Global Development
In an increasingly globalized world, international development efforts aim to improve living conditions, equity, and human rights around the world. Our global development section tracks this globalization and reports on specific equitable and sustainable development initiatives.
This nonprofit teaches former felons digital media to boost job prospects
Each year, around 8,500 people in New York City are released from prison, more than half of which are rearrested within three years. Of those who have jobs a year after release, the recidivism rate drops to 31 percent. The problem, however, is that for someone who’s just gotten out of prison, Read More...
New agreement significantly lowers the cost of pneumonia vaccine
Pneumonia is the single biggest killer of children under five worldwide, but a new agreement hopes to change this by making the vaccine for the disease much more affordable. A new agreement between UNICEF and the Serum Institute of India will drop the price of the lifesaving drug from $3.50 to Read More...
Spain is implementing a universal minimum income. What is that?
In April, we shared a story about the Spanish government’s plans to introduce a basic income program—though it wasn’t clear whether it would be implemented on a country-wide scale. This week we got to know that Spain has decided to implement what it’s calling a national minimum income, Read More...
The Optimist View: Cultivating a Circular Economy
“There is a great need for the introduction of new values in our society, where bigger is not necessarily better, where slower can be faster, and where less can be more.” – Gaylord Nelson On one of our regular family Zoom calls, my aunt asked me “what habits have you adopted during Read More...
India’s post office is helping frontline workers during the lockdown
Three weeks ago, India put into effect what is the largest pandemic lockdown the world has ever seen. The decision has led to all businesses — apart from essential services — to shut down their activities, leaving numerous supply chains stock-still. And because the pause button has been hit Read More...
This Santa Cruz farm is helping the homeless gain stable employment
After spending a night in Santa Cruz’s first homeless shelter, local philanthropist Paul Lee realized residents were deprived of an environment that allowed them to dream of a better future. That’s why he founded the Homeless Garden Project in 1990, a project that gives homeless people the Read More...
PETA is donating old fur coats to Afghan communities in need
With the growing awareness around animal cruelty in recent years, shoppers have increasingly turned away from fur products. But as people across the country continue to abandon the use of fur, what happens to the products that already exist? Every year, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Read More...
This Philippine island is reconstructing itself by turning volcano ash into bricks
Last week, the island of Luzon in the Philippines was startled by an eruption of the Taal Volcano - one of the most active in the region - displacing thousands of people and blanketing neighboring towns and villages with thick layers of erupted ash and mud. Following the disaster, the ash-covered Read More...
2019 was the best year so far for humanity
If you’re feeling low about the state of the world, consider this: In the long arc of human history, 2019 has been the best year ever. As Nicholas Kristof from The New York Times highlights, since modern humans emerged about 200,000 years ago, 2019 was probably the year in which children were Read More...
This chatbot helps refugees navigate the legal path to resettlement
For a Syrian refugee in Lebanon who is trying to navigate the legal path to resettlement, it can be difficult to find answers—and overstretched humanitarian organizations can take as long as three months to respond to an email when the demand for help is highest. A new chatbot called Mona, Read More...