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Disease: The biggest killers don’t receive the most donations
The ice bucket challenge has taken social media by storm.
Endless videos of people throwing ice over their heads have flooded our computer screens, and all in the name of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); a type of motorneurone disease that leads to between 5,000 and 6,000 deaths in the US each year.
Every time a bucket is thrown, money is donated to the ALS Association. But according to Vice, the charity has raised so much money in such a short space of time, it doesn't know what to do with it. Since the campaign kicked off on 29 July, the cause has received $22.9m in donations
Donations versus deaths
While such activities are extremely positive, by taking part in them we are not necessarily investing our money in the causes that need it the most.
Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2011 suggests there is very little correlation between the number of deaths caused by a disease and the amount received by charities associated with it.
By switching between the two sections of the chart below, the disparity becomes clear.
Although heart disease was by far the biggest killer in the US in 2011, heart disease charities received less than half the amount in donations received by charities associated with either breast cancer or prostate cancer.
Yet combined, these two diseases did not cause even a sixth of the number of deaths caused by heart disease.
ALS, meanwhile, received more donations than suicide, obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes or AIDS, despite killing fewer people than any of them.
William MacAskill, founder of 80,000 Hours, said in an interview with Vice that people need to think more before giving: "Showing respect or affection toward a loved one who passed away, for example, is an admirable way to donate. But it's not the same as thinking about the impact of your investment.”
He added that by investing in diseases in the developing world, money would go further. "Donating money to the best developing world health charities will reach at least 100 times as many people than if you donate to developed world health causes," he said.