At Evidence Action, our Accelerator pairs rigorous evidence standards with a focus on neglected health challenges to identify the next best buys in global health. In a time of heightened scrutiny on development aid, resource constraints, and shifting global health dynamics, our commitment remains clear: identify game-changers poised for real-world impact. These seven solutions have made it to our later Accelerator stages, demonstrating proven results, cost-effectiveness, and practical potential to implement and scale.
- Reading glasses for adults
- Vouchers for water treatment
- Preventive malaria treatment for school-age children
- Immunization demand generation
- Multiple micronutrient supplementation for pregnant women
- Small quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements
- HPV vaccination for school-age girls
1. Reading glasses for adults (Stage 4)
Could something as simple as reading glasses help unlock economic opportunity for billions? When researchers tested this in Bangladesh, people in vision-intensive jobs saw their income increase by 33%. This intervention has both health and income benefits and performed strongly against our rigorous criteria, ranking among the most cost-effective solutions we’ve evaluated. Reading glasses cost just $0.60 in bulk and offer significant potential for scale in areas of limited availability. A pilot in Uganda will assess operational feasibility and identify effective delivery and information channels.
2. Vouchers for water treatment (Stage 4)
To expand safe water access in Liberia, we're piloting a new approach to reach pregnant women and families with children under five – those populations at greatest risk from unsafe water. Instead of direct chlorine provision, we're distributing vouchers that can be redeemed for a household water treatment product, WaterGuard, at local health clinics. Randomized controlled trials from Kenya and Malawi showed vouchers effectively target households that will use WaterGuard to treat water regularly, screening out 88% of those who would accept the free product but not ultimately use it. If successful, this pilot could demonstrate another cost-effective way to expand safe water access, saving children’s lives and improving families’ economic resilience.
3. Preventing malaria in school-age children (Stage 4)
Malaria prevention typically focuses on young kids and pregnant women, but hundreds of millions of school-age children are at risk. Malaria not only keeps children out of school but can also be life-threatening. Research suggests schools offer an efficient way to reach older children who often carry the parasite without showing symptoms, unknowingly perpetuating the transmission cycle.
By treating school-age children preventively, we aim to reduce the overall presence of the malaria parasite to drive community-level reductions in transmission. We're working with the Nigerian government to gather key evidence on this approach: measuring the scope of the problem with prevalence surveys, then testing the effectiveness of schools to deliver treatment in a pilot in mid-2025. Since we already support governments to use schools as a platform to treat parasitic worms and anemia, we're well-positioned to help figure out if this could work at scale.
4. Generating demand for immunizations (Stage 4)
Despite improved global vaccine availability, millions of children still miss out on life-saving immunizations. We're evaluating promising behavioral interventions to improve access to and completion of vaccination schedules: SMS reminders, community-based information sharing, and targeted incentives like coupons and mobile credit. We're carefully examining evidence from researchers and implementers to understand what works, focusing initially on India, Zambia, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Our in-country assessments will help determine if we can deliver these interventions cost-effectively at scale.
5. Micronutrient supplements (Stage 4)
We launched a pilot in Nigeria that's tackling a frustrating gap in prenatal care. Women in wealthy countries routinely get prenatal vitamins, but most women in lower-income countries don't have access to them. The science is clear – these supplements reduce serious complications like low birthweight by 12% and stillbirths by 8%. We're testing how to deliver them effectively through existing health systems in Nigeria, learning what works and what doesn't. Early results from 2024 highlight the need for technical improvements, such as anemia screening, and human-centered approaches like SMS reminders and counseling tools. Learnings here will guide our approach for expansion across Nigeria and beyond.
6. Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (Stage 4)
We're taking a fresh look at these food-based nutrient supplements, which provide essential nutrients to young children – typically in paste form. Recent WHO guidelines now specifically recommend these supplements for food-insecure infants and young children facing nutritional deficiencies. We're particularly interested in making it more cost-effective through precise targeting. We're exploring whether geostatistical mapping techniques could help us identify the communities that would benefit most. As we gather this data, continuing to consult experts and regional stakeholders, we’ll determine if regionally targeted distribution is viable and then turn to potential piloting.
7. Bringing HPV vaccines to schools (Stage 5)
Cervical cancer claims about 350,000 lives annually, with traditional vaccine delivery systems often missing adolescent girls. We have a ready-to-launch solution in Malawi: supporting school-based HPV vaccination, where we already partner with the government on school health programs. Schools reach 35% more adolescent girls than clinics, and the vaccine prevents 99% of common cancer-causing HPV strains. In Malawi, where cervical cancer rates are among the world's highest, this could prevent 10,000 cancer cases and save 8,000 lives in three years. Funding is now the primary barrier to enabling this impact.
Learning what works and making smart progress possible
Our track record shows the value of pairing careful analysis with practical implementation, with Evidence Action’s Accelerator-incubated programs Syphilis-Free Start and Equal Vitamin Access modeling the success of this approach. By quantifying impact and cost-effectiveness for each intervention, we hone in on those with the ability to create lasting change at scale. And because impact isn’t assured, we continuously assess what's working, adapt our approach based on new evidence, and measure results against community needs.
In the current global health landscape, where challenges are complex and resources are limited, governments and donors face difficult choices about where to direct funding. These seven solutions demonstrate the potential to achieve transformative outcomes on health and productivity and deliver outstanding value for money. When we prioritize proven, cost-effective solutions, design for scale, and change course when data demands it, we can seize opportunities to improve lives in the communities who need it most.
