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
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?
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.
