Worldwide, about 10% of pregnant women and 13% of women who have just given birth experience a mental health condition, primarily depression, according to the World Health Organization. In developing countries, that figure rises to about 15.6% during pregnancy and nearly 20% after childbirth.
Depression is among the most common mental health conditions during pregnancy. It is often exacerbated by conditions brought on by poverty, such as unstable living situations, low social support, violence and more.
In Pakistan, poverty remains a significant challenge. In 2024, approximately 23% of the population lived below the World Bank’s $3-a-day poverty line. This economic instability made access to mental health care even more difficult.
Pakistan’s landmark trial addresses the importance of maternal mental health while also taking a novel approach by considering the strain on resources in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The Perinatal Mental Health Crisis
The well-being of the mother is crucial for both the long-term stability of the family and the healthy development of the child, as it contributes to preterm birth, low birth weight, anemia and preeclampsia.
While certain nations have begun to bring attention to maternal mental health, with the United States even devoting $125.5 million in federal funding to the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, other developing nations simply lack the resources to address this crisis at the same level.
Challenges
Low- and middle-income countries lack the resources. There is a shortage of trained mental health professionals due to limited educational opportunities. Social stigma permeates many cultures, with help-seeking behaviors seen as weak or shameful. Healthcare infrastructure, such as hospitals and mental health clinics, remains unavailable to the larger population, and proper funding is practically nonexistent.
Pakistan has one of the highest reported rates of postpartum depression in Asia, ranging from 28% to 63%. Additionally, more than half of cases go undiagnosed, meaning the majority of women receive no treatment at all.
Maternal Mental Health in Pakistan
Researchers worked to address the high rates of anxiety and depression among pregnant women in Pakistan. By treating women early in their pregnancies, they aimed to prevent more serious mental health issues, such as psychosis and suicidal ideation, following childbirth.
Led by Pamela Surkan, the researchers’ first step was to recruit pregnant women in Pakistan and randomly assign them to control and intervention groups. Then, they trained non-specialist providers in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and the Happy Mother-Healthy Baby program. These providers held a degree in psychology but were not licensed clinical therapists. They received around 50 hours of training and weekly supervision from mental health specialists.
The Human Development Research Foundation (HDRF), a Pakistani research organization founded in 2003, also played a role in the trial. Abid Malik supervised its implementation and data collection, while Najia Atif helped develop the Happy Mother-Healthy Baby intervention.
Every woman in the study attended six individual sessions during their pregnancy. The sessions helped them manage anxiety through techniques such as targeting unhelpful thoughts and practicing healthier behaviors. Additionally, the trial considered culture.
The women were encouraged to turn to their families and their communities as sources of strength and support, rather than isolating them to a singular provider. After childbirth, the researchers checked in with women about their current levels of anxiety and depression.
Results
Although 12% of women in the intervention group developed postpartum depression, the numbers were significantly lower compared to the 41% of women in the control group. Overall, the cognitive behavioral therapy approach given by non-specialist providers led to 81% lower odds of postpartum depression or moderate-to-severe anxiety.
Support from trained non-specialists clearly improved maternal mental health outcomes in Pakistan. These positive results also suggest that the approach could be cost-effective and more easily implemented in low-resource settings, offering a potential model for other LMICs as well.
Scalability
Somalia, another region where maternal mental health is overlooked, could benefit from this intervention. Similar to Pakistan, mental health care is extremely limited, with a lack of trained specialists, disparities between rural and urban areas, lack of transportation and high costs associated with treatment.
Additionally, stigma prevents many women from seeking help. A culturally sensitive approach is necessary for participation, which could include community health workers, home visits, religious leader support and more.
Pakistan’s trial demonstrates that certain forms of maternal mental health care can be delivered by trained non-specialists, potentially reducing many of the barriers created by shortages of resources and mental health professionals.
Given that Somalia has an even more fragile healthcare system, the intervention would need to be adapted to its unique context. Regardless, the results in Pakistan demonstrate the potential of community-based, low-cost care to expand access to maternal mental health services in resource-limited settings. As similar interventions are adapted to the needs of underserved communities, these findings could help expand access to maternal mental health care in countries where traditional options remain limited.
– Diya Rajkumar
Diya is based in Redmond, WA, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Reduction in Saudi Arabia
Hardships & Challenges
Oil is the reason for Saudi Arabia’s position as one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Despite its wealth, living standards within Saudi Arabian households are low. Statistics show that female-headed households are 30 percentage points more likely to be at risk of poverty than male-headed households, even after accounting for differences in education. More importantly, one of the greatest factors for poverty is unemployment, which, according to a comprehensive case study, must be mitigated.
Solutions
One way poverty reduction in Saudi Arabia is being addressed is by expanding employment efforts and business accessibility. By focusing on government financing of the labor market, employment opportunities can be offered not only to men but also to women, who face great difficulty in attaining employment and education. In Riyadh, women are active promoters of environmental sustainability. Women as active agents of change encourage the expansion of the economy.
Further aiming to raise the level of employment, Saudi Arabia is taking steps to reduce its oil dependency by adopting renewable-energy projects to create thousands of jobs. This shift is part of Vision 2030, a program that pushes for women to become employed, further increasing the overall percentage of employed Saudi Arabians. This focus on employing women benefits the economy by contributing to the mass of talent in society. However, the Feminization Program, which also helped to increase female employment, revealed conflicts among government reforms and traditional gender roles in Saudi Arabia. With its patriarchal society, the rise in women’s employment saw men facing job insecurity that challenged the traditional breadwinner model, while Saudi women continue to earn significantly less than men with similar education and experience. The implementation of the Feminization Program showed that food-sector employment increased by 40% and support services by 37% between 2019 and 2021, according to Saudi government data.
Conclusion
Poverty reduction in Saudi Arabia requires the mitigation of unemployment through government support, the rise in women workers and a shift away from the oil industry toward renewable-energy substitutes. By increasing employment rates and advocating for renewable-energy reforms, the country is taking steps to eliminate the wealth gap between poor and rich households and encouraging more women into the workforce.
Despite the benefits of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to tackle poverty, the Feminization Program shows the long-standing patriarchal beliefs of the country, with employed Saudi Arabian women receiving lower wages than men.
– Allison Peterson
Photo: Flickr
Charities Helping Women in Chad
Gender-Specific Challenges
Currently, only 34.4% of gender-specific Sustainable Development Goals are monitorable in Chad, and only 8.2% score a medium or high performance. The low performance is evident in statistics for gender-based violence. About 16.2% of women aged 15 to 49 have faced sexual violence by their partner in the last year, and 38.4% of women in this age group have undergone genital mutilation, most commonly between ages 5 to 9. This figure rises in regions such as Salamat, where 96.1% of women face female genital mutilation. Violent practices are also prevalent among Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad, where 71% report human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence.
The law to ban female genital mutilation has yet to be signed by the Chadian president, despite being proposed in 2002. Little governmental assistance has been provided to women facing violence and poverty. However, various organizations have stepped up to create safe spaces, education and basic needs for women in Chad, offering care that the government has failed to provide.
Charities Helping Women in Chad:
Looking Ahead
These charities recognize that the human rights violations Chadian women face require external assistance. As more refugees from Sudan arrive, additional help will be necessary. Progress is being made, and laws to prevent gender-based violence are expected to be signed, offering a brighter future for the women of Chad.
– Ally Jones
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
How Women Are Shaping Peacebuilding in Colombia
Women’s Influence on the Peace Negotiations
Women’s organizations in Colombia helped push for greater representation during the peace negotiations. Their advocacy led to the creation of a Gender Sub-Commission in 2014, tasked with ensuring negotiators included a gender perspective throughout talks between the Colombian government and FARC-EP. Women also participated through consultations and visits to the negotiating table, which allowed victims and women’s rights organizations to share their experiences and proposals. According to the United Nations, women made up approximately half of those involved in national and regional consultations during the peace process. Their participation meant negotiators recognized women not only for how the conflict had affected them but also for the role they could play in building peace in Colombia.
Progress on Gender Commitments
Although Colombia’s Peace Agreement included important commitments on gender equality, putting them into practice has been slower. The Kroc Institute monitors 130 gender-related commitments within the agreement. Its research found that, as of November 2022, 18% had not been initiated, 52% remained at a minimal level of implementation, 18% had reached an intermediate level and only 12% had reached completion. Earlier monitoring also identified limited institutional leadership and inadequate funding as obstacles to progress, particularly for women and LGBTQ+ people in rural areas. These figures show that including gender commitments in the Peace Agreement was an important step, but implementing them remains a challenge for women in peacebuilding in Colombia.
Women Building Peace in Local Communities
Women’s role in Colombia’s peace process extends beyond national negotiations. Across areas affected by armed conflict, women leaders and local organizations have worked to support dialogue, protect communities and encourage the implementation of the Peace Agreement. Women have also organized to address issues affecting their communities, including displacement, insecurity and continuing violence. UN Women has highlighted the work of women and local organizations involved in peacebuilding, including efforts to strengthen women’s participation and represent communities affected by the conflict. This shows that peacebuilding in Colombia is not limited to national negotiations. Women are also working within communities that continue to experience the effects of conflict.
Women’s Role in Reintegration
Women who formerly belonged to the FARC-EP have also become part of Colombia’s transition from armed conflict to peace. More than 30% of former FARC-EP members involved in the reintegration process are women, many of whom have had to adapt to new roles as workers, students, mothers and community leaders. Reintegration can involve challenges including access to employment, education, health services and personal security. Programs in Colombia have worked to support women’s economic independence, political participation and leadership during this transition. Supporting women’s access to livelihoods and economic independence is particularly important in communities where conflict has fueled poverty and stripped away economic opportunities.
Young Women Are Strengthening Peace
Young women are also contributing to peacebuilding in areas of Colombia that continue to experience violence and inequality. In Quibdó, in the department of Chocó, the Empatía Chocó Foundation supports community initiatives focused on women’s rights, violence prevention and youth leadership. Young women involved in these efforts work to strengthen relationships within their communities and create opportunities for younger generations in an area that has endured decades of armed conflict. Their work shows how women in peacebuilding in Colombia are not only involved at the national political level but are also helping to build peace within communities still affected by conflict.
Women Peacebuilders Still Face Security Risks
Despite their contribution to Colombia’s peace process, women activists and community leaders can face serious risks because of their work. Human Rights Watch has documented violence and threats against human rights defenders and other social leaders in Colombia, particularly in areas where armed groups continue to operate. A 2026 United Nations report also found that women, including community and political leaders, continued to face heightened risks from armed violence and gender-based discrimination. These threats can make it more difficult for women to participate safely in community leadership and peacebuilding. Protecting these women matters if they are to continue their work in communities and contribute to peace in Colombia.
Looking Ahead
Nearly a decade after the 2016 Peace Agreement, women continue to play an important role in Colombia’s efforts to build lasting peace. Colombia has made progress in recognizing women’s participation, supporting former combatants and including gender commitments in the Peace Agreement, but challenges remain. A 2026 United Nations report highlighted continuing concerns around women’s participation in decision-making and the implementation of gender provisions. Continued support for women leaders, peacebuilders and local organizations will be important as Colombia works to strengthen peace in communities still affected by conflict. Ensuring that women in peacebuilding in Colombia can participate safely and meaningfully remains an important part of the country’s peace process.
– Aniya Akram
Photo: Flickr
Community Projects in Niger: Rebuilding Lives
The Current Situation
Niger is home to approximately 27 million people, yet a large percentage of the population lives in poverty, with 60.5% living on $3 a day. The political instability Niger faces has, in part, driven the extreme poverty many endure. In 2023, members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum. This event has led to inflation, electricity outages and rising food insecurity.
The eastern parts of the country also face terrorism and threats from neighboring Chad and Libya, while the western parts of Niger face cross-border jihadist violence with Burkina Faso and Mali.
The Tillabéri region is located in the west of Niger, where almost 250,000 internally displaced people live. The Global Terrorism Index has described the Sahel region as the “global epicentre of terrorism,” and Tillabéri has become the deadliest part of that region for civilians, highlighting the serious threat such violence poses to the livelihoods of Tillabéri.
Many people here lack reliable access to socioeconomic services, community infrastructure and clean water. This severely impacts women and young girls. Often, they walk for hours to collect unclean water from unsafe and overcrowded areas. This journey results in them missing out on school and employment, creating further challenges within the region. However, various community projects in Niger are seeking to improve daily lives within the Tillabéri region.
PCRSS
One of many community projects in Niger, the World Bank finances this operation, which has already improved the lives of more than 32,000 people through the construction of solar-powered boreholes and distribution points for clean water. Furthermore, labor-intensive works have created employment opportunities for more than 2,000 young people, while more than 75,000 farmers have received agricultural funding aimed at helping them generate a steady source of income.
The PCRSS has provided more than 9,000 households with essential goods and aid during the worst phase of the crisis. The project also supports a women’s agricultural group, where members gain access to seeds, tools and land so they can train and earn money for their families and communities.
Mobile Health Clinics
Another one of the community projects in Niger providing essential support is mobile health clinics that the International Rescue Committee organizes with funding from the European Union. In Filingué, a town in Tillabéri, enduring political instability has left 36% of health centers inaccessible.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has deployed two mobile health clinics here and in the neighboring town of Ouallam, each staffed with a doctor, nurse, midwife and a vaccination provider. This community project in Niger aims to provide free and essential health care to those living in rural areas of the Tillabéri region affected by insecurity, with particular attention given to the elderly, women and children, through constant communication with local leaders and health districts.
The project also supports health care centers in Attaloga, Gao and Talcho, districts within Tillabéri, that provide essential care to refugee and displaced populations. While they provide treatments, they also aim to raise awareness about illness management and health topics.
Flooding Response in Niger
In April 2026, Cooperazione Internazionale collaborated with European Humanitarian Aid to install 3,500 meters of rainwater drainage channels in six neighborhoods of the Tillabéri region. This community project in Niger reduced the buildup of waste and protected homes from the risk of flooding. It also strengthened disaster prevention and response and addressed increasing population displacement, while providing 120 workers with temporary employment.
This community project in Niger benefited nearly 32,000 residents directly. It also improved hygiene and sanitation levels in their respective areas while reducing flooding risks for 62,000 people within the urban area.
New Beginnings for the Tillabéri Region
In light of prolonged political and economic instability, these community projects in Niger have brought positive improvements to those in the Tillabéri region. From employment to health care and natural disaster prevention, these projects offer a sense of stability and hope to vulnerable communities, highlighting the impact of investment and community support. Momentum exists to continue funding community projects in Niger, both in the Tillabéri region and across the country.
– Maya Tailor
Photo: Flickr
Remittance to Nepal Grows Safer as Transfers Go Digital
In hill villages across Nepal, a monthly transfer from a family member working in Qatar or Malaysia often decides whether a household eats well, keeps a child in school or repairs a leaking roof. Remittances to Nepal now reach well over a third of the country’s households, and new research shows the money is arriving faster, cheaper and more securely than at any point in the past 30 years, partly thanks to a new generation of digital transfer systems.
A Quarter of the Economy
Remittance to Nepal accounted for 26.3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, one of the highest ratios in the world, according to a June 2025 report by the Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM). Nepali migrant workers sent home approximately $10.76 billion that year, a sum exceeding the combined value of Nepal’s foreign aid, tourism income and exports. Drawing on four editions of the Nepal Living Standards Survey, the report notes that the share of households receiving remittances increased from 10.8% in 1996 to 35.6% in 2023, while the average amount received per household rose by 17 times over the same period, from 18,215 Nepalese rupees (about $330) to more than 315,000 Nepalese rupees (about $2,413).
A Growing Role for Women
Women remitters represent a small yet rapidly growing share of the total. Only 4.5% of remitters were women in 2004, and they contributed only 1.3% of the total value remitted that year. By 2023, women made up 19.9% of remitters and accounted for 10.4% of remittances sent to Nepal, reflecting a broader rise in women’s labor migration over the same period. Women remitters still transfer smaller average amounts than men, mostly because more of them work in lower-paying jobs or in India, where wages for migrant labor remain relatively low.
Formal Channels Replace Informal Ones
The formalization of remittance to Nepal has accelerated sharply over the past decade. Informal channels made up just 7% of the money entering the country in 2023, a drop from 30% in 2011. These informal channels include personal couriers, cash carried home by returning workers and hundi, an unregulated network of brokers who move money between countries through trusted contacts rather than physically transferring cash, verified using a code passed between sender and recipient. Banks and licensed remittance service providers now carry 92.8% of the total value of remittance to Nepal. Recipient households cited daily consumption as the leading use of that income (72.3%), followed by loan repayment tied to the cost of migration itself.
Provincial Gaps Remain
These benefits do not reach every part of the country evenly. Households in Gandaki, Koshi and Bagmati provinces received an average of more than 400,000 Nepalese rupees (about $3,000) in 2023, while those in Sudurpaschim, Karnali and Madhesh received roughly half that amount (about $1,500). The gap traces back largely to destination, meaning migrants from lower-receiving provinces more often work in India, where average earnings and remittance amounts fall short of those from the Gulf states, Malaysia or higher-income countries such as Australia and Japan.
A New Digital Corridor
A new digital payment corridor could help to close the gap. In June 2026, the Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched a real-time digital remittance service linking Nepal’s National Payments Interface with India’s Unified Payments Interface, targeting the single largest and lowest-earning corridor in Nepal’s remittance system.
Nepal and India conduct an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion in annual financial transactions, with much of it still carried in cash across the open border, according to NCHL Chief Executive Officer Neelesh Man Singh Pradhan. The new system lets Nepali workers in India send money directly through mobile banking apps instead. Eight Nepali banks, including Nabil Bank, Everest Bank and more, connect to the platform, and each transaction carries a service charge of just 150 Indian rupees (about $1.55). Nepal Rastra Bank designed the service to discourage informal networks like hundi and to give migrant workers greater control and security over their earnings, according to central bank spokesperson Guru Prasad Paudel.
Closing the Rural Gap
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have pushed for similar progress nationwide. The two organizations convened a panel in 2024 that found rural financial inclusion still trails urban areas by 10 percentage points and that high transfer costs continue to push some remitters toward informal channels. Government incentives, such as preferential access to company share offerings for migrant workers, are helping narrow that gap alongside continued investment in digital transfer systems.
Looking Ahead
As more of the money flowing into Nepal moves through transparent, low-cost digital corridors, the millions of families who depend on remittance to Nepal stand to keep more of what their families abroad send home, and to receive it faster and more safely than ever before.
– Naveeshaa Rengasamy
Photo: Flickr
The Most Powerful Anti-Poverty Tool? Competition Policy
Georgia: Market Concentration vs. Pharmaceutical Reform
Prior to 2022, Georgia’s pharmaceutical market exposed families to extremely high medicine prices. Connections between pharmaceutical wholesalers and retail pharmacy chains allowed a small number of companies to hold significant market power, with markups on some essential medicines ranging from 2,000% to 3,000%. Without safeguards such as mandatory generic prescribing, generic drugs could even cost more than brand-name alternatives. According to the World Bank, 9.4% of Georgia’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2024.
Between 2022 and 2025, the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency introduced major reforms, including mandatory generic prescribing, digital price tracking and stronger quality controls. In August 2025, regulators identified eight companies with dominant positions and fined four for abusing their market power to impose unfairly high medicine prices. These interventions produced significant results. Average medicine prices fell by 40% to 45%, returning an estimated $73 million in annual savings to households. Lower out-of-pocket health expenses increased families’ real purchasing power, leaving more income available for other necessities. More affordable medicine can also help people protect their health, remain productive and keep children enrolled in school. This shows how competition policy and poverty reduction can be connected through lower prices for essential goods.
Egypt: Educational Exploitation vs. Antitrust Enforcement
Prior to 2023, Egypt’s education market was affected by anticompetitive practices. Powerful private institutions and suppliers used exclusive agreements, product bundling and price-fixing across textbook publishing and school uniform production, restricting consumer choice and increasing pressure on low-income households. World Bank data show that 33.5% of Egypt’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2021 to 2022.
In 2023, the Egyptian Competition Authority intervened against anticompetitive practices across textbook and school uniform markets. Markups on international schoolbooks fell by as much as 85%, while public spending on state textbook printing decreased by 21%. These reforms produced estimated household savings of nearly $1 billion over five years. Reforms were also expected to double or triple the number of school uniform suppliers and increase employment in the sector by as much as 50%. Reducing financial barriers to education can help break cycles of poverty and create greater long-term economic stability. Increasing competition can also benefit businesses and new market entrants by replacing restrictive arrangements with more open supply chains.
Mexico: Collusive Health Procurement vs. Institutional Sanctions
Between 2008 and 2015, collusion affected Mexico’s public health care system. Private companies rigged bids for blood bank services and laboratory diagnostics purchased by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and the Institute for Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), two of the country’s largest public health institutions. Because these systems serve more than 50% of Mexico’s population, bid-rigging increased public costs and reduced how far existing health care budgets could go. World Bank data show that 29.6% of Mexico’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2024.
Mexico’s competition authority, the Federal Economic Competition Commission COFECE, investigated the practices, penalized the bid-rigging cartel and imposed approximately 626.5 million Mexican pesos in fines on 11 companies and 14 individuals. Following enforcement, blood bank service costs fell by nearly 30% and laboratory testing prices dropped by almost 5%. A 2024 ex post assessment, later highlighted by the World Bank, found that the harm prevented and fines imposed were worth more than four times the agency’s annual operating budget. More transparent and competitive procurement allowed the public sector to make better use of existing resources, leaving more funds available for medical care.
What Georgia, Egypt and Mexico Show
The experiences of Georgia, Egypt and Mexico demonstrate that markets dominated by cartels or entrenched monopolies impede economic opportunity and growth. Long-term economic progress requires public institutions that can prevent anticompetitive behavior, make public procurement more transparent, protect consumers and remove barriers that unfairly favor established firms.
Well-designed competition policy encourages businesses to innovate, improve productivity and use capital more efficiently. Productive companies can expand, create stable employment and generate income that supports local spending. Poorly regulated markets, by contrast, can become increasingly concentrated and raise costs for consumers.
Addressing global poverty requires political will and smart policies that strengthen governance and economic opportunity. Well-regulated markets can help low-income families gain purchasing power and stability while companies benefit from a larger and more reliable customer base.
Georgia, Egypt and Mexico illustrate how targeted competition policy reforms can make markets work more effectively for families, governments and businesses at the same time. When leaders establish fair rules, enforce them consistently and protect vulnerable populations from anticompetitive practices, families gain more of the stability and purchasing power they need to build their own way forward. Continued enforcement and reform can help extend these gains to more low-income households.
– Aarush Pomar
Photo: Unsplash
5 Ways Solar Technology in Malawi is Transforming Education
Bringing Electricity to Rural Schools
Many schools in Malawi are not connected to a reliable electrical grid. As of 2026, only 3.8% of rural households were connected to the national grid, according to the World Bank. Limited energy access is particularly challenging in rural communities in Malawi, where poverty is more widespread than in urban areas. Solar panels could help address electricity challenges these schools face without requiring major grid infrastructure. Solar power gives rural students access to resources that schools in more developed areas already have.
Without electricity, studying can become very difficult after the sun goes down. Solar-powered lights allow students to complete homework in the evening, giving them more time to study. This extra time could potentially allow schools to hold additional classes and study sessions. Solar power gives students more usable hours in their day for education. In Chang’ombe, a rural community in Malawi, students have reported improved test scores after gaining access to study at night, and teachers have observed a reduction in absences since electricity became available at their school.
Expanding Access to Digital Learning
Solar electricity can power online educational materials like computers, tablets and internet equipment that may not have otherwise been available in rural communities. Access to computers and tablets allows teachers to use digital resources for students, which can support the improvement of digital literacy. Solar systems allow schools to consistently charge these devices, making digital learning possible in schools that remain disconnected. Solar energy does more than turn the lights on; it allows rural students to connect to information and opportunities beyond their communities.
Creating Better Learning Environments
Solar technology in Malawi can provide electricity to rural classrooms, allowing them to have reliable lighting, fans and projectors. Better school facilities may make students more likely to attend and participate as the learning environments are more favorable. Improving the physical classroom can help enhance the overall educational experience. In Chang’ombe, teachers reported a reduction in absences after electricity became available. The benefits of solar power extend past lighting the classroom; it shows a direct correlation to attendance.
Solar technology is helping improve education all across Malawi, especially in rural communities. These improvements largely revolve around four areas: electricity, longer study hours, digital learning and better learning environments. Despite this progress, challenges remain, including funding, maintenance and the need for continued investment. Solar technology in Malawi is not only providing electricity – it is helping create new opportunities for Malawi’s next generation. As organizations continue expanding renewable energy to rural communities, solar energy has the potential to bring educational opportunities to thousands of students who are still unable to access online platforms.
– Tyler Rothwell
Photo: Flickr
Fighting Food Insecurity in Somalia: New Hope for Technology
The Drought
Without the means to sustain livestock or crops, farmers take a financial hit, while the remaining portion of the country suffers from insufficient food supply. Mass displacement is not the only concern; malnutrition is another major consequence of the drought as it contributes to the issue of food insecurity in Somalia. The International Organization for Migration claims that this recent drought now accounts for three out of every four new displacements, a 22% increase from last year, resulting in a total of 62,000 people displaced.
Somalia’s geography and topography make the country susceptible to natural disasters. This unfortunately means that little can be done to reduce or prevent droughts.
The long-lasting drought has forced families to travel to find water sources, worsening a poverty crisis. The informal settlements that have subsequently emerged bring their own challenges, including overcrowding with limited water or sanitation and inadequate shelter.
Current Initiatives
The World Food Program (WFP) is a major organization working to combat food insecurity in Somalia and the rest of the world. Children, unable to work or grow food, are forced to rely entirely on their parents or guardians. This increases their vulnerability to food insecurity, which the WFP focuses on.
With the help of the WFP, schools provide more than 100,000 meals to their primary school students. This not only helps immediately feed children, it also injects more than $750,000 into the economy. Local farmers or markets supply portions of these meals, even as the conflict in the Middle East has driven food prices up drastically. The WFP addresses two major areas in this program, supporting a struggling economy and its most vulnerable citizens.
Introducing AI
One of the most recent strategies the WFP has implemented is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the hardest-hit region of Burhakaba. This technology previously existed in HungerMap Live as a platform that displays data on food insecurity to the general public. It tracks what areas of the world are in need as an estimate, but its ability to predict future hunger crises was limited.
As of April 2026, the program received an update that addressed these limitations, introducing new predictive AI features that allow governments and WFP field offices around the world to mobilize resources and act before a crisis worsens.
This new technology can help organizations identify where food assistance may be needed in the future, giving the WFP a chance to prepare and respond before a crisis worsens. By allowing provisions and other assistance to be prepared and deployed earlier, predictive technology could help reduce the severity of hunger and malnutrition during a crisis.
New Hope
While organizations like the WFP are dedicated to helping the world’s most vulnerable communities, sometimes their technology and infrastructure can only do so much. This new introduction of AI in Somalia provides hope for the future of technology to battle global poverty, assisting remote areas while allowing governments and organizations to act preventatively rather than in response.
– Angelica Ciaravino
Photo: Flickr
Can Matcha Help Fight Poverty in Rural Japan?
Rural Japan Faces an Agricultural Crisis
Many of Japan’s tea-producing regions face declining populations and aging agricultural workforces, with around 43% of Japan’s local districts threatened by depopulation. Without people, rural economies cannot be sustained and farming livelihoods cannot persevere.
Japan is becoming one of the most rapidly aging and depopulating countries in the world, especially in rural areas, where outmigration has contributed to the collapse of local communities. Despite government efforts to revitalize these areas, such as Chiiki Okoshi Kyoryokutai, also known as Local Revitalisation Cooperator, a program that pays urban residents to move to rural villages for one to three years to jumpstart the local economy, farmers continue to face significant challenges, many reaching retirement age.
The number of commercial tea-farming operations has fallen sharply. According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Agricultural and Forestry Census, there were 53,687 farming operations in 2000; in 2020, it dropped to just 12,325.
Can Matcha Revitalize Rural Communities?
With mounting economic pressure, the growing demand for matcha could offer a new source of income to help revitalize rural communities by providing farmers with opportunities to increase income, sustain farms, and support their local economy.
The matcha boom has driven up the value of the crop, creating the potential for higher farmer incomes and making tea farming more financially viable. However, whether producers benefit depends on how much of this increased value reaches them.
The Japanese government and agricultural organizations are also trying to help farmers keep up with these demands by looking for ways to expand tencha production while finding a solution to the workforce shortage.
A 2026 initiative in Shizuoka aims to increase tencha production while improving farmers’ earnings and developing the regional tea industry. The initiative provides producers with technical guidance and equipment to help them transition to tencha cultivation, creating a more stable supply of matcha’s key raw material while ensuring that more of the value generated by growing demand reaches farmers in rural Japan.
Simona Suzuki, co-founder of the Global Japanese Tea Association, whose focus is on the revitalization of Japanese tea, said the government is beginning to take steps to support farmers. “I think everyone has it in mind that we have to do something.”
Reducing Poverty in Rural Japan
Matcha’s global demand for higher-value agricultural products can create new economic opportunities in rural Japan and make a significant contribution to tackling rural poverty. However, its long-term impact will depend on whether farmers and local communities can capture a meaningful share of the industry’s growing value, while overcoming the aging workforce, labor shortages and production constraints threatening Japan’s tea industry. They are on their way to doing so.
– Clara Iglesias Romero
Photo: Unsplash
Maternal Mental Health in Pakistan
Depression is among the most common mental health conditions during pregnancy. It is often exacerbated by conditions brought on by poverty, such as unstable living situations, low social support, violence and more.
In Pakistan, poverty remains a significant challenge. In 2024, approximately 23% of the population lived below the World Bank’s $3-a-day poverty line. This economic instability made access to mental health care even more difficult.
Pakistan’s landmark trial addresses the importance of maternal mental health while also taking a novel approach by considering the strain on resources in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The Perinatal Mental Health Crisis
The well-being of the mother is crucial for both the long-term stability of the family and the healthy development of the child, as it contributes to preterm birth, low birth weight, anemia and preeclampsia.
While certain nations have begun to bring attention to maternal mental health, with the United States even devoting $125.5 million in federal funding to the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, other developing nations simply lack the resources to address this crisis at the same level.
Challenges
Low- and middle-income countries lack the resources. There is a shortage of trained mental health professionals due to limited educational opportunities. Social stigma permeates many cultures, with help-seeking behaviors seen as weak or shameful. Healthcare infrastructure, such as hospitals and mental health clinics, remains unavailable to the larger population, and proper funding is practically nonexistent.
Pakistan has one of the highest reported rates of postpartum depression in Asia, ranging from 28% to 63%. Additionally, more than half of cases go undiagnosed, meaning the majority of women receive no treatment at all.
Maternal Mental Health in Pakistan
Researchers worked to address the high rates of anxiety and depression among pregnant women in Pakistan. By treating women early in their pregnancies, they aimed to prevent more serious mental health issues, such as psychosis and suicidal ideation, following childbirth.
Led by Pamela Surkan, the researchers’ first step was to recruit pregnant women in Pakistan and randomly assign them to control and intervention groups. Then, they trained non-specialist providers in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and the Happy Mother-Healthy Baby program. These providers held a degree in psychology but were not licensed clinical therapists. They received around 50 hours of training and weekly supervision from mental health specialists.
The Human Development Research Foundation (HDRF), a Pakistani research organization founded in 2003, also played a role in the trial. Abid Malik supervised its implementation and data collection, while Najia Atif helped develop the Happy Mother-Healthy Baby intervention.
Every woman in the study attended six individual sessions during their pregnancy. The sessions helped them manage anxiety through techniques such as targeting unhelpful thoughts and practicing healthier behaviors. Additionally, the trial considered culture.
The women were encouraged to turn to their families and their communities as sources of strength and support, rather than isolating them to a singular provider. After childbirth, the researchers checked in with women about their current levels of anxiety and depression.
Results
Although 12% of women in the intervention group developed postpartum depression, the numbers were significantly lower compared to the 41% of women in the control group. Overall, the cognitive behavioral therapy approach given by non-specialist providers led to 81% lower odds of postpartum depression or moderate-to-severe anxiety.
Support from trained non-specialists clearly improved maternal mental health outcomes in Pakistan. These positive results also suggest that the approach could be cost-effective and more easily implemented in low-resource settings, offering a potential model for other LMICs as well.
Scalability
Somalia, another region where maternal mental health is overlooked, could benefit from this intervention. Similar to Pakistan, mental health care is extremely limited, with a lack of trained specialists, disparities between rural and urban areas, lack of transportation and high costs associated with treatment.
Additionally, stigma prevents many women from seeking help. A culturally sensitive approach is necessary for participation, which could include community health workers, home visits, religious leader support and more.
Pakistan’s trial demonstrates that certain forms of maternal mental health care can be delivered by trained non-specialists, potentially reducing many of the barriers created by shortages of resources and mental health professionals.
Given that Somalia has an even more fragile healthcare system, the intervention would need to be adapted to its unique context. Regardless, the results in Pakistan demonstrate the potential of community-based, low-cost care to expand access to maternal mental health services in resource-limited settings. As similar interventions are adapted to the needs of underserved communities, these findings could help expand access to maternal mental health care in countries where traditional options remain limited.
– Diya Rajkumar
Photo: Flickr