Cause
Nutrition
Vitamin A, fortified flour and treatment for acute malnutrition help children survive and grow.
Short on time? What's the best charity for child nutrition? Read the short answer
Highest-rated charities
Listed by evaluator designation, with each one's headline figure exactly as published.
Helen Keller Intl
Gives children under five regular vitamin A supplements, which help prevent deaths from common childhood infections.
$3,500 per life saved
GiveWell, 2022–2024 average
Taimaka
Treats children with acute malnutrition in north-east Nigeria using ready-to-use therapeutic food.
66 WELLBYs per $1,000 donated
Happier Lives Institute, published table
Let an evaluator decide
What works, and how we know
Vitamin A supplements
Regular vitamin A doses for children under five, which help prevent deaths from common infections.
Evidence: Very strong (GiveWell)
Treating acute malnutrition
Treating severely malnourished children at home with ready-to-use therapeutic food.
Iron-fortified flour
Adding iron and other nutrients to staple flour, to reduce anaemia.
Other organizations in this area
Funded by GiveWell. A grant is not a Top Charity rating.
ALIMA
A medical humanitarian organization. GiveWell has funded its treatment of child malnutrition.
Not yet rated
No published figure we can quote
Evidence Action
Runs several programs backed by strong evidence, including safe water, deworming and nutrition. A longstanding GiveWell grantee.
Not yet rated
No published figure we can quote
Fortify Health
Helps flour mills in India add iron and other nutrients to wheat flour, to reduce anaemia.
Not yet rated
No published figure we can quote
Nutrition International
A nutrition charity. GiveWell has funded its vitamin A supplementation work.
Not yet rated
No published figure we can quote
Questions donors ask
- What is the most effective charity for nutrition?
We don't pick a winner ourselves. The highest-rated charities here are Helen Keller Intl, Taimaka, based on what GiveWell and the Happier Lives Institute publish. Each charity page shows the figures, the source and how strong the evidence is.
- Why are some charities measured in lives and others in wellbeing?
Evaluators measure different kinds of good in different units. Comparing a life saved with an improvement in wellbeing is a moral judgment, so we show them side by side and leave that choice to you.
- Should I give to one charity or a fund?
Both are reasonable. A fund run by an evaluator lets them direct your gift to where they judge the need is greatest; giving to one charity lets you choose the program yourself.
- Are these figures guaranteed?
No. They are evaluators' modeled estimates of the average. Real results can be higher or lower, and evaluators update them as they learn.