Written by: Ronaish Arshad
When shopping for articles of clothing, we search for high-quality and durable pieces. When looking for a university to attend, we thoroughly research its history, its academic catalogue and its graduate employability. We ‘invest’ in these aspects of our life in order to maximise their potential benefits. Why not invest in our own effective altruism in order to maximise its potential impact?
The Effective Altruism definition is: “using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible” (source: centre for effective altruism). It has catapulted into being a global movement that drives powerful change. In his 2018 Ted Talk, one of the founders of EA (Effective Altruism), William MacAskill introduced a criteria to gauge the relative priority of solving a global problem. It rates the problem on the following three scales: how big the problem is, how solvable it is, and how neglected it is. The ideal problems would be the most pressing, the least resource consuming, and the most overlooked; leaving the ideal outcomes to be a larger number of people aided, less time and money consumed, and increasing returns. One of the few problems that scores remarkably well on this framework, courtesy of its solvability, is Global Health.
According to WHO, in the two years from 2000 to 2002, the incidence of malaria (per 1,000 population at risk) in Azerbaijan decreased from 8.1 to just 2.6. And in 2023, Azerbaijan was certified as malaria-free. This accomplishment came as a result of targeted malaria interventions such as spraying the inside walls of homes with insecticides along with promoting early detection and treatment of all cases. Azerbaijan is just one example among many. WHO Global Health Achievements 2023 stated that as of today, 50 countries have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease (NTD).
As an organisation, MEDLIFE is committed to addressing healthcare disparities in Latin America and Africa. One of the ways we do so is through mobile clinics that offer basic medical treatment and preventative screens. They are designed to find patients who are in need of long-term assistance. Additionally, MEDLIFE hosts health education workshops to teach patients how to live healthier lives in an effort to foster a culture of preventative care. We are an organisation that operates on the basis of integrity, collaboration and sustainability, hence, we work to maximise our resources and the impact our work leaves behind.
In his 1972 essay titled Famine, Affluence and Morality, philosopher Peter Singer prompted this simple thought experiment: you stroll by a child drowning in a shallow pond and you are the only person around to help, however, you choose to turn a blind eye to the child’s predicament because you don’t want to ruin your expensive clothes. Would this not be a horrible thing to do? Would you still say this is a horrible thing to do if instead of being in front of you, the child was halfway across the world?
If you can be confident that your donation will help save the child, would it not unarguably be the right thing to do?
The New Yorker’s Gideon Lewis-Kraus concluded Singer’s experiment in the following words: devoting resources to superfluous goods is tantamount to allowing a child to drown for the sake of a dry cleaner’s bill. Effective Altruism is not only for the rich; it encourages anyone who has something to spare to contribute.
How To Practise Effective Altruism with MEDLIFE
If the idea of Effective Altruism and learning about MEDLIFE’s work has inspired you to learn how you can get involved and make an impact by assisting low-income communities on one of our volunteer trips abroad, fill out the interest form below or download our free brochure to get started today!