Archive for category: Global Health

Information and stories about global health.

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Henrik Lundqvist Foundation: Triumph Against Poverty

Henrik Lundqvist FoundationHenrik Lundqvist, a former New York Rangers goalie, founded the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation with his wife, Therese, in 2014. The foundation combats poverty internationally by funding education, safe play spaces and health resources for marginalized children.

Partnerships

The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation ambassadors have partnered with Ebba Lovenskiold, the founder of Together For Better. The foundation helps children in Haiti and the Dominican Republic access proper education. The foundation works with Together For Better to construct a large playground at a school in La Ramona, Dominican Republic, where 250 children currently lack a safe place to play. The partnership has resulted in the construction of three schools and two playgrounds. It also provides supplies and hires teachers. In Haiti, an IPC analysis found nearly 277,000 children face acute malnutrition between December 2023 and November 2024, including 125,000 who are severely malnourished, driven by factors including recurrent cholera epidemics, child morbidity and poor food intake.

Child poverty in the Dominican Republic stands at 21.5%, rising to 27% in rural regions, with nearly 5% of children living in extreme poverty. The Borgen Project spoke with Ambassador Michael Polt, a professor at Arizona State University and board member for the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Baltic-American Freedom Foundation. Polt said sport is a key part of the social fabric of communities, both nationally and internationally, and that for young people in disadvantaged circumstances, participation in sports activities is often the only way out of poverty. “Lundqvist knows that and therefore supports critical improvements of the living environment of young people so they can best avail themselves of the opportunities sports bring to improve their lot in life,” Polt said. “Hats off to Henrik Lundqvist and his family.”

Construction of Sanitation Facilities

In 2024, the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation initiated a $17,600 grant to create new sanitary facilities at the Foundation for the Unity and Growth of the People’s school in the Dominican Republic. This school serves 240 students in La Ramona, Dominican Republic, most of whom are of Haitian descent. Approximately 3 million children in Haiti needed humanitarian support as of 2023, according to UNICEF, the highest number on record. Twenty-eight percent of the population in the Dominican Republic face challenges including lack of access to health and primary education, and approximately 40% of children in the country do not finish primary school. The foundation aims to provide the school community with a safe, consistent restroom to support student health, decency and learning. It built girls’ facilities with three restrooms and three sinks, boys’ facilities with two restrooms and two sinks, and staff facilities with one restroom and a sink. The foundation impacts children aged 3 to 13 and roughly 10 teachers and staff annually, promoting handwashing, clean water and facility care to reduce illness and improve attendance.

Ronald McDonald House

The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation has been working with the Ronald McDonald House in Huddinge, Sweden, since 2023. Between 2023 and 2024, Henrik Lundqvist Foundation donated $50,000 to support the improvement of the Ronald McDonald House’s playground and outdoor areas. As of the end of 2025, the project remained in progress after facing delays, with the foundation expecting to share results once construction is complete in 2026. In April 2025, Henrik Lundqvist, together with New York Rangers alumni, participated in the 31st annual “Skate with the Greats” event and rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, raising money to support Ronald McDonald houses in New York.

Support to Children’s Hospitals

In 2024, the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation supported New York Presbyterian Children’s hospitals, including Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and the Komansky Center for Children’s Health. In New York, roughly 1,000 children under age 20 have cancer, and more than 315,000 children have asthma. The foundation provided a $25,000 grant to enlarge child life assistance services. In February 2024, Lundqvist visited the hospital to deliver gifts and memorabilia collected by the foundation’s young ambassadors. The foundation renewed its support in 2025 for the hospital’s child life services with another $25,000.

Garden of Dreams Foundation

The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation has partnered with the Garden of Dreams Foundation since 2014 to help kids facing illness or hardship. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation and Garden of Dreams launched a hunger initiative in New York City, donating $100,000 to four organizations to support food-insecure children and their families, and sending 1,530 children and their families to New York Rangers games, New York Knicks games and MSG concerts. Roughly one in four children in New York City, or 24%, face food insecurity and lack stable access to food. More recently, in 2024, Henrik Lundqvist Foundation granted $26,000 through Garden of Dreams to send 68 children and their families to a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden, and renewed its support in 2025 with an additional $25,000 grant for the 2025 to 2026 National Hockey League (NHL) season.

Food Bank of New York City

The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation’s partnership with the Food Bank of New York City in 2024 granted $50,000 to support the Food Bank’s campus pantry and mobile pantry programs for the 2024 to 2025 school year. This support has enabled the Food Bank to provide more than 32,280 meals to 425 children and their families. In September 2025, the foundation renewed its $50,000 grant to support the Food Bank’s mobile and campus food pantry programs.

– Ruba Alghurab

Ruba is based in Debary, FL, USA and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

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An 18 Cent Packet of Water Purifier is Fighting Illness in Uganda

Illness in UgandaFirst launched in Uganda in 2004, P&G’s water purifier is fighting illness in Uganda, including cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery. This 4-gram packet of powder can fight bacterial, viral and parasitic infections, with one packet purifying up to 10 liters (about 2.6 gallons) of water to make it safe for drinking.

According to the World Health Organization, only about 18.7% of households in Uganda currently have access to safely managed drinking water. This means 81.3% of Ugandans rely on risky sources. This lack of access contributes to the spread of waterborne illnesses, high costs for medical treatment, lower crop yield and high costs to pay for access. Ugandans spend upward of 22% of their income to buy water from private vendors. Dedicating about a fourth of income toward water means less financial stability to break the cycle of poverty. Thus, the P&G water purifier becomes a valuable resource that not only reduces waterborne illness in Uganda, but also fights poverty by increasing access to safe drinking water.

Reducing Waterborne Illness

While sustained illness reduction relies heavily on continuous infrastructure development that supports multiple health care technologies, the introduction of P&G packets has nonetheless impacted waterborne illness rates. These packets remove 99.999% of bacteria, viruses and protozoa and take only 30 minutes to clean 10 liters of water.

The packets have also been proven to reduce diarrheal disease incidence by up to 90%, with an average reduction of 50%. Yearly national cholera totals have also stabilized at lower baseline levels, and the mortality rate has dropped to roughly 2%, compared with 4% to 7% before 2004. Multiple innovative technologies have contributed to these improvements, but P&G packets play an important role in reducing illness, as 70% of Uganda’s illness rates can be traced back to unsafe water and poor sanitation.

The Impact of WaterQuip Uganda Limited

WaterQuip Uganda Limited is a program that aims to create reliable water treatment setups for rural villages, schools and institutions by delivering affordable water purification systems to homes and businesses. The company also serves as an authorized supplier and distributor of P&G water packets in Uganda.

Headquartered in Kampala, the company provides these packets for $43.80 per box of 240 sachets — about 18 cents per packet. This provides rural communities with access to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-formulated technology and helps ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

It Is Accessible

P&G water packets are widely available through many major retailers, and P&G distributes millions of packets through its nonprofit Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program. They are easy to use and require no training. Users simply empty the sachet into 10 liters of water, stir for five minutes, let it settle for five minutes, strain it and then wait for the chlorine to disinfect the water for 20 minutes. This makes the technology easy to use and widely distributed around Uganda, building awareness of water-purifying solutions and tackling waterborne illnesses.

Final Thoughts

P&G’s water purifier is fighting illness, and thus poverty, in Uganda through easy-to-use technology that gives communities a simple way to make unsafe water safer. While water purification packets cannot replace long-term investments in sanitation and infrastructure, they provide an immediate tool for communities facing waterborne disease. By making clean drinking water more accessible, affordable and easy to treat, P&G’s water purifier can help reduce illness and give Ugandans a stronger foundation for healthier communities, which are key contributors to poverty reduction

– Julia Kozin

Julia is based in Livermore, CA, USA and focuses on Technology and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Reading Glasses in Uganda as Global Poverty Intervention

Reading Glasses in UgandaAlthough they may seem like an unlikely tool, reading glasses have the potential to significantly combat global poverty. This seemingly simple medical device can increase incomes across impoverished communities. According to Evidence Action, presbyopia, or the loss of near vision as one ages, impacts more than 1.8 billion people and is often overlooked as a solution to aiding those in extreme poverty. In Uganda, the distribution of reading glasses demonstrates how these relatively inexpensive items can greatly improve livelihoods.

Impact on Work

Presbyopia makes working very difficult for those who suffer from it. The loss of vision leaves individuals unable to see close objects, which is devastating to many professions.

These individuals often must reduce their hours or leave their occupations entirely, resulting in a severe loss of income. Evidence Action reports a loss of $25 billion in jobs that require strong vision.

This issue disproportionately affects people in low-income countries. In these areas, people lack basic eye care, including exams and glasses. While this lack of resources affects medical care, it also impacts families financially. Donating reading glasses to those suffering from presbyopia in areas stricken with extreme poverty can greatly increase earnings and stimulate the economy. Studies in places like Bangladesh show that workers in jobs requiring good vision increased their income by up to 33%.

Simple Solutions

The process of screening for presbyopia and obtaining reading glasses is simpler than expected. Reading glasses can cost less than $1, and local workers can conduct exams using an eye chart test.

Several groups are partnering with the Ministry of Health to provide reading glasses in Uganda. EYElliance and the Clinton Health Access Initiative are providing 16,000 pairs to the Kaliro district. At the same time, the Ministry of Health is distributing glasses in Eastern Uganda, planning to provide 41,200 reading glasses.

Evidence Action is also participating by distributing 25,000 pairs across two Ugandan districts.

Implementing eye exams and distributing reading glasses adds no extra burden to the country. Instead, these programs integrate into existing structures. Village Health Teams already provide household health visits, so they can easily add these services to those visits. Additionally, program organizers have incorporated screening for reading glasses into community events run by Safe Water Now. This approach addresses multiple problems without extra costs.

If successful, these programs could expand in Eastern Uganda, and other countries facing extreme poverty could potentially adopt them nationwide.

Final Thoughts

In a world where humanitarian budgets are often lower than necessary, reading glasses improve medical care and finances in developing communities in a cost-effective way. The programs in development in Uganda can provide an excellent basis for other countries in similar economic situations to adopt in the future.

– Julia Cholerton

Julia is based in Gig Harbor, WA, USA and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

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Rebuilding Healthcare in New Caledonia

healthcare in New CaledoniaDespite its modern framework, healthcare in New Caledonia has suffered in the wake of 2024 civil unrest. Since the protests, decreased stability, overcrowded hospitals and the loss of health system workers have exacerbated unequal access to care in the territory.

Disparities persist between rural, island and urban regions, as well as in wealthy and impoverished communities. Such reduced access to care can further strain economic stability and health status. Reduced access can mean delayed treatment, higher transportation costs, disrupted prescriptions and reduced ability to work.

Uneven Health System

The issue does not lie in an inferior healthcare network; in fact, New Caledonia maintains a multifaceted health system with both public and private hospitals, medical professionals and community health centers. The largest, most capable facility, the Koutio Médipôle hospital complex, opened in the capital, Nouméa, in 2016. This €280 million site features 450 rooms and 650 beds, with services ranging from rehabilitation to cancer and renal treatment.

For the roughly 180,000 residents who live outside of Nouméa, however, services are not as comprehensive. For instance, residents of island communities often rely on community clinics, where services are generally limited to first aid treatment. Residents in rural and island communities, including many Indigenous Kanak communities, face barriers such as longer travel distances, fewer specialized services, limited clinic capacity and greater dependence on transport to Nouméa for advanced care.

Keeping Health Services Open During Crisis

As public upheaval — resulting in 14 deaths, the departure of more than 10,000 residents and more than €2 billion in damages — sent shocks throughout New Caledonia in mid-2024, basic services, including healthcare, became harder to maintain. The unrest not only damaged businesses and infrastructure; it also disrupted the practical routes people use to reach care, from hospital access to staffing and emergency services.

Reports indicated that the riots cut off roads to the Koutio Médipôle hospital complex. Staff and patients became trapped, residents could not reach hospitals, and, in many cases, some people were afraid to access emergency services. One health worker described the staffing shortage as a crisis in capacity, explaining that medical teams faced demands beyond their available resources.

Throughout this unprecedented crisis, however, the New Caledonian government created a health facility status tracker identifying and updating which health services were open, closed or operating at reduced capacity to help people access care. By making facility status public, the tracker gave residents and health workers a practical tool for identifying where care remained available during the crisis.

Rebuilding the Health Workforce

During the revitalization of health infrastructure, staff shortages have been one of the clearest problems. In fact, Islands Business reported that the Koutio Médipôle hospital complex lost around 25% of its workforce after staff left or canceled postings. In turn, New Caledonia’s main hospital had to close 100 beds, effectively reducing patient capacity and disrupting patients needing regular care.

The government has made staffing a top priority. In early 2025, the New Caledonian government launched a call for volunteer health workers, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, midwives and dentists. As a result, the healthcare workforce has largely recovered, with nurse staffing reaching about 95% of previous levels and doctor staffing reaching just more than 90%. These gains have not fully solved the crisis, but they have helped restore staffing capacity, reopen care pathways and reduce the risk that health disruptions become deeper economic shocks for families.

Strengthening Long-Term Recovery

In revitalizing its healthcare system, the New Caledonian government’s proposed responses include strengthening primary care, expanding telemedicine, improving coordinated care and managing chronic disease more effectively. It has also prioritized reforming health financing and incentivizing employment in the field.

The government developed these steps through a collaborative process involving “professionals, institutions, social partners and representatives of civil society.” A June 2026 follow-up report confirmed that steps like strengthened telemedicine, digitalized care sheets and multi-year investment planning are already in place.

A partnership between New Caledonia’s government, the French State and Order of Malta France sent five health professionals — three nurses, a dentist and a doctor — to support health teams in the territory. The first three-month rotation began in February 2026 and focused on strengthening care in isolated areas and communities facing staffing shortages. Order of Malta France reported that it expected additional teams to continue the mission in later rotations, helping maintain continuity of care while local health services recover.

For rural and island communities, the priority is to make healthcare less dependent on travel to Nouméa. Strengthening local health infrastructure would help overcome existing geographic barriers to care, while expanding telehealth could better connect residents of the North Province and Loyalty Islands with essential health services.

Together, these efforts show how New Caledonia is rebuilding healthcare through emergency service tracking, workforce recruitment, mobile medical support, telemedicine and stronger rural access. For low-income and remote communities, these steps can help reduce the cost and difficulty of reaching care while making the health system more resilient after the unrest.

– Carter Scott Campbell

Carter is based in Salt Lake City, UT, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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PAHO Venezuela: Combatting Poor Health Conditions

PAHO VenezuelaThe Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) serves as the regional office of the World Health Organization for the Americas and as the specialized international health agency for the region. With 35 member states, PAHO works in disease prevention, responds to natural disasters and strives to achieve health care for all regardless of economic status. The organization values equity, excellence, solidarity, respect, integrity and aims to improve the quality of life for people in the Americas. Founded in December 1902 following the spread of disease at the end of the 19th century, PAHO has eradicated smallpox and polio in the Americas, reduced infant and child mortality and increased life expectancy by 35 years in the region. Through continuous innovation, improved accessibility and technical cooperation, PAHO has spent more than 120 years advancing health and well-being in the Americas.

Earthquake Impacts

On June 24, 2026, northern Venezuela experienced two back-to-back earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively. The second quake was Venezuela’s most powerful in more than a century. The disaster most affected those living in poverty in the Caracas and La Guaira areas due to the existing financial crisis in the country. La Guaira, in particular, is home to the largest population of Venezuelans of African descent, who have long been among the most marginalized socioeconomic groups in the country. An estimated 712,223 people were exposed to the highest seismic intensity. This earthquake also strained the healthcare system, prompting acting President Delcy Rodríguez to declare a state of emergency in late June. Venezuela has struggled with economic inequality since the early 2000s, with more than 7.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 50% of the population living in poverty as of 2022.

PAHO in Venezuela

Since the earthquake, more than 16,000 people have been injured, with three hospitals reporting structural damage as access to health services has faltered and approximately 17,300 people have lost their homes, according to PAHO’s public health situation analysis. In response, PAHO collaborated with the Ministry of People’s Power for Health to mobilize medical supplies, including emergency medical kits and medication for diseases; as of late August 2026, PAHO had delivered a cumulative 40 metric tons of medicines, medical supplies, and essential equipment to Venezuela. The organization shipped many of these supplies from its strategic reserve in Panama, where it keeps essential health items stocked for emergencies across the region.

As a highly impacted area, distribution focused on La Guaira with hospitals prioritized based on needs stemming from the emergency. As a main center for trauma and neurosurgery, Hospital Dr. Miguel Pérez Carreño was one of the hospitals prioritized by PAHO to treat patients with complex injuries. PAHO provided materials for trauma surgery, sterilization, anesthesia and more, helping the hospital manage increased demand due to the earthquake.

For many in La Guaira, displacement remains a significant health threat, with more than 10,000 people in temporary camps as of July. In response, PAHO has supported technological development to strengthen epidemiological data collection and analysis to address the ongoing need for disease prevention and treatment, mental health care, and other everyday health needs beyond initial injury care.

PAHO Impact

The work of PAHO work in Venezuela has been critical for addressing the ongoing health crisis and meeting its priorities to expand essential health services, improve water and sanitation, and prevent disease outbreaks. The organization has launched an appeal for nearly $24 million to support health interventions through the end of the year for the most vulnerable populations, such as those in La Guaira. As hospitals operate beyond capacity and shortages continue, PAHO’s efforts are crucial for preventing displaced populations and those in poverty from facing severe impacts due to future emergencies and ongoing health challenges.

– Niamh Werner

Niamh is based in New York, NY, USA and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Changing Lives by Changing Minds: The Busyhead Project

 

The Busyhead ProjectNoah Kahan is a singer-songwriter from Stratford, Vermont. Born in 1997, he learned how to play guitar at a young age and earned his first record deal at 20 years old. In 2022, his song “Stick Season” brought him fame as it explored a particular time in his Vermont hometown, according to Genius. Since then, he has continued to discuss the difficulties of change, his challenging feelings surrounding his home, and the attention that comes with being famous, as detailed in The New Yorker. The full-length album of “Stick Season” gained him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, but even before then, his first full-length album “Busyhead,” released in 2019, was the start of Kahan’s well-being charity, The Busyhead Project. Struggling with his mental health from a young age, learning about himself through therapy and self-reflection has been a key aspect of his journey with his own mental health, as he described to The Guardian.

The Busyhead Project

The Busyhead Project was launched in 2023 as a nonprofit mental health organization founded by Kahan to end stigmatization, raise awareness, and improve resource accessibility. The website offers opportunities to get involved by learning how to support others struggling with their mental health, donating to organizations that provide resources, and inspiring activism in friends and family. In addition, the organization’s website features a Community Wall with thousands of notes written by fans and activists with advice to younger selves, one thing they are proud of, and other inspiring prompts. By building community through facilitating connection and recognizing personal struggles, Kahan has paved the way for inclusion and acceptance of mental health as a legitimate issue.

Success

The organization has also achieved significant success in fundraising. Since its founding, The Busyhead Project has raised over $6 million for more than 150 community-led organizations around the world to target mental health stigma. For instance, in 2025, Kahan held a benefit show at MGM Musical Hall at Fenway after the City of Boston declared Nov. 20, 2025, as “Noah Kahan’s The Busyhead Project Day.” This intimate crowd performance featured a surprise appearance from Niall Horan and raised more than $1.5 million, with proceeds split evenly between The Busyhead Project and The Red Sox Foundation.

Additionally, many of the festivals Kahan played at in 2025 featured wellness experiences with special products and kits for people to take care of their physical health and check in with themselves during the busy festival experience. These kits were given to more than 200 artists, bands, and crew members backstage. In 2025 alone, The Busyhead Project donated over $1 million to other international mental health organizations.

Mental Health Importance in Poverty

Mental health issues are important in poverty because the disparities in resource accessibility and respect for human rights for those living with neurological conditions vary widely between poor and rich countries. As poverty increases the risk of mental health problems, supporting people who struggle with their emotional well-being is crucial to addressing poverty in its entirety. Stigma is also a major aspect of mental health perception in developing countries, contributing to negative attitudes toward health care professionals due to medical distrust, cultural barriers, and lack of resources. Survey data from the World Mental Health Surveys shows that double the percentage of participants from developing countries faced discrimination due to mental illness compared to those from developed countries. Furthermore, in 2022, the World Health Organization reported that of the 970 million people suffering from mental disorders globally, 82% lived in low- and middle-income countries.

Without accessible and free mental health support, inequities will continue to harm those in poverty, exacerbating their struggles and making getting help more difficult.

– Niamh Werner

Niamh is based in New York, NY, USA and focuses on Celebs for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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The Cure: AI in Healthcare in Rwanda

 

 

AI in healthcare in RwandaArtificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare in Rwanda is acting as a saving grace. The country recently made its own advancement in healthcare called the Health Intelligence Center. This system works at all levels, from healthcare clinics at the village level to primary healthcare facilities. This AI-powered data bank has assisted in identifying multiple areas of improvement to solve disease outbreaks. While this is significant progress, there is still a need for more.

The Gates Foundation and OpenAI have recently partnered to create Horizon 1000, an artificial intelligence service aimed at reaching 1,000 primary healthcare clinics in rural Africa by 2028. The Gates Foundation points to the unbalanced current healthcare system in sub-Saharan Africa; one healthcare worker per 1,000 people, far from the World Health Organization’s recommendation of four healthcare workers per 1,000 people. This exemplifies an overworked system, and overworked systems rarely flourish. Horizon 1000 aims to alleviate this. Currently, Rwanda’s life expectancy at birth is 67.5. The leading cause of death for both men and women is stroke. Rwanda has a current population (2023) of 13.95 million people, with a projected population of 22.7 million by 2050. This is consistent with a lower-middle-income country.

The Need for More

While these advancements in AI in healthcare in Rwanda have helped patients and workers, there is still a need for improvement. Village-level healthcare or “health posts,” as they are called in Rwanda, serve the communities furthest away from primary healthcare. Outside the scope of Gates’ Horizon 1000, these are necessary parts of a puzzle helping further economic growth.

When only a portion of the population in any given country is receiving healthcare, the entirety of the population is still at risk. This is a significant problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Healthcare facilities are simply too far from villages. Rwanda exemplifies this problem. Until around 2020, the closest healthcare facility would take up to 95 minutes to walk to from a Rwandan village. In 2020, this was reduced by around half, but the walk would still take around 47 minutes for many patients, including elderly people managing conditions like malaria. There is a need for more health posts in villages.

The Current System

Rwanda has made great headway in reducing commute times for healthcare services, although its healthcare system still needs revising. This is where AI in healthcare in Rwanda can do the impossible. Rwanda needs a program that allows all citizens to be educated on health and wellness practices, such as proper water treatment methods, malaria prevention and nutrition.

In 2015, Rwandan officials introduced a new education curriculum called Competence Based Curriculum, one that envelops more skills and knowledge than their old curriculum, based solely on academics. The new curriculum involves criteria like standardization culture. Education officials in Rwanda state standardization culture will play “a vital role in health improvement.” While this is necessary information that could play a vital role in improving health and well-being, the reality of this new curriculum seems to circulate around technological education among other things.

Horizon 1000 has an opportunity to provide this kind of health education to the Rwandan public, but its public materials have not yet addressed this need. The program, announced in January of this year at the Davos Convention, will provide services to healthcare workers that will alleviate the burnout affecting workers in sub-Saharan Africa. There is not a clear start date for this project, nor an abundant amount of information on what the specific missions of the project are.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead to the future of Rwanda and all of sub-Saharan Africa, it is clear there needs to be more work going into healthcare systems. However, there are some positives. The number of people in Rwanda living below the $3-a-day poverty line has dropped to 38.5% as of 2023. This is the result of collective action. The addition of health posts in rural areas, the Competence Based Curriculum and the recent addition of the Health Intelligence Center have all benefited Rwanda in a way that is making life for Rwandans somewhat easier.

The Health Intelligence Center is a data bank that doctors and researchers in Rwanda can use to help eradicate diseases and stop the spread of harmful viruses. Horizon 1000 has the potential to be helpful in assisting healthcare professionals in using the new AI-powered tools becoming available to them. There needs to be more information available about what the work on the ground will actually look like for Horizon 1000.

Overall, this is great progress, although progress does not equal the final product. The need for more healthcare workers is real and is something that is not being addressed. Sub-Saharan Africa’s need for more health-conscious education is a real necessity, something that Horizon 1000 has the possibility to address. With the long commute to healthcare clinics for a large portion of people in sub-Saharan Africa, mixed with the inadequate number of healthcare professionals, personal health and wellness education becomes extremely important, especially because diseases like malaria are preventable.

– Lily K Gibson

Lily is based in Bristol, CT, USA and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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HIV/AIDS In Vietnam: Vulnerable Communities Access Care

HIV/AIDS in VietnamHuman Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and poverty are closely connected. In Vietnam, significant progress has been made in reducing poverty over the last few years. The number of people living on less than $1.90 a day fell from 37% in 2002 to 1.8% in 2018, and about 10 million people moved out of poverty between 2010 and 2020. However, that progress has not reached everyone equally.

Poverty remains a serious issue for ethnic minority communities, farming families and people living in rural and remote areas, especially in the Midlands and Northern Mountains and the Central Highlands. Many in these communities continue to struggle with low incomes and limited access to education, health care and jobs.

These challenges can be especially difficult for people living with HIV/AIDS, who may face additional costs for treatment and care. In 2022, an estimated 250,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in Vietnam, and by 2024, that number had grown to roughly 270,000 people of all ages.

Groups Affected by HIV/AIDS

Groups vulnerable to HIV/AIDS in Vietnam include people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, transgender women and female sex workers. One main way HIV spreads is through sharing needles among people who inject drugs. This can occur because clean needles are not always accessible or affordable. A mother can also pass HIV to her child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding, and hundreds of infants contract HIV this way each year.

HIV and poverty are interlinked, exacerbating each other. People living in poverty often face conditions that increase their risk of HIV infection, including limited access to education, health care, stable employment and prevention services.

In Vietnam, many leave rural communities to find work in cities or across the country’s borders because they cannot earn enough to support themselves at home. These migrants, often young adults, may spend long periods away from their families and support networks. This isolation, combined with economic hardship, can increase their likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex, commercial sex or injecting drugs.

Many women who migrate to urban areas for work may turn to sex work as a way to earn money. Meanwhile, men employed as truck drivers or construction workers may also face situations that increase their exposure to HIV.

As health declines, individuals may be unable to work, resulting in income loss while medical expenses increase.

HIV/AIDS not only impacts individuals but can also trap entire families in a cycle of poverty that is difficult to escape. Relatives may reduce their working hours or leave jobs to care for a family member living with HIV. If the person dies, funeral expenses and the loss of a wage earner can create additional financial hardship. Some households must use savings, sell productive assets or take on debt just to survive. These financial pressures can continue for years, affecting children’s education, nutrition and future opportunities.

Fear of discrimination remains a major barrier to ending HIV/AIDS in Vietnam, discouraging many people from getting tested or seeking health care and support services.

Addressing HIV/AIDS in Vietnam

To address these barriers, several organizations support the fight against HIV/AIDS in Vietnam; among them is LightHouse, also known as Hai Dang. This community-based organization has supported people living with HIV and other vulnerable communities since 2004, with a particular focus on the LGBTQ+ community.

Through education programs and community communication campaigns, Hai Dang works to increase awareness about HIV prevention, reduce stigma and provide accurate health information.

For example, it supported campaigns such as the K=K communication campaign from 2018 to 2022. This campaign aims to spread accurate information about HIV treatment and reduce stigma toward people living with HIV. The campaign explains that people living with HIV who take their medication as prescribed and maintain an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV through sexual contact. Hai Dang supported the campaign by connecting with communities, organizing events and sharing information through social media.

A major part of the organization’s work involves connecting individuals with health care services through its Hai Dang Clinic, which provides the following:

  • General health check-up package
  • HIV counseling, screening and prevention package – pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
  • HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) counseling, examination and treatment package
  • STIs service package
  • Screening and counseling services

Conclusion

Organizations like Hai Dang show how community support can make a difference in preventing HIV/AIDS in Vietnam and reducing its wider impact on people’s lives. Its work also helps address the stigma and fear that often stop individuals from seeking services. By creating safe and welcoming spaces, it makes it easier for people to access health care, stay healthy and avoid the financial struggles that can come with untreated HIV.

– Daniela Escobar

Daniela is based in Huntington Station, NY, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Youth Impact on Tuberculosis In Nepal

tuberculosis In NepalTuberculosis (TB) cases are currently rising due to an increase in latent infections becoming active, pandemic-related health disruptions and growing global travel. To combat the disease’s escalation, Nepal’s youth-led nongovernmental organization, National Youth Movement Against Tuberculosis (NYMAT), mobilizes young people to fight tuberculosis in Nepal.

A Background on Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, an infectious bacterial disease that attacks the lungs, has posed a serious health challenge throughout human history. The disease’s original name, created by ancient Greek physicians and used until the late 19th century, was consumption, which reflected how the sufferers looked as they battled the illness: wasting away as if the disease was consuming their bodies from the inside out.

Today, tuberculosis is still among the top 10 causes of death globally; the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 1.23 million people died of the disease in 2024. It continues to cause a significant impact in regions such as Asia, Africa and Latin America. The current lethality of the disease stems more from the lack of accessible health care in developing regions than the dangerous nature of infection itself.

In the 1950s, a strict, multi-month course of antibiotics was discovered to cure tuberculosis. For the past seven decades, the treatment plan has stayed mostly the same—long, complex and requiring a prescription from a health care provider—allowing tuberculosis to run rampant in countries without sufficient health care access, like Nepal.

Tuberculosis in Nepal

Tuberculosis is officially a health crisis in Nepal, receiving a spot on WHO’s global list of high-burden countries for the disease. The South Asian country experiences about 67,000 new cases each year with an estimated 16,000 deaths annually, based on an incidence rate report available through the National Library of Medicine.

Tuberculosis in Nepal disproportionately affects low-income communities, functioning in a destructive cycle with poverty. Struggling families are more susceptible to the disease since insufficient ventilation in poor households accelerates the transmission of the bacteria, undernutrition weakens the immune system and a lack of education leads to delays in recognizing the symptoms and seeking care.

Tuberculosis in Nepal can reach such drastic numbers due to the country’s lack of accessible health care. Nepal struggles to obtain a sustainable system for its citizens due to geographic isolation—most of the country’s health resources are located in the capital city, leaving other areas of Nepal neglected—and a shortage of medical staff. Instead of prescribing the country a one-size-fits-all solution to the “limited health care” problem, a homegrown organization is fighting tuberculosis in Nepal by focusing on the country’s specific needs.

The National Youth Movement Against Tuberculosis Nepal

In 2018, Nepal started a grassroots youth organization focused on mobilizing young people to “champion tuberculosis awareness and advocacy.” NYMAT Nepal created a dialogue with the nation’s youth, community leaders and stakeholders to define the role young people have in combating the disease.

The organization worked off the fact that tuberculosis disproportionately affects people between the ages of 15 and 34, and that this specific demographic carries the heaviest burdens of the disease. NYMAT Nepal organizes physical and virtual meetings, consultations and workshops to educate Nepal’s youth about the disease and actively involves them in local health systems. Additionally, it encourages young advocates to contribute to the solution by helping them conduct research, implement innovative initiatives and support patients and survivors.

NYMAT Nepal officially registered as a youth-led nongovernmental organization in 2022 and received an award from the National Tuberculosis Control Centre in 2024. Since collaborating with the WHO 1+1 initiative in January 2024, NYMAT Nepal has successfully mobilized more than 1,000 young volunteers, engaged more than a thousand stakeholders in prioritizing TB policies and programs, and conducted outreach programs for more than 55,000 students across the country. Most volunteers involved in these campaigns to fight tuberculosis in Nepal were between 15 and 24 years old.

Looking Ahead

NYMAT Nepal shows not only the impact that a grassroots organization can have by knowing and addressing local needs, but also how powerful the younger generations are. Including young people in causes not only creates solutions in the current time, but also educates future leaders on how to avoid the issue from the start.

– Mia Puleo

Mia is based in Park City, UT, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Kenya’s Domestic Vaccine Financing

Kenya's Domestic Vaccine FinancingDespite the fact that 41% of Kenya’s children still live in monetary poverty and 52% live in multi-dimensional poverty, the country remains one of the strongest economies in Africa.

Providing access to vaccination programs in Kenya is essential, especially for rural communities where access to these vaccines is often scarce. These programs ensure less spreading and prevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, polio, tuberculosis and hepatitis B. Immunization efforts help create herd immunity and protect elderly patients and children who cannot be vaccinated from illness.

Kenya’s Transition to Domestic Vaccine Financing

As international donor funding for global health becomes more expensive, Kenya’s transition toward domestic vaccine financing is advancing. With the country’s economy growing, health officials see Kenya as a leader in shifting away from reliance on outside aid toward self-sustained health budgets. Since 2001, Gavi has provided Kenya with vaccines and other supplies worth more than $940 million. The country entered the accelerated phase of its transition with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in 2022 after its gross national income per capita exceeded the alliance’s eligibility threshold for three consecutive years. Although Kenya depends on manufacturers at the moment, it is expected to become fully self-financing by 2029 or 2030.

Vaccine manufacturers have agreed to lower prices over time, easing the path for governments to eventually include vaccine procurement into their own national health budgets. At its June 2025 replenishment summit, Gavi secured up to $200 million in cost savings for its programs from manufacturers. They unlocked $4.5 billion in complementary financing from development finance institutions, both intended to stretch available resources further as donor contributions tighten.

Global health funding has become increasingly fragile. Gavi’s 2025 replenishment summit secured just more than $9 billion for 2026 to 2030, falling short of its $11.9 billion target, after the United States announced it would not contribute further to the alliance. The shortfall has forced donor-dependent countries to confront the sustainability of their immunization programs sooner than expected.

A Track Record to Build On

Kenya was also one of the original pilot countries for the malaria vaccine, giving it a track record of successful program delivery to build on. The country has received more than $940 million in vaccines and supplies from Gavi since 2001, covering immunizations including pneumococcal, rotavirus and malaria vaccines, and introduced the typhoid conjugate vaccine into its routine immunization schedule in 2025. Under a new funding arrangement approved as part of Gavi’s 2026-2030 strategy, Kenya will now receive vaccine funds directly, giving the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority greater control over procurement and planning.

Cabinet Secretary for Health Aden Duale emphasized how important the process of safeguarding existing gains could strengthen domestic vaccine financing. Continued collaboration with partners will ease this process and facilitate full independence. Kenya’s Ministry of Health has emphasized that a carefully managed transition is essential to protect existing immunization gains while progressively building domestic financing capacity. The ministry’s next National Immunization Strategy, covering 2025 to 2030, is expected to translate evidence into action from ongoing reviews into stronger service delivery and expand access to vaccines.

Kenya’s Shift on Vaccine Availability

Kenya is working on establishing itself and transitioning from reliance on its partnership with Gavi. Local organizations like health nongovernmental organizations network (HENNET) and Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) are helping to elevate immunization financing on the nation’s agenda. The country is also working on paying off its Gavi co-financing obligation for the 2025-2026 year with 62% already paid off. This is a promising step toward full independence.

In addition, a Parliamentary Caucus on Immunization is giving vaccine financing an institutionalized home with leadership from Kenya. The shift from easy provision in national stores to enable availability and easy access in remote villages is a focus of the country’s health system. Now, vaccines are being delivered to 65 remote facilities in these villages.

Thanks to all these efforts, Laikipia County has established a dedicated 500,000 Kenyan shilling (about $3,875) budget line for immunization, a small but revolutionary step toward financial ownership at the county level. This provides a plan for all 47 counties, showcasing that local leadership can create resilience.

A Model for Other Nations

Kenya’s domestic vaccine financing transition offers lessons for other developing nations seeking to build durable, self-reliant health systems. As Gavi shifts more control and responsibility to national governments under its new strategy, Kenya’s experience navigating financing gaps, extended timelines and expanded local authority positions the country as an early test case for what local ownership of immunization programs looks like in practice. As the country continues to work to provide local assistance in vaccines to its citizens with the government paying for vaccines and immunization program costs, mothers who walk for hours find what they came looking for. This is what a partnership between civil society, the government and funders looks like. This is what a system that meets a mother where she arrives for the sake of a healthy Kenyan child looks like. This offers a possible model for other nations as global donor priorities continue to shift.

– Joy Kohol

Joy is based in Muncie, IN, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels