Afghanistan’s economy remains under severe pressure, and households are paying the price as humanitarian aid declines and economic challenges continue. In 2025, around 28 million people — three in four Afghans — were unable to meet their basic subsistence needs, according to the United Nations Development Programme. Economic Pressures Dr. Niamatullah Ibrahimi, a research fellow […]
Clean water, sanitation and access to toilets are basic life necessities. According to UNICEF, 66% of people in Papua New Guinea do not have access to clean drinking water and more than 76% lack access to safe toilets. This scarcity leaves citizens vulnerable to preventable diseases, with water- and sanitation-related diseases among the leading causes […]
Birth registration is considered a universal human right, but it is not achieved universally. While in industrialized nations, birth registration is almost universal, the same cannot be said for middle- and low-income countries where more than 150 million children under the age of 5 remain unregistered and unaccounted for. Ethiopia and Somalia have some of […]
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a Central African country with beautiful landscapes and lush green mountains. The nation is dense with natural resources like cobalt, a highly sought-after resource in today’s economy because it is used in batteries of electric vehicles. The DRC is currently the world’s largest supplier of cobalt. Despite […]
In Madagascar, exorcisms are not just a plot of horror movies or scary stories. Across the country, numerous healing and revival camps perform daily exorcisms as the primary way to treat mental illness. While this practice is rooted in traditional ancestral customs, the prevalence of these exorcism camps intersects directly with the lack of healthcare […]
Over the past few years, Oman has restructured much of its social safety net to protect citizens from financial shocks throughout their lives. The government began a major review and reform of national social protection in 2020. These changes to Social Protection in Oman combine contributory insurance for workers with government-financed benefits and coverage for […]
For many women across Africa, a small loan represents more than a week of groceries or rent. In Sierra Leone, more than 56% of the population lives below the national poverty line according to the most recent national household survey, with the rate reaching 60% in rural communities. Microfinance as a Tool for Change For […]
Trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, still affects some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. The neglected tropical disease is linked to poverty and limited access to basic services such as clean water, sanitation and health care. While many communities continue to face the threat of trachoma, El Salvador recently reached a major […]
A recent high-profile case has drawn attention to the issue of human trafficking in Indonesia: 19 syndicate members were convicted for trafficking babies to be sold for adoption in Singapore. Of the 34 affected babies, 19 are believed to have entered Singapore between 2023 and 2025, leaving uncertainty around the way forward in their rescue […]
Since the onset of warfare in the Middle East, Lebanese farmers have noticed environmental consequences. These consequences worsened when Israel and Lebanon entered direct warfare in March 2026. Israeli forces have used white phosphorus munitions in areas of southern Lebanon, including the Tyre district, and Lebanese authorities have accused Israel of spraying glyphosate herbicide — […]
