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Giving out mosquito nets to conquer malaria makes as much sense as giving out medical masks to conquer the flu.

77% of maleria deaths are kids under 5 according to the WHO [1]. They're giving out mosquito nets to prevent children from dying of malaria.

But we don't live with malaria, so feel-good gestures are as far as we go.

For every 322 children under 5 protected by nets, one survives who would otherwise die [2]. This isn't the right thing to be cynical about.

[1] http://www.who.int/gho/malaria/epidemic/deaths/en/ [2] http://www.givewell.org/files/DWDA%202009/Interventions/Nets...



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