions at the intersection of epistemology and applied ethics.This talk was taken from EA Student Summit 2020. Click here to watch the talk with the PowerPoint presentation.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

A journalist, podcaster and communications expert talk about how to best explain EA ideas to the public — maximising understanding and minimising frustration.Rob Wiblin studied both genetics and economics at the Australian National University (ANU), graduating top of his class and being named Young Alumnus of the Year in 2015. He worked as a research economist in various Australian Government agencies, and then moved to the UK to work at the Centre for Effective Altruism, first as Research Director, then Executive Director, then Research Director for 80,000 Hours. He was founding board Secretary for Animal Charity Evaluators and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community. A guide to his work is available on his personal site and he regularly offers unsolicited opinions on Facebook and Twitter.Michael Levine leads Open Philanthropy’s work on communications, including interactions with the news media. Previously, Mike covered Congress for Honolulu Civil Beat, researched economic issues for Pew’s American Cities Project, helped California government agencies pass ballot measures, and designed and executed communications strategies for charities and foundations large and small. He has been working with Open Philanthropy since 2015 and became Communications Officer in 2017.Kelsey Piper attended Stanford University, where she majored in computer science. At Stanford she discovered effective altruism, becoming a member of Giving What We Can and pledging to donate 30% of her lifetime income to charity, as well as founding a campus advocacy organization. Since 2018, Piper has written the Vox column Future Perfect, which covers “the most critical issues of the day through the lens of effective altruism”. Piper is concerned about global catastrophic risks, and treats journalism as a way to popularize these risks and advance the cause of addressing them, which is part of effective altruism’s broader concern regarding the relevance of immediate action. Specifically, Piper has discussed the possibility that society is living on a historical precipice, where immediate action needs to be taken to avoid global catastrophic risks, and what implications that has for effective altruism and her own journalism.This talk was taken from EA Student Summit 2020. Click here to watch the talk on the Centre for Effective Altruism YouTube channel.Click here to see Rob’s presentation on Jargon.Effective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.