This calculation not only shows that aid has ‘worked’, but also that it’s been cost-effective on average. Moreover, this calculation significantly underestimates the positive impact of aid. Thanks to immunisation, annual deaths from preventable illnesses have declined from 5 million in 1960 to 1.4 million in 2001, despite world population doubling in that time. Annual malaria deaths have declined from 3.8 million to about 0.7 million. Annual diarrhoeal deaths have declined from 4.6 million to 1.6 million. Aid isn’t responsible for all these reductions, but it is responsible for a proportion of
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