Note: The research in this post was done by a human, not by AI. AI was used in some places to tidy up the writing.

This is Part 2 of a three-part series. Part 1 | Part 3

To quote ourselves, donors in Hong Kong should consider the fact that the most cost‑effective ways we currently know to help others are usually in less economically developed countries. This is mainly because:

• The baseline is much lower: preventing blindness, death from malaria, or extreme poverty in low‑income countries can often be done at a few hundred to a few thousand HKD per major outcome.

• Labour and delivery costs are much cheaper, so the same donation funds more staff time, medicines, or materials.

• Many of the most effective health and anti‑poverty interventions have already been tested in these contexts and provide things we take for granted in the developed world (e.g. vitamin A supplementation, malaria prevention, deworming).

However, this does not mean that no Hong Kong charity is good, or that local work is unimportant. It just means that if your goal is to maximise lives saved or suffering reduced per dollar, you should strongly consider at least some overseas giving through highly‑vetted global health and animal‑welfare organisations.

The projects below are not existing charities in most cases but high‑impact models, already backed by strong evidence elsewhere, that could be implemented or scaled in Hong Kong. This list is not meant to be exhaustive; it’s a starting point for funders, practitioners, and policymakers looking for unusually effective opportunities.

1. Low‑sodium salt to prevent strokes and heart disease

Hong Kong’s average salt intake is far above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation. The Report of Population Health Survey (PHS) 2020–22 by the Department of Health found a daily salt intake of about 8.4 g (around 3,400 mg sodium), exceeding WHO’s recommended under 5 g (2,000 mg sodium), with 83.9% of the population consuming too much salt. Conversely, 90.9% of the population had inadequate potassium intake. Both are risk factors for chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure.

Excess sodium intake is a major driver of high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, which together cause an estimated 1.89 million deaths per year worldwide.

WHO now strongly recommends reducing sodium intake as one of the most cost‑effective ways to prevent non‑communicable diseases, estimating at least a 12:1 return for every US$1 invested in scaling sodium‑reduction interventions. It also explicitly suggests replacing regular table salt with lower‑sodium, potassium‑enriched salt substitutes where appropriate. Because cardiovascular disease is widespread and salt reduction is extremely cheap, even modest population‑level reductions in sodium intake could yield very large health gains per dollar in Hong Kong.

Promising project directions could include:

• Subsidising or bulk‑purchasing low‑sodium salt and distributing it through community health centres, elderly homes, and public institutions.

• Partnering with large food manufacturers and restaurant chains to switch to potassium‑enriched salt in processed foods and catering.

• Running public education campaigns emphasising that most people consume too much sodium and that low‑sodium salt is a simple, evidence‑based switch.

2. In‑ovo sexing to reduce egg‑industry animal suffering

Hong Kong is one of the highest egg‑consuming places in the world. In 2024, Hong Kong residents consumed about 28.3 kg of eggs per person per year. With a medium egg weighing around 50g, that is approximately 566 eggs per HK person annually—almost 2 eggs per day, second only to the Netherlands globally and just ahead of mainland China. That translates into roughly 4.26 billion eggs consumed per year in Hong Kong alone, or about 11.7 million eggs per day.

Given that a typical hen lays around 330 eggs in her lifetime, one day of Hong Kong egg consumption requires the lifetime production of more than 35,000 hens, and one year requires the lifetime production of about 12.9 million hens. 

Because male chicks of egg‑laying breeds do not produce eggs and are not economically viable for meat, the industry standard is to cull them shortly after hatching. 

This implies roughly one male chick killed for every female layer hen, so Hong Kong’s consumption is associated with about 35,000 male chicks killed per day, approximately 248 thousand per week and 12.9 million per year.

In‑ovo sexing technologies allow producers to determine the sex of an embryo early in incubation and avoid hatching male chicks altogether. Consumer research in Australia suggests people are willing to pay far more than the additional cost of in‑ovo sexing—over 13 times the added cost—once they understand that it prevents chick culling. 

Since 66% of Hong Kong’s eggs are imported from mainland Chinese producers, there is a large regional supply chain where standards and practices could potentially be shifted.

Promising project directions could include:

• Funding consumer research in Hong Kong and mainland China to test willingness to pay for “no‑kill” eggs produced using in‑ovo sexing.

• Supporting advocacy campaigns that encourage retailers and major food service companies in Hong Kong to commit to sourcing eggs from suppliers using in‑ovo sexing once commercially available at scale.

• Working with producers and regulators to pilot and then mandate in‑ovo sexing, thereby preventing millions of male chicks from being killed every year.

3. Higher tobacco taxation and stronger tobacco control

Smoking imposes a heavy burden in Hong Kong. Government figures estimate that smoking causes nearly 7,000 deaths per year locally, including around 700 deaths of non‑smokers from second‑hand smoke exposure. The associated healthcare costs and productivity losses are roughly HK$5.6 billion annually, and the Hospital Authority projects that chronic disease incidence could rise by 50% over 20 years to about 3 million cases by 2039 if trends continue.

Despite recent tax increases, Hong Kong’s tobacco tax rate is still below WHO’s recommended level. The WHO considers high tobacco taxation one of the most cost‑effective public health “best buys” because it reduces smoking prevalence and discourages initiation, especially among young people. 

Given the scale of smoking‑related mortality and the strong evidence base for taxation and comprehensive tobacco control, this area likely offers very high health impact per dollar spent. Internationally, groups have supported work similar to what could be done here: for example, Smoke Free Israel has been the subject of dedicated cost‑effectiveness research, suggesting strong returns from tobacco‑control advocacy.

Promising project directions could include:

• Advocacy and technical support for raising tobacco excise taxes further toward or beyond WHO benchmarks.

• Tightening restrictions on marketing, packaging, and flavours, backed by public campaigns on the harms of tobacco and nicotine products.

• Using additional tobacco tax revenue specifically to fund other cost‑effective health interventions (e.g. salt reduction, cardiovascular screening), creating a virtuous cycle.

4. Differentiated instruction and remedial learning in low‑income schools

High‑quality evidence from multiple countries shows that tailored remedial education for students in the early grades (roughly Primary 1–3) can dramatically improve basic literacy and numeracy at low cost. Randomized trials of remedial learning programmes (delivered either by trained teachers or even by volunteer teaching assistants) consistently find large learning gains when instruction is adjusted to pupils’ actual level rather than just the curriculum grade level.

These programmes typically:

• Assess each child’s current skills and group them by learning level rather than age alone.

• Provide targeted sessions focused on foundational reading and maths for those who are behind.

• Can be delivered during or after school, and sometimes by lower‑cost staff or volunteers with appropriate training.

In Hong Kong, low‑income families and schools face their own educational inequities, especially around language, reading, and numeracy. Adapting differentiated‑learning models to the local curriculum, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, could be a highly effective way to improve long‑term educational and life outcomes.

A promising project might fund:

• Design and piloting of a differentiated‑instruction programme in selected low‑income primary schools, with simple assessments.

• A rigorous evaluation (ideally an RCT) to test effects on reading and maths outcomes.

• If results are strong, advocacy and technical support for system‑wide scale‑up.

5. Five‑minute phone calls to boost parental engagement

A strikingly simple intervention with good evidence from other contexts involves brief, structured phone calls from teachers to parents to update them on their children’s progress and behaviour. A study of such a programme found that short calls around 5 minutes improved homework completion and class behaviour among students whose families had lower baseline engagement.

Teachers share specific positive observations and concrete suggestions, helping parents feel informed and empowered and making it easier for them to support learning at home. The intervention is very low‑cost and can be targeted to students most at risk of disengagement.

A promising project might:

• Pilot a structured “5‑minute phone call” model in schools serving low‑income communities, with training and scripts for teachers.

• Randomise which classes or students receive the calls to rigorously measure effects on attendance, homework completion, and grades in local conditions.

• Work with the Education Bureau to incorporate effective elements into standard practice if results are positive.

Read Part 3 | Back to Part 1