Dispensers for Safe Water is a program run by Evidence Action that provides chlorine dispensers for decontamination of drinking water to reduce diarrhea and prevent associated deaths in young children.

Evaluation

A review by GiveWell found strong evidence for the effects of chlorination in reducing most diarrhea-causing microorganisms, but weaker evidence for a causal link between water chlorination programs and reductions in diarrhea and death among young children.^[1]  GiveWell estimates that the Dispensers for Safe Water program is in the same cost-effectiveness range as unconditional cash transfer programs.^[1] Dispensers for Safe Water was a GiveWell standout charity from 2017 to 2021, when that designation was discontinued.