https://blog.givewell.org/2012/05/30/giving-cash-versus-giving-bednets/
One crux in the GiveWell-GiveDirectly debate is this
> I continue to worry about the potential “paternalism” of giving bednets rather than cash (i.e., the implication that donors are making decisions on behalf of recipients). I believe that by default, we should assume that recipients are best positioned to make their own decisions.
with GW thinking that "bednets can overcome this presumption" by a large factor (& explaining in the post) and GD not.
Would be interested in a version of this post that talks about other health interventions (to what extent do the same considerations apply to deworming etc.), probably someone's wrote that already
Relevant quote on the hard-to-get-ness of nets: https://blog.givewell.org/2012/05/30/giving-cash-versus-giving-bednets/
> This point is more anecdotal, but Natalie, Holden and I remember being told while we were in Malawi that long-lasting insecticide-treated bednets, of the sort that AMF distributes, are essentially not available for purchase in local markets.
https://www.againstmalaria.com/DollarsPerNet.aspx oh here's something interesting according to AMF the cost of a bednet has fell from $5 in 2005 to $4 in 2012 to $2 in 2021. this 2010 paper (https://web.stanford.edu/~pdupas/CohenDupas.pdf) says $4-$6 in retail shops. so therefore where bednets are sold, they're only a little bit cheaper for organisations than indviduals, it's just that organisations can get hold of them in many circumstances where individuals can't at all?