In November 2025, Kerala declared itself free from extreme poverty, becoming the first Indian state to make such a claim. Officials said the program had reached the most marginalized families through coordination among local bodies, government departments and volunteers.
A Local Approach to Extreme Poverty
Kerala, a state in southern India, has taken a household-level approach to reducing extreme poverty. Instead of relying only on broad welfare programs, the state created individual plans for families facing severe hardship. These plans, known as household microplans, focus on the specific needs of each family, including food, health care, income and housing.
This approach is important because poverty does not affect every household in the same way. Some families may need regular food support. Others may need medical care, identity documents, housing assistance or help finding stable work. Kerala’s model shows that anti-poverty programs can be more effective when they address the real problems each family faces.
Kerala’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Project
Kerala launched the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project in 2021. According to Kerala’s Local Self Government Department (LSGD), the project aimed to identify people experiencing extreme poverty who were outside existing support systems. The department states that the project used local governments, Kudumbashree networks, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, anganwadi workers, residential associations and civil society groups to find families facing the most severe deprivation. ASHA workers are community health workers who connect households with basic health services. Anganwadi workers support early childhood care, nutrition and welfare services at the local level. Their involvement helped the project reach vulnerable families who may not have been visible through official records alone.
The LSGD reported that more than 1.4 million people participated in the identification process. Through this effort, Kerala identified 103,099 people from 64,006 families across 1,032 local institutions. These families were identified based on four main areas of distress: food, health, income and housing.
What Are Household Microplans?
A household microplan is a personalized support plan created for one family. Instead of giving every family the same type of assistance, Kerala looked at what each household specifically needed. For example, one family might need a ration card to access food benefits. Another might need health insurance, disability documents or social security pensions. This is why household microplans in Kerala have drawn attention as a possible model for other regions working to reduce poverty.
According to Kerala’s LSGD, each family’s situation was studied before special microplans were created. The department also reported that documents and emergency services, including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, disability cards, health insurance and social security pensions, were made available to 21,263 families through the project.
Kerala carried out the project in three phases. According to the LSGD, the first phase focused on food and health care. The second phase focused on sustainable livelihoods and income. The third phase focused on safe and permanent housing.
This structure allowed the state to respond first to urgent needs, such as hunger and health problems, before moving toward longer-term goals like income security and housing. Kerala also used related campaigns to help families access land, housing, documents, educational support and travel benefits, according to the LSGD.
One of the strongest parts of Kerala’s model was local monitoring. According to the LSGD, household needs were recorded in a digital management information system. This allowed local governments and departments to track whether families were receiving the support promised to them.
Kudumbashree, Kerala’s women-led poverty eradication network, also worked as a community monitor and service provider, according to the department. This helped make the project more accountable and reduced the chance that families would be forgotten after being identified.
Kerala’s Poverty-Free Declaration
In November 2025, Kerala declared itself free from extreme poverty. The Times of India reported that Kerala’s Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh said the state had identified 64,006 extremely poor families through indicators such as food security, health, livelihood and housing. He also said each family received a microplan to help connect it with welfare schemes and essential services.
The LSGD also stated that the project was carried out through coordination among local bodies, government departments, missions, voluntary organizations and public participation.
Kerala’s declaration has also faced criticism. Some economists and activists argue that the state has reduced severe destitution rather than fully eliminated extreme poverty. In The Times of India, economist K.P. Kannan argued that Kerala’s list of around 64,000 households differs from other official poverty-related categories, including households covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana food security scheme. Antyodaya Anna Yojana is an Indian government scheme that provides highly subsidized food grains to the poorest households, making it an important measure of severe food insecurity and poverty. However, long-term monitoring remains necessary.
Why This Matters for Global Poverty
Household microplans in Kerala offer an important lesson for global poverty reduction. Many countries have welfare programs, but the poorest families may still be left out. Some households lack documents. Others live in remote areas, face disability or illness, or do not know how to access public services.
Household microplans in Kerala show that governments can improve poverty reduction by combining broad welfare programs with local, household-level planning. Community participation helped identify families who were hard to reach. Personalized plans helped match each family with the right kind of support. Digital tracking and local monitoring then helped ensure that support was delivered.
Even though Kerala’s claim to have eliminated extreme poverty remains debated, its method offers a practical model for other regions. By focusing on individual households, Kerala has shown how anti-poverty programs can become more targeted, accountable and human-centered.
– Nina Novillo Astrada
Nina is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Flickr
The Impact of USAID Cuts on an HIV-Prevention Program in Kenya
Vision
Initiated in October 2021, the project was one of many Hope Worldwide Kenya (HWWK) programs in Mukuru informal settlement in Nairobi funded by the U.S. dating back to 2003, with the aim of preventing HIV among thousands of vulnerable youth, particularly adolescent girls and young women, through a variety of care and support programs. In a documentary commissioned by PBS NewsHour in the U.S., journalists spoke to many young women who came through the program. They tell of being educated on simple but potentially life-saving interventions, such as how to use a condom, in addition to compassionate reminders that each of them has inherent value and worth.
USAID Closure
DREAMS, however, despite its proven successes, is facing an existential crisis due to the shuttering of USAID by the Trump administration in early 2025, which left staff suddenly unemployed and vital funding withdrawn, endangering not just DREAMS but thousands of humanitarian programs worldwide.
Both statistical evidence and personal accounts demonstrate the success of DREAMS’s endeavors. Almost all of the 66,000 women and girls who came through DREAMS remained HIV-free during the three-year program. Stacy Njeri, an 18-year-old woman from Mwiki, Kasarani Sub-county in Nairobi, describes how the program introduced her to a Youth Savings and Loans Association which allowed her to start her own nail salon, a decision she says “changed her life.”
With many women’s enrolment cut short due to foreign aid cuts, however, the concern now is that HIV cases among young women may begin to rise again, and that the cuts will discontinue the salutary work that the organization carries out, not only in preventing the deadly disease, but also in caring for young women and girls and equipping them with vitally important life skills and encouragement. PBS NewsHour’s documentary already reported that some women began to turn to prostitution as a means of supporting themselves following the end of DREAMS.
Future
Yet, the three-year stint of this HIV-prevention program in Kenya has shown that the methods used are highly successful and potentially far-reaching; it is only a matter of repairing the broken aid infrastructure. With the decline of USAID, it remains to be seen whether other countries will step in to fill the humanitarian void. Other wealthy nations like the U.K., France and Germany all responded to the U.S. change in policy by cutting back their own foreign aid expenditure, with the U.K. reducing its ODA (Official Development Assistance Budget) from 0.7% to 0.3% of Gross National Income in order to bolster defense spending.
It may take some time for a viable solution for DREAMS to materialize, but what the scaling back of U.S. foreign aid has shown is just what kind of valuable and quietly empowering programs in Kenya and around the world are being threatened by an increasingly volatile global humanitarian landscape.
– Tomás Quinn
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
What to Know About Food Systems in Fiji
According to the Food Systems Dashboard, Fiji is experiencing an increase in diet-related health issues, including obesity and diabetes, resulting from increased consumption of imported and processed foods. While traditional diets still feature local root crops, fruits, vegetables and seafood, imported food also plays a significant role in meeting consumer demand.
Challenges in Fiji’s Food Systems
The University of Southern Pacific reports that climate challenges, extreme weather events, natural disasters and shifting dietary habits are the leading challenges to domestic food production and nutrition. In 2023, Fiji imported $1.106 billion in crops and livestock from more than 70 countries, primarily Australia, New Zealand, China, Malaysia and Singapore.
This reliance on imported foods can leave Fiji vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and rising global food prices. According to the Food Systems Dashboard, the country also faces a dual burden of malnutrition, with 7% of the population experiencing undernourishment, while obesity and diet-related diseases continue to rise. These challenges place additional pressure on low-income families that already struggle to afford nutritious food, as 57% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet.
Poverty in Fiji
Agriculture remains an important part of Fiji’s economy and a major source of employment in rural communities. According to the World Bank, poverty affects more than 45,700 households in Fiji. Approximately 24.1% of the population lives below the national poverty line, while rates rise to 36.2% among households living in rural and maritime communities, which also experience higher transportation costs and greater exposure to climate-related disasters. When floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events damage crops and infrastructure, families often experience reduced incomes and limited access to affordable food.
Strengthening local food production can help communities increase household incomes while reducing dependence on costly imported goods. Investments in agriculture, fisheries and rural infrastructure also create opportunities for economic growth in areas where poverty rates remain highest.
Government Efforts to Strengthen Food Security
In October 2025, Fiji’s government launched its Food and Nutrition Security Policy, a consolidation of food, nutrition and climate initiatives to address the challenges of food insecurity and poverty.
Government leaders developed the framework through consultations with stakeholders to create a more coordinated approach to food production, distribution and consumption while helping communities adapt to climate-related risks.
According to the United Nations Food Systems Coordination Hub, the policy supports collaboration among government agencies, researchers, farmers and development partners to improve access to nutritious food, strengthen local food production and build resilience against climate-related disruptions. By connecting agricultural development with public health objectives, policymakers expect to improve long-term food access and nutrition outcomes throughout the country.
Additionally, the International Trade Administration found Fiji’s agricultural sector to be a crucial component of its economy. Providing jobs for 83% of its rural residents, 36% of the total employed population. Despite the high financial costs and deficient access to modern equipment and technology, the government is offering tax incentives to private investors for non-sugar agriculture with a desire to provide sustainable practices, improve infrastructure and foster resident communities.
A More Resilient Food System
Food systems in Fiji play a critical role in supporting public health, economic development and food security. While the country continues to face challenges from changing weather patterns, rising food imports and nutrition-related health concerns, government agencies and local stakeholders are taking steps to strengthen domestic food production and improve access to nutritious foods. Through initiatives such as the Food and Nutrition Security Policy and continued investment in agriculture, Fiji is progressing toward a more resilient food system that can support communities and reduce vulnerability to poverty in the years ahead.
– Ashley Belling
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
How Vocational Education in Argentina Helps Reduce Poverty
Poverty in Argentina
Although there are many factors that contribute to poverty in Argentina, two factors that seem to be related to the risk of poverty are education level and employment status. Among Argentines who are aged 16 and older, 19.6% of those living below the poverty line do not have an education and 18.3% only have a primary education.
Additionally, in early 2025, Argentina reported an unemployment rate of 7.9%, the highest level recorded since 2021. This decrease in official employment corresponds with many workers transitioning to unreliable sources of income such as self-employment and casual jobs.
What Vocational Education Offers
TVET offers students skills and experience working in specific career fields such as:
TVET consists of three levels of vocational education. Secondary Technical Education combines general high school education with training in specific technical industries and teaches students about professional practices to prepare them for entering the workplace. After completing secondary education (technical or general), students can move on to Higher Technical Education, allowing them to specialize their skill set within a certain industry. Finally, Professional Training is offered to people already in the workforce so that they can improve, renew and acquire professional skills.
The Impact of Vocational Education in Argentina
After the socio-economic crisis that occurred in Argentina in the early 2000s, the government passed two laws that reestablished the importance of vocational education. In 2005, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Law (LETP as the Spanish acronym) was passed. A year later, the National Education Law (LEN as the Spanish acronym) replaced the Federal Education Law. The main goals of these laws are to:
The LETP emphasizes increased funding and improving the quality of vocational education through updates in the curriculum, infrastructure and technology used to teach students.
These changes within the TVET system are important because higher education has been shown to reduce the risk of unemployment and increase average wages. Among unemployed Argentines, only 4.1% of them have a post-secondary education compared to 7.8% who do not have a secondary education and 7.2% who do. Additionally, people with a post-secondary education tend to earn 63% more in wages compared to people with just a secondary education.
In the early 1980s, the nonprofit organization Star of Hope established a small school in the remote region of Namqom that continues to help people develop practical skills to gain employment. Subjects taught at this school have included hairdressing, bricklaying, electrical engineering and cooking and baking. Selsa Diaz, a cooking and baking instructor, stated that the school’s primary objective was that “each student should be able to have some income” upon graduation. The 36 students at this school learn how to bake and cook various dishes. After completing their course work, students receive a diploma as proof of what they accomplished. Diaz remarked on the work ethic of her students stating that “everybody makes an effort to learn everyday.”
Looking Ahead
As the rates of poverty and employment have continued to rise in Argentina, the importance of learning practical skills and gaining job experience has become increasingly apparent. The TVET system seeks to empower students by giving them the knowledge, skills and confidence to obtain financial stability. By providing people with higher education and a chance to acquire skills that will benefit them in the workplace, vocational education in Argentina can also provide people with the opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty.
– Lily Alexander
Photo: Flickr
Innovation Sahara Supports Entrepreneurs in Southern Libya
Innovation Sahara focuses on communities in Libya’s southern region, where economic opportunities are often more limited than in larger coastal cities such as Tripoli and Benghazi. The program offers practical business training, including budgeting, marketing and business planning. According to UNDP, more than 110 participants took part in the initiative, including 53 women-led ventures. Of these participants, 60 startups received grants to help launch their businesses, including 23 women-led startups.
Entrepreneurs in Southern Libya
Entrepreneurship can offer an alternative path to employment in areas where formal jobs are scarce. Rather than relying only on public-sector work or outside investment, small businesses allow communities to respond to their own local needs. A successful startup can support one household by generating income. Over time, it can also provide useful services, create products and open new employment opportunities for others in the community. Innovation Sahara in southern Libya is particularly significant for women, as they often face additional barriers due to limited access to finance, fewer professional networks and social expectations that restrict participation in public economic life. By including women-led ventures in training and grant opportunities, the program supports women’s economic participation and helps challenge the idea that entrepreneurship is only accessible to men or to people in major cities.
Libya’s economy has generally depended heavily on oil and public-sector employment. Oil wealth has shaped the country’s economy. However, it has not always produced stable opportunities for young people, especially outside urban centers. Supporting small businesses can help diversify local economies and reduce dependence on a narrow range of income sources. In southern Libya, entrepreneurs are often far from major markets. This distance can make it harder to access investors, customers and business-support services.
The Importance of Skill Development
The project also demonstrates the importance of combining financial support with skills development. Grants alone may not be enough to help a business survive. Entrepreneurs also need to understand how to manage costs, reach customers and adapt their ideas to real market conditions. By offering training in budgeting, marketing and business planning, Innovation Sahara gives participants tools that can continue to benefit them after the initial grant period ends.
However, the long-term impact of the program will depend on whether these startups can survive and grow. Many early-stage businesses struggle after initial funding runs out. Entrepreneurs may still need mentoring, access to larger markets, legal support and continued financing. Infrastructure challenges, political instability and weak private-sector institutions also limit business growth.
From Training to Employment
One example is Hamed Mohamed from Gurda Al-Shati, who used support from Innovation Sahara to develop Akakus Restaurant. Hamed identified a clear local need: his community had few food-delivery options, leaving residents underserved. With the help of the program, he expanded the restaurant and hired 14 people, including chefs, cleaners and delivery riders. His story shows how a small business can respond to everyday community needs while also creating stable employment. In an area where formal job opportunities are limited, Akakus Restaurant demonstrates how entrepreneurship can strengthen local economies from within.
Another example from Gurda Al-Shati is Rahma El Farjani, an architect who previously worked from home. Before joining Innovation Sahara, her limited visibility made it difficult to reach clients and earn a stable income. Through the program’s training and grant support, she established Dalilak for Architectural Services, described by UNDP as the first architectural firm in the region. Her work expands professional services in southern Libya and challenges the idea that innovation belongs only in major urban centers.
Both Hamed and Rahma’s stories show how targeted support can help entrepreneurs turn local challenges into businesses that improve livelihoods and community development.
The program’s focus on youth and women makes it particularly relevant to poverty reduction. When young people are unable to find work, they may face financial insecurity, migration pressures or exclusion from community decision-making. When women lack access to income, households and communities lose an important source of economic potential.
Looking Ahead
Innovation Sahara in southern Libya shows how targeted entrepreneurship programs can help marginalized regions participate in economic recovery. By providing training, grants and visibility to entrepreneurs in southern Libya, the initiative supports people who are often excluded from national economic opportunities. Its success will depend on long-term follow-up, continued investment and the ability of new businesses to create lasting employment. Still, the program offers a hopeful example of how locally driven innovation can improve livelihoods in communities facing poverty, instability and limited opportunity.
– Nina Novillo Astrada
Photo: Flickr
Household Microplans in Kerala Addressing Extreme Poverty
A Local Approach to Extreme Poverty
Kerala, a state in southern India, has taken a household-level approach to reducing extreme poverty. Instead of relying only on broad welfare programs, the state created individual plans for families facing severe hardship. These plans, known as household microplans, focus on the specific needs of each family, including food, health care, income and housing.
This approach is important because poverty does not affect every household in the same way. Some families may need regular food support. Others may need medical care, identity documents, housing assistance or help finding stable work. Kerala’s model shows that anti-poverty programs can be more effective when they address the real problems each family faces.
Kerala’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Project
Kerala launched the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project in 2021. According to Kerala’s Local Self Government Department (LSGD), the project aimed to identify people experiencing extreme poverty who were outside existing support systems. The department states that the project used local governments, Kudumbashree networks, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, anganwadi workers, residential associations and civil society groups to find families facing the most severe deprivation. ASHA workers are community health workers who connect households with basic health services. Anganwadi workers support early childhood care, nutrition and welfare services at the local level. Their involvement helped the project reach vulnerable families who may not have been visible through official records alone.
The LSGD reported that more than 1.4 million people participated in the identification process. Through this effort, Kerala identified 103,099 people from 64,006 families across 1,032 local institutions. These families were identified based on four main areas of distress: food, health, income and housing.
What Are Household Microplans?
A household microplan is a personalized support plan created for one family. Instead of giving every family the same type of assistance, Kerala looked at what each household specifically needed. For example, one family might need a ration card to access food benefits. Another might need health insurance, disability documents or social security pensions. This is why household microplans in Kerala have drawn attention as a possible model for other regions working to reduce poverty.
According to Kerala’s LSGD, each family’s situation was studied before special microplans were created. The department also reported that documents and emergency services, including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, disability cards, health insurance and social security pensions, were made available to 21,263 families through the project.
Kerala carried out the project in three phases. According to the LSGD, the first phase focused on food and health care. The second phase focused on sustainable livelihoods and income. The third phase focused on safe and permanent housing.
This structure allowed the state to respond first to urgent needs, such as hunger and health problems, before moving toward longer-term goals like income security and housing. Kerala also used related campaigns to help families access land, housing, documents, educational support and travel benefits, according to the LSGD.
One of the strongest parts of Kerala’s model was local monitoring. According to the LSGD, household needs were recorded in a digital management information system. This allowed local governments and departments to track whether families were receiving the support promised to them.
Kudumbashree, Kerala’s women-led poverty eradication network, also worked as a community monitor and service provider, according to the department. This helped make the project more accountable and reduced the chance that families would be forgotten after being identified.
Kerala’s Poverty-Free Declaration
In November 2025, Kerala declared itself free from extreme poverty. The Times of India reported that Kerala’s Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh said the state had identified 64,006 extremely poor families through indicators such as food security, health, livelihood and housing. He also said each family received a microplan to help connect it with welfare schemes and essential services.
The LSGD also stated that the project was carried out through coordination among local bodies, government departments, missions, voluntary organizations and public participation.
Kerala’s declaration has also faced criticism. Some economists and activists argue that the state has reduced severe destitution rather than fully eliminated extreme poverty. In The Times of India, economist K.P. Kannan argued that Kerala’s list of around 64,000 households differs from other official poverty-related categories, including households covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana food security scheme. Antyodaya Anna Yojana is an Indian government scheme that provides highly subsidized food grains to the poorest households, making it an important measure of severe food insecurity and poverty. However, long-term monitoring remains necessary.
Why This Matters for Global Poverty
Household microplans in Kerala offer an important lesson for global poverty reduction. Many countries have welfare programs, but the poorest families may still be left out. Some households lack documents. Others live in remote areas, face disability or illness, or do not know how to access public services.
Household microplans in Kerala show that governments can improve poverty reduction by combining broad welfare programs with local, household-level planning. Community participation helped identify families who were hard to reach. Personalized plans helped match each family with the right kind of support. Digital tracking and local monitoring then helped ensure that support was delivered.
Even though Kerala’s claim to have eliminated extreme poverty remains debated, its method offers a practical model for other regions. By focusing on individual households, Kerala has shown how anti-poverty programs can become more targeted, accountable and human-centered.
– Nina Novillo Astrada
Photo: Flickr
How KOTO Trains At-Risk Youth in Vietnam
Jimmy Pham, a Vietnamese-Australian who grew up in Sydney, founded KOTO in 1999. Returning to Vietnam in his twenties, he met street children who told him they wanted skills to find stable jobs. He opened a small Hanoi sandwich shop and hired nine street kids as its first crew. The venture puzzled local officials, who had no category for a business built to serve the poor — KOTO later became the first legally recognized social enterprise in Vietnam. The shop drew global attention in 2000, when U.S. President Bill Clinton, the first American president to visit Vietnam after the war, made an unannounced stop. RMIT University awarded Pham an honorary doctorate in recognition of his work.
The Model: Skills, Stability and a Second Family
KOTO runs a 24-month hospitality program for young people 16 to 22 years old, training about 150 each year. Trainees choose front-of-house service or commercial cookery and earn an internationally recognized certificate through Australia’s Box Hill Institute. Crucially, the program is entirely free: KOTO covers food, health care and accommodation in a family environment, so trainees can focus on learning rather than survival. Alongside cooking and service, instructors teach English and life skills such as personal hygiene and money management. When trainees finish, KOTO places them in their first hospitality job.
The scale of need explains why the model matters. Vietnamese call children who live and work on the streets “bụi đời,” which means “the dust of life,” and in Hanoi alone an estimated 19,000 young people live on the streets. Many support themselves and their families through hard labor, with limited access to education and real exposure to exploitation and abuse. For at-risk youth in Vietnam, a steady wage often stands between them and those dangers — and the skills to earn one are exactly what KOTO provides.
Breaking the Cycle
The results suggest stable employment can break cycles of poverty within a single generation. KOTO reports that 100% of its trainees secure a job, 33% move into managerial roles and 78% contribute financially to their families. Graduates staff five-star hotels such as Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton and Sofitel, and alumni mentor newcomers so closely that the industry jokes about a “KOTO mafia.” Over 25 years, more than 1,700 graduates — including chefs, managers and entrepreneurs — have come through the program.
Nguyen Thi Thu’s story shows what that can look like. She met Pham at 16, while selling candy to support her mother and siblings, and joined KOTO’s second cohort. Today, she heads training at a multinational corporation, and her sister is a personal chef to an ambassador in Vietnam. Thu calls Pham her “moon” — a source of light and guidance. Pham frames the mission in larger terms, saying he wants to build the next generation of Vietnamese leaders in the industry.
KOTO is now expanding. The Kind Heart Foundation of the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup is helping fund a new training center in Bac Ninh Province that will double KOTO’s capacity to 300 trainees, up from 150. To stay sustainable, KOTO funds its work through restaurant revenue, grants, corporate sponsorship, fundraising and alumni-run services, which reduces its reliance on any single donor.
Looking Ahead
The self-renewing design is the point. For at-risk youth in Vietnam, KOTO offers more than a job — it offers a stable income, a marketable skill and a community that expects each graduate to lift up the next. In a country where tourism keeps growing and skilled hospitality workers stay in demand, that combination can turn a vulnerable childhood into a durable livelihood, and often pull an entire family out of poverty along with it.
– Jen Phan
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
USAID Programs in Mauritania
Mauritania is a vast nation of approximately 5.3 million people in West Africa. Only 0.4% of its land is suitable for agriculture and more than 590,000 people face acute malnutrition during the 2025 lean season alone. Instability in neighboring countries has also deepened the crisis. In addition, Mauritania now hosts 288,000 refugees. This has placed additional pressure on already stretched food and resource supplies.
Feeding Refugees at Mbera Camp
In February 2024, USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance contributed $5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver urgent relief to Malian refugees at the Mbera camp in eastern Mauritania. This aid reached 65,000 food-insecure refugees through cash assistance, while 4,000 malnourished children under the age of 5 and 350 pregnant and breastfeeding women received more specialized, nutritious care.
The results from previous years demonstrate what these investments can achieve. In 2023, WFP reached around 83,400 refugees in the camp with monthly cash distributions, supported by USAID and other donors. Following cuts to USAID, the United States government is still providing food aid through the WFP, meaning these vulnerable communities will still be receiving support.
Investing in Young People
According to UNESCO, “more than 60% of Mauritania’s population is under 25.” Youth unemployment among 15 to 24-year-olds stands at an estimated 23%. USAID’s Nafoore initiative, meaning “add value” in the Fulani language, tackled this directly. The five-year $17 million program, which began in 2022, focused on building economic skills and expanding income opportunities for people aged 15-29 in vulnerable communities.
Alongside Nafoore, USAID also funded the Tamkeen project, meaning “empowerment” in Arabic. This is a $7 million, five-year initiative implemented by FHI 360, a global nonprofit organization aimed at improving public health and human development. Tamkeen built networks of youth and community groups across eight regions of Mauritania, created safe spaces for young people to develop leadership skills and worked to counter the spread of disinformation. Altogether, these two programs represented a serious, long-term investment aimed at improving the country’s next generation.
Strengthening Democracy
USAID programs also supported efforts to strengthen democratic institutions in Mauritania. The Kofo Sugande project, meaning “People’s Choice,” was funded by USAID and implemented by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. This project supported Mauritania’s national electoral commission ahead of its 2023 general elections and the 2024 presidential election, making both more inclusive and accessible to voters. Its long-term aim was to strengthen Mauritania’s capacity to run credible elections independently.
The Cost of Losing This Support
The breadth of USAID programs in Mauritania, spanning emergency relief, food security, youth empowerment, civic engagement and democratic governance, shows how interconnected all of these programs were. Each addressed a different root cause of poverty and instability, and they all reinforced each other.
In 2025, the dismantling of USAID brought many of these programs to a halt. For a country like Mauritania, where the need is acute and homegrown resources are limited, the consequences are serious. The progress made at Mbera camp, in youth centers across different regions and in electoral commissions across the country did not happen by accident. It was the result of consistent, targeted support. Without it, the communities that relied on these programs will be left more exposed and vulnerable than before. Thankfully, through the WFP the U.S. government will still provide food aid to Mauritania, helping those facing food insecurity and malnutrition.
– Gonzalo Rodriguez Da Fonte Martins
Photo: Unsplash
The Growing Need for Mental Health Support in Haiti
The Growing Need for Mental Health Support
While the need for medical care, education and food stability is visible and recognized, the psychological and mental health sphere has been significantly ignored. Efforts in social services, including mental health support, are essential. More than one in five Haitians face serious mental health challenges, and these conditions have led to increased stress, psychological issues, sleep problems, anxiety and depression, creating an immediate need for mental health support in Haiti.
Organizations Working for Mental Health in Haiti
The 2010 earthquake triggered a humanitarian crisis, affecting Haitians both in the country and in the U.S. due to relocation and cultural adjustment. The uncertainty and new challenges faced by Haitians, especially migrants, created a demand for mental health support. Haiti is one of the countries with the largest number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating for its recovery. In recent decades, especially after 2010, organizations such as Rebati Santé Mentale (RSM) have rushed to provide mental health support. RSM offers clinical services in the country and to the Haitian diaspora in the U.S., along with consultation and training on mental health for government agencies, schools, health care systems and community-based organizations. RSM is also dedicated to educating on the importance of mental health in well-being and the creation of stable communities. The nonprofit organization researches culturally sensitive mental health support in Haiti, contributing to a shift in global understanding.
The mental health support crisis extends beyond Haiti, affecting Haitian emigrants globally. Gemima St. Louis and Gina Dessources Benjamin address this by supporting Haitian communities in the U.S. through the Haitian Mental Health Network, which respects cultural values and language while promoting awareness of mental health illnesses and paths to wellness.
Looking Ahead
NGOs, organizations and movements continue to highlight and address this emergency. The issue is not limited to Haiti but affects Haitian migrants worldwide. As awareness grows and culturally sensitive approaches expand, sustained investment in mental health services remains essential to the long-term recovery and well-being of Haitian communities both at home and abroad
– Ilaria Alberti
Photo: Flickr
Food Systems in Costa Rica: Advancing Nutrition Accessibility
Costa Rica was traditionally an agrarian export-based economy, supplying coffee, bananas and cocoa to countries around the world. However, from private-public industry diversification and policy adaptation leveraging Free Trade Zones, it is now has become one of Latin America’s largest high-value services and high-tech manufacturing providers. In short, Costa Rica is very different from the narrative one might expect. It is a modernized powerhouse, featuring growing population density, declining birth rates, steady immigration inflow and a population overwhelmingly concentrated in urban areas. It is a competitive high-income economy, particularly stark as the only OECD country in Central America, concentrated into a small biodiverse and climate-prone geographic area.
The same is true of food systems in Costa Rica. With all these factors at play, Costa Rica has faced a difficult task in achieving a robust and interconnected network of farm to fork food production and distribution in its food systems. However, rejecting assumptions once more, Costa Rica has continued to rise above expectations in developing globally-leading food system strategies.
Food Insecurity Solutions for Underserved Communities
Despite Costa Rica’s high-income status, many households still experience strong impacts from poverty. About 18% of households across the country lived in poverty in 2024, with an additional 4.8% living in extreme poverty conditions. Economic inequality has also increased according to measures of Costa Rica’s Gini coefficient (a figure which evaluates wealth distribution among a population), made even more starkly apparent by almost a third of all Costa Rican children experiencing poverty or extreme poverty conditions.
The country has worked heavily to expand food accessibility to more rural communities through the national initiative “Empowering Communities in Sustainable Agri-food Systems,” a program that the SDG Fund and UNICEF and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement supported. Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health found that food insecurity in 2020 impacted 11.76% and 22.65% of households in the cities of Buenos Aires and Guatuso respectively. Efforts have therefore been especially focused on working to assist these hard-hit cities and rural communities surrounding them, in addition to reducing overall food insecurity from a national average of 16.42% of Costa Ricans without clear or quality food.
Community and Government Coordination
Multisectoral partnerships among government and community bodies are have also been a key focus of the SUN Movement, with agencies responsible for agriculture and health working alongside local governments and community organizations to create more realistic and community-centered approaches to nutrition awareness.
The SUN Movement’s efforts have trained more than 180 Costa Ricans in nutrition-awareness activities through the SUN Movement’s efforts. SUN has additionally been effective in helping to integrate integrating community-led food strategies into formal national policy, revitalizing the national food and nutrition body Secretaria de la Politica Nacional de Alimentacion y Nutricion (SEPAN) and aiding EU4SUN and Universidad EARTH to expand early childhood nutritional access and integrate Mesoamerican farming traditions into the National Plan for Sustainable and Healthy Gastronomy. Ultimately, the initiative hopes to improve agri-food system governance, sustainable production practices and Costa Rican eating habits with strategies encompassing the often-overlooked role of women, children and indigenous peoples in creating change.
Affordability and Accessibility Policy Problems
Some have still raised concerns regarding the affordability of nutrition, however, even as the Costa Rican government works to meet the United Nation (UN)’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A 2024 UN report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World found that an average healthy diet in Costa Rica costs $4.56 per day, 60 cents higher than the worldwide average. Costa Rica also features some of the highest rates of obesity in Central America due to cheap and accessible modern ultra-processed foods, underscoring the complex web of challenges Costa Rica faces in ensuring not just food access but complete quality nutrition in its food systems.
To address these issues, Costa Rica has tried innovative new approaches. In 2023, the Costa Rican government implemented a value-added tax (VAT) on food with explicitly defined positive nutritional content, becoming the first country in the world to attempt basic tax basket reform meant to encourage more balanced dietary improvements. While not entirely successful, the 2023 VAT and its subsequent 2024 amendments represent a conscious and continuous effort to address longstanding nutritional issues in the country, especially for lower-income populations more highly affected by incomplete food systems.
Costa Rica’s Robust Environmental Sustainability Efforts
Even while addressing affordability, nutritional program implementation and economic shifts away from agriculture in its food systems, Costa Rica is notably still conscious of environmental sustainability. Given the country’s diverse topography and biological life and its high concentration of volcanic sites, Costa Rica has historically been a global leader in leading environmentally sustainable climate action, despite even with agriculture accounting for more than a third of the country’s land use and a seventh of its overall employment.
Several plans, namely Costa Rica’s National Climate Change Adaptation Policy (2018-2030), National Development Plan (2019-2022) and National Decarbonization Plan (2018-2050), present the country’s ecological and environmental adaptation and carbon neutrality ambitions. Costa Rica has also developed national low-emission livestock, coffee and banana production strategies, export industries which the country still relies on heavily. It has involved significant partnerships, most notably SCALA, or Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture, a 2020-2028 joint initiative by the UNDP Climate Change Adaptation and the Food and Agriculture Organization to develop low-carbon farming systems for the country’s beef and coffee sectors.
In addition, Costa Rica has innovated sustainable direct interventions to great success. The Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) program of 1997, which provided financial incentives to landowners to protect forested area, has resulted in a net negative to deforestation countrywide. Digital traceability has been improved by a $120 million initiative to modernize 10,500 small and medium agricultural producers, allowing for digital registration systems and food-tracking networks. Methods like crop rotation, companion planting and natural repellents, polyculture planting and indigenous natural nutrient cycling have all been practical strategies advocated for long-term sustainable farming.
An Optimistic Food System Future
Costa Rica’s food system combines an urbanized population and a strong agricultural export economy with ambitious sustainability goals. Despite challenges in rural food insecurity, nutritional accessibility and climate and environmental concerns, the country has managed to develop strategies focused on creating a more sustainable, healthy and resilient food system that supports both people and ecosystems. With a clear commitment to using community, policy and environmental solutions to drive change, Costa Rica appears well-suited to solving its food system shortfalls with a variety of effective and concrete means.
– Matthew Hecomovich
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
How 3D Printing Can Be a Resource for Developing Countries
For educational purposes, healthcare treatments and local production, learn why 3D printing technology is a resource for developing countries.
Across many developing countries, progress can stall when essential systems lack funding, materials, or reliable access to specialized tools. Advanced technology cannot erase those barriers on its own, but it can give communities new ways to act. 3D printing can be a resource when organizations know how to leverage this technology.
Local Production Reduces Delays
Shipping costs, customs delays, limited storage and uneven supplier access can slow a simple repair. Those delays place extra pressure on communities that already stretch equipment and materials across many users.
Instead of waiting for every small object to arrive from far away, trained teams can produce selected parts using a 3D printer and digital designs. A repair component for a water system or a teaching model for a classroom becomes easier to replace once production moves closer to daily life.
Health Systems Gain Practical Tools
Health systems in developing countries often work with limited equipment and long replacement timelines. A rural clinic may not have the tools to print complex medical devices. It may still benefit from basic models, simple supplies or selected lab items that support routine care.
The National Library of Medicine describes 3D printing as a potential way to produce basic medical supplies, laboratory equipment, anatomical models and prosthetic limbs in developing countries. These uses place 3D printing in a supportive role within existing health systems. The technology expands what trained professionals have available for care, planning and problem-solving. While it cannot replace clinical judgment or formal medical infrastructure, health workers gain a practical resource when supply gaps limit what they can provide.
Rapid Prosthetic Production in Uganda
Children who needed prosthetic support in Uganda faced long production timelines because clinics relied on manual methods and limited specialist capacity. That delay kept patients in the hospital for extended periods and made timely mobility support difficult to provide.
Through 3D PrintAbility at CoRSU Hospital, clinicians tested a process that used 3D scanning, digital design and 3D printing to produce prosthetic sockets and braces for children. The technology did not replace trained orthopedic professionals. Instead, it gave them a fast workflow that fit the needs of a resource-limited clinical setting.
CoRSU reported that prosthetic socket production time dropped by as much as 70%, from five days with conventional manual methods to 1.5 days with 3D PrintAbility. That improvement shows how 3D printing can strengthen care when local teams receive practical tools that support existing medical work.
Medical Training Improves
Medical education depends on strong instruction, repeated practice and access to clear learning materials. In many settings, students learn anatomy through textbooks or flat digital images because advanced simulation tools cost too much. Those resources still teach important concepts, but they can make depth and proportion difficult to judge.
Printed anatomical models address that gap. A student can study the shape of a bone or organ from multiple angles while connecting structure to function. Then, a clinician can use the same type of model during a patient conversation, so an unfamiliar diagnosis becomes easier to understand.
Education Turns Problems Into Projects
Students and researchers can use 3D printing to connect technical learning with public service. A classroom project becomes more meaningful when it responds to a local challenge. A university lab can test a low-cost teaching tool, then improve the design after a school or clinic explains how it works in practice.
That exchange strengthens both sides. Students learn that design begins with listening. Researchers gain insight from community partners who understand daily conditions better than outside observers. The finished object matters, but the shared process builds people’s problem-solving skills.
Innovations With Global Value
A printer alone cannot overcome weak infrastructure or limited public funding. Strong programs begin with people who understand the setting. Local technicians, educators, clinicians and community organizations should guide decisions about what to print and how to maintain the equipment.
Long-term success also depends on training that fits local capacity. Programs should account for the difficulty level of learning 3D printing before they introduce new equipment. With steady instruction, repair knowledge and realistic goals, 3D printing can be a resource that supports community-led problem-solving instead of creating another unused technology project.
– Kelly Schoessling
Photo: Flickr