Episode Details

This is a new episode of the GiveWell Conversations podcast. You can listen to the episode or read a summary of the conversation below.

Vitamin A supplementation is one of the programs GiveWell has supported the longest, and we’re currently funding it in many African countries. The program has an unusually strong evidence base for reducing child mortality, with multiple randomized controlled trials. Yet, as is the case for most global health programs, the evidence for vitamin A supplementation has complex, unresolved questions, such as how well findings from decades-old trials apply today and the extent to which existing research has been influenced by publication bias. As GiveWell's research team has grown over the last several years, we have expanded our capacity to carefully research these questions.

In this episode, GiveWell CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld speaks with Senior Researcher Stephan Guyenet about the evidence base for vitamin A supplementation, the complications in applying that evidence to our funding decisions, and how GiveWell has improved our cost-effectiveness estimates for the program.

Listen to Episode 27: Scrutinizing One of Our Longest-Funded Programs

Elie and Stephan discuss:

• The evidence base for vitamin A supplementation: Evidence from rigorous trials shows that [...]

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First published:
April 2nd, 2026

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/piTyWb3KZbYpphSJX/scrutinizing-one-of-our-longest-funded-programs

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.