I was focusing on what to do with money in the article. I agree that sometimes time is needed instead.

It's definitely hard to compare the effects of different humanitarian efforts. The problem is that you have to choose something. Whenever you spend money to you're acting based on an implicit ranking. Rather than throw up our hands with "this can't be quantified" and give randomly, or give according to your whims, I think we should try to make the best decisions we can.