Our first year of research implied, to me, that donors can have more impact focusing their giving on the developing world as opposed to the developed world. In a nutshell, developed-world interventions are expensive and the case for their effectiveness is often questionable, while developing-world interventions are often inexpensive and seemingly more reliable.

However, the fact that people in the developing-world face a diverse set of complex, interrelated problems means that well-intentioned interventions can easily have little effect if they’re not properly implemented.

A recent paper (Hotez 2008) may describe a unique opportunity for donors, however. Hotez discusses the existence of Neglected Tropical Diseases (diseases that are by-and-large not life threatening but can significantly disable adults and impair children’s physical and cognitive development) in the United States.

Hotez finds that these diseases largely affect those living in extreme poverty in six regions of the United States: Appalachia, the American South, the Mississippi Delta (including post-Katrina New Orleans), inner cities, Native-American tribal lands in the Southwest, and communities along the U.S.-Mexico border (see his map here). Hotez emphasizes the problems of:

• Helminth (parasitic worm) diseases, which can lead to malnutrition, anemia, and growth and cognitive delays (Hotez et al 2007). These diseases affect a few million people in Appalachia, the American South, and inner cities (see his table here)
• Dengue fever (which can be fatal) and Chagas disease (which can lead to a serious heart problems, (Hotez et all 2007)), which affect a few hundred thousand people in Appalachia and post-Katrine Louisana (see table linked above).

Many of these conditions can be treated with simple, proven interventions that charities distribute in the developing-world. For example, Albendazole can treat helminths, and costs pennies (see Molyneux, Hotez & Fenwick 2005). In addition, basic efforts to control vectors (such as rats and mosquitoes) and improve access to water and sanitation infrastructure may significantly reduce the burden of these diseases.

Since we just came across this paper, we know little about how viable an option this is for individual donors – a quick Google search didn’t turn up any charities obviously attacking these problems in the United States – but we’ll keep our eyes open for one. Fighting these diseases in the developed-world seems like a great option for a donor seeking the biggest impact by using the triage approach: helping those who can benefit most easily.

References:

1. Hotez PJ (2008) Neglected Infections of Poverty in the United States of America. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2(6): e256 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000256 (Available online)
2. Molyneux DH, Hotez PJ, Fenwick A (2005) “Rapid-impact interventions”: How a policy of integrated control for Africa’s neglected tropical diseases could benefit the poor. PLoS Med 2(11): e336. (Available online)
3. Hotez, PJ., Molyneux, DH., Fenwick, A., Kumaresan, J., Sachs, SE., Sachs, JD., Savioli, L. (2007) Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases N Engl J Med 357: 1018-1027. (Available online)