Evidence Action’s Funding Priorities in 2025

By Kara Newman @ 2024-11-15T20:07 (+16)

Evidence Action works to improve global well-being, scaling evidence-based and cost-effective programs to reduce the burden of poverty. While we’re still crunching the numbers on this year’s impact, in 2023, we:

• Provided nearly 10 million people with access to safe water in Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda;
• Increased syphilis screening coverage in Liberia to 70% (up from just 10% in 2021);
• Reached 195 million children with deworming treatment and 35.8 million children with weekly iron and folic acid treatments

Looking ahead to 2025, below are a few key areas where additional donations could make the biggest difference. These represent our current best estimates of what additional donations to these programs would support if you donate today. However, donations to these programs may be used to support different specific activities or geographies than those described below, as Evidence Action regularly evaluates and prioritizes our potential program activities against our available funding and potential fundraising opportunities. So if, for example, you donate to our Safe Water Now Fund, and we also receive a generous grant for safe water programming in Malawi that covers our immediate funding gap in the country, your donation to our Safe Water Now fund would likely be directed to India or Uganda instead. Similarly, if you donate in June of next year, we are likely to have different funding priorities based on our opportunities and funding, and would allocate your donation to the most critical needs at that time.

That’s why, in general, our recommendation is to give unrestricted funding, which gives us the most flexibility to combine your donation with our other, more restricted resources in a way that maximizes impact. While an unrestricted gift is less likely to be directed toward any specific gap mentioned below, it ultimately remains the most cost-effective way to help us advance our mission. 

Safe Water Now Fund

Scaling up water treatment in partnership with the Government of India 

Safe drinking water was recognized as a human right nearly 15 years ago. Yet over 2 billion people around the world rely on a contaminated drinking water source, resulting in over 1 million preventable deaths annually. 

Rigorous research from Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer and colleagues shows one in four deaths among children under five can be prevented simply by treating drinking water. The researchers also estimate it’s over 45 times more cost-effective than the WHO’s “highly cost-effective” threshold. 

We’re partnering with the Government of India to rapidly and dramatically expand access to safe drinking water. We’ll leverage the government’s groundbreaking $45 billion investment in tap water infrastructure for every rural household, integrating it with locally manufactured chlorination technologies to make that water safe to drink. By doing so, we can reach tens of millions with safe water, and save tens of thousands of lives. 

We’re innovating and experimenting with an eye toward massive scale – it’s one of the most ambitious safe water projects in history. Backed by a decade of experience providing safe water to millions in Africa and success partnering with governments in India to reach hundreds of millions with deworming, our unique approach focuses on building the capacity of state governments to deliver safe water while also shaping national policies and investments.

Marginal donations could: support our work in two states from 2024-2028. We also have ambitions to extend this work beyond the initial 5 years and potentially expand to additional states. With more funding, we could further amplify our impact on safe water across India.

Providing rural communities in Malawi and Uganda with free and reliable access to safe water 

Our Safe Water Now program provides nearly 10 million people in Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi with access to safe water for less than $1.50 per person, per year. From 2013-2023, we estimate this saved the lives of nearly 15,000 children under five and averted over 3 million cases of childhood diarrhea. 

Our network of chlorine dispensers stretches across rural communities, in areas that aren’t reached by municipal systems and don’t have piped water. Community members use the dispenser at their water source to obtain the correct dose of chlorine, then fill their bucket with water. The water is disinfected and safe to drink by the time they arrive home. Through our last-mile delivery network, we ensure chlorine is available, while local promoters help maintain dispensers and educate their communities on the importance of safe water practices. 

Marginal donations could: enable us to continue our Safe Water work in Malawi and Uganda. Kenya has a few years of funding runway, so our immediate priority is to fill our 2025 funding gaps for the other two countries.

High Impact School Health Fund

Giving adolescent girls in Malawi a stronger, healthier start to their adult lives 

Adolescence is a critical time that shapes future health and wellbeing. But these crucial years are often deeply neglected – especially when it comes to the unique health needs of girls. 

In September 2024, we launched a partnership with the Government of Malawi to deliver life-changing treatments to over 4 million children and adolescents nationwide through schools: 

• Iron and folic acid supplementation: In Malawi, 63% of adolescent girls are anemic. It makes them feel weak and fatigued, and affects their cognition. Adolescent girls are at increased risk for anemia with the onset of menstruation – but weekly supplementation is a game changer, reducing their risk by 35%. We expect to reach over 780,000 adolescent girls over 3 years, averting anemia and helping them reach their full potential.
• Deworming: Parasitic worms make kids too tired and sick to attend school. Deworming increases the likelihood of girls attending secondary school by 25% – and evidence shows every additional year of schooling leads to an average increase in earnings of 9%. As a result of receiving treatment for 3 years, we estimate dewormed children’s livelihoods will have increased by $129M by 2046.
• HPV vaccination: If we raise sufficient funding, we will next integrate HPV vaccination into this high-impact school health program. It’s estimated HPV vaccination could prevent up to 53% of cervical cancer cases in Malawi, which has the highest cervical cancer mortality rate in the world. Over 3 years, we estimate scaling up school-based HPV vaccination will avert 10,000 cervical cancer cases and 8,000 deaths. 

Marginal donations could: extend our funding runway for iron and folic acid treatment and deworming in Malawi through 2026 (and beyond). Launching HPV will require raising a minimum threshold of funding that guarantees our ability to launch and sustain the program, so unless and until that threshold is reached, marginal dollars will not be directed to HPV vaccination.

Helping children in Pakistan stay in school and reach their full potential

Pakistan is one of the highest burden countries for soil-transmitted helminths – parasitic intestinal worms causing infections that can lead to anemia, malnourishment, impaired mental and physical development, and severe chronic illnesses. In 2016, we supported the government in its first nationwide prevalence survey, which found an estimated 17 million school-age children need annual deworming.

Partnering with Interactive Research and Development Pakistan, we’re supporting the government to deliver mass deworming programs nationwide, reaching approximately 12 million children annually at an average cost per child of just 32 US cents.

School-based deworming has now been included in the government's National Economic Plan, and several provinces have allocated funding to implementation. We estimate the government will need just 3 more years of our support before we can exit – as we did in Vietnam, having worked ourselves out of a job.

Marginal donations could: support three years of programming (2025 - 2027).

Syphilis-Free Start

Giving mothers and babies in Liberia a Syphilis-Free Start 

Each year, mother-to-child transmission of syphilis results in a combined 200,000 stillbirths and infant deaths – more than those caused by HIV. This disease is treatable: one penicillin shot costing less than 50 cents can prevent over 80% of adverse outcomes. The main challenge is a lack of screening. Most pregnant women are screened for HIV during prenatal care. Now, thanks to a dual test that detects both infections, governments can leverage existing HIV investments to simultaneously address maternal syphilis for minimal additional cost. Through our partnership with Liberia’s Ministry of Health, nearly every prenatal health facility in the country has received training to deliver syphilis screening and treatment. Screening increased nearly tenfold from 2021-2023, preventing 2,300 adverse birth outcomes and saving over 1,300 babies’ lives. We’re seeking funding to enable us to transition the program to full government ownership, and ensure Liberia can sustain the massive gains achieved. 

Marginal donations could: help close our ~$830,000 gap to fund our sixth and final program year (2025 - 2026).

How to Support Evidence Action

Please see instructions here on donating to any of the funds or programs mentioned above, and for more specific instructions about donating from other countries. You can also reach out to us here, or at donate@evidenceaction.org.