Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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mRNA TB Vaccine Research Moves Into Human Trials

mRNA TB VaccineIn 2019, years before most people had heard of the term “mRNA vaccine,” the German biotech company BioNTech signed an agreement with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to build one anyway, not for COVID-19, but for tuberculosis (TB). The world’s deadliest infectious disease had gone unanswered by a new vaccine for a century. Six years and one global pandemic later, that early bet is now sitting in active human trials.

A Killer with No New Answer

TB caused 1.23 million deaths in 2024 alone, making it the world’s most lethal infectious disease. The only approved vaccine, BCG, was introduced more than 100 years ago. It offers meaningful protection to young children but offers limited protection against pulmonary TB in adolescents and adults, the group responsible for much of today’s transmission.

The disease is also not evenly distributed. The 30 highest-burden countries are low- and middle-income countries and account for about 87% of global TB incidence. More than half of TB-affected households in low- and middle-income countries face costs exceeding 20% of annual household income, a threshold the World Health Organization classifies as catastrophic.

Patients can also lose work and income to the illness, and researchers in Malawi found that a year after completing treatment, TB survivors were less likely to be employed and were earning less than before they fell ill, while poverty among them had risen, a cycle that an effective vaccine could help break.

The Bet BioNTech Made Before COVID-19

BioNTech’s mRNA TB vaccine did not start as a pandemic side project. It began in September 2019, when the company signed an initial $55 million equity investment from the Gates Foundation to develop mRNA-based vaccines against TB and HIV. BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said at the time that targeting severe infectious diseases such as TB and HIV fit the company’s broader mission to apply its immunotherapy capabilities beyond cancer, into other areas of high medical need.

Four years later, in April 2023, BioNTech advanced BNT164a1 and BNT164b1 into clinical testing. The first study was Phase Ia, followed by a Phase Ib/IIa study in adults. By 2026, recruitment for the Phase Ib/IIa study had been completed.

A Second Vaccine Reaches a Major Milestone

BioNTech is not alone in the race. On July 16, 2026, the nonprofit IAVI and Spanish biopharmaceutical company Biofabri announced their own TB vaccine candidate, MTBVAC, had reached full enrollment in its Phase 2b trial, also known as IMAGINE. The trial recruited 5,500 adolescents and adults with latent TB infection across 16 research centers in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.

Keertan Dheda, principal investigator for the IMAGINE trial and professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Cape Town, said TB remains the leading infectious disease killer worldwide and a major global cause of chronic lung damage and disability.

Earlier results from MTBVAC’s preceding Phase 1b/2a trial, published in The Lancet Global Health in April 2025, showed the vaccine had a safety profile comparable to BCG and triggered immune responses in adults equal to or stronger than a BCG revaccination.

Why Two Different Approaches Matter

MTBVAC and BNT164 work in entirely different ways. MTBVAC is a live-attenuated, single-dose vaccine derived directly from the human TB bacterium, designed for easy use in hard-to-reach areas. BNT164, by contrast, uses the same mRNA platform that powered COVID-19 vaccines, teaching the body to recognize TB proteins without using any live bacteria at all. Running both approaches at once gives researchers two viable opportunities to succeed where BCG alone has fallen short for a century.

A Century-Long Wait, Finally Moving

“A new, efficacious and accessible vaccine against the world’s deadliest infectious disease would be a substantial accomplishment for public health, and IAVI and partners are working to make this a reality,” said Mark Feinberg, IAVI’s CEO and president.

Neither vaccine is approved yet, and TB has defeated promising vaccine candidates before. However, multiple credible candidates are now moving through human trials, including late-stage candidates such as MTBVAC and newer mRNA approaches such as BNT164. The bet BioNTech made back in 2019, long before mRNA vaccines were a household term, is now one of the clearest signs that the century-long search for a better TB vaccine may finally be gaining momentum.

– Naveeshaa Rengasamy

Naveeshaa is based in Lille, France and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Poverty in Afghanistan: Aid and Economic Challenges

Poverty in AfghanistanAfghanistan’s economy remains under severe pressure, and households are paying the price as humanitarian aid declines and economic challenges continue. In 2025, around 28 million people — three in four Afghans — were unable to meet their basic subsistence needs, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

Economic Pressures

Dr. Niamatullah Ibrahimi, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne, spoke with The Borgen Project about the economic pressures facing Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s trade deficit widened to about $11.3 billion in 2025 as imports rose and exports remained stagnant. The UNDP also reports that population growth outpaced economic growth, contributing to falling income per person. Restrictions on women’s rights and employment continue to reduce women’s participation in the economy and weaken the country’s economic potential.

Ibrahimi explained, “The economy naturally contracted. Also there are other kinds of factors which slow investment and combine to drive greater unemployment in Afghanistan.”

Humanitarian Aid and Migration Issues

Afghanistan is already struggling to create enough jobs, and large-scale returns from neighboring countries are adding further pressure. Since September 2023, nearly 5.9 million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan. In 2025 alone, 2.9 million people returned, placing additional strain on jobs, housing, water systems and public services.

Ibrahimi also highlighted this pressure, noting that migration “has increased the number of people, more burdened the government for employment.”

Inflation has added to the strain. By March 2026, inflation had climbed to 7.6%, driven in part by food prices, supply constraints and strong demand.

At the same time, humanitarian assistance has fallen sharply. Humanitarian aid declined by almost 70%, from $3.27 billion in 2022 to $1 billion in 2025. More than halfway through 2026, only $438 million had been secured. Funding shortages have forced hundreds of health facilities to close or reduce services.

Save the Children reported that it had kept 14 clinics open and was the only health care provider serving around 10,000 people in mountainous areas of northern Afghanistan. The funding crisis has also coincided with worsening acute malnutrition among children.

Ibrahimi said of declining aid, “Up until 2022 the UN did a good job, but since then aid has significantly declined. This is affecting everything, like, health, education, food resources maybe. In the distribution, you know, everything from nutrition, clinics that are quite important.”

For many families, prolonged economic insecurity has led to rising debt and difficult coping strategies. The UNDP reports that more than 80% of households are in debt and nearly three-quarters rely on negative coping strategies to get through the day.

Climate conditions make these challenges worse. Drought affected 64% of the country in 2025, while access to adequate drinking water fell to 44%, down from 59% in 2024.

India as a Neighboring Source of Support

Despite difficult relations with the Taliban in the past, India has continued to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. India has also discussed development projects, water resource management and private-sector investment with Afghan authorities.

On Aug. 20, 2026, India delivered medicines and medical consumables to a government hospital in Kabul, continuing its health and humanitarian support for the Afghan people.

On the engagement of countries such as India, China and Russia, Ibrahimi raised an important question: whether diplomatic relations and aid are for the “survival of the people, or is it for the survival of the regime?”

International assistance is providing some relief, but Afghanistan continues to face widespread poverty, weak job creation, reduced aid and climate pressures. The UNDP has emphasized that humanitarian support must be accompanied by investment in livelihoods, services and local markets if households are to have a stronger chance of rebuilding their economic security.

– Tanay Ashok Sonthalia

Tanay is based in Melbourne, Australia and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay

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The Future of Sanitation and Clean Water in Papua New Guinea

Clean Water in Papua New GuineaClean water, sanitation and access to toilets are basic life necessities. According to UNICEF, 66% of people in Papua New Guinea do not have access to clean drinking water and more than 76% lack access to safe toilets. This scarcity leaves citizens vulnerable to preventable diseases, with water- and sanitation-related diseases among the leading causes of death for children under five.

Multiple organizations support water, sanitation and hygiene in Papua New Guinea, including UNICEF and WaterAid, while the World Health Organization provides global health guidance on the risks associated with unsafe water and sanitation.

Spread of Disease

Without clean water or proper sanitation, individuals in Papua New Guinea face exposure to a wide range of preventable diseases. The World Health Organization links contaminated water and poor sanitation to diseases including cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.

Some of these diseases cause discomfort, while others pose serious risks to vulnerable individuals, including young children. WHO data show that Papua New Guinea continues to face a substantial under-five mortality burden, while UNICEF identifies water- and sanitation-related diseases as leading causes of death for children under five.

UNICEF Solutions

UNICEF focuses its assistance on children and adolescents, finding solutions that promote sanitation and water access within schools and communities. In Papua New Guinea, UNICEF supports governance systems and budgets and helps strengthen national and sub-national authorities’ capacity to invest in WASH services for health facilities, schools and communities.

UNICEF also collaborates with the Papua New Guinea government to build capacity for emergency preparedness, response and resilient recovery from climate and non-climate-related disasters.

WaterAid’s Initiatives

WaterAid is an international organization dedicated to improving access to clean water, toilets and hygiene. In Papua New Guinea, where WaterAid reports that around three-quarters of the population do not have a decent toilet of their own, its work focuses on strengthening WASH services and supporting communities and local systems.

Its goals include improving access to reliable, resilient and inclusive water, toilets and hygiene services within communities and schools.

Accomplishments

Funding for WASH services has been a challenge, but WaterAid has assisted more than 50,000 people in Papua New Guinea with water, sanitation and hygiene services, according to Agenda for Change.

UNICEF also works to empower communities and strengthen government systems so local actors can address WASH needs themselves.

The efforts of these organizations to help the Papua New Guinea government support its citizens bring hope for a future where fewer people live without these basic necessities.

– Angelica Ciaravino

Angelica is based in Toronto, Canada and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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A Shift Toward Ethics: UN Involvement in the DRC

U.N. Involvement in the DRCThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a Central African country with beautiful landscapes and lush green mountains. The nation is dense with natural resources like cobalt, a highly sought-after resource in today’s economy because it is used in batteries of electric vehicles. The DRC is currently the world’s largest supplier of cobalt. Despite this, the DRC is still considered a less-developed country. This untapped resource potential should mean the DRC is the richest country in the world, but that has not been the case. The mining, export, and production processes are plagued by smuggling, corruption, child labor and armed group conflicts. The United Nations (U.N.) involvement in the DRC cobalt production becomes vital to transform the current climate. The focus is on using the demand for this dense natural resource for sustainable economic development and growth, instead of perpetuating armed violence, forced coercion and child labor.

The United Nations has committed to multiple panels, forums, and invested resources in programs focused on responsible mining practices and ethical working conditions. Such programs include the United Nations Guiding Principles to Guide Global Energy Transition (UNGPGET). The U.N. notes that without proper management, increasing demand for critical minerals risks perpetuating commodity dependence, which is the current reality for people in the DRC. Fortunately, there are other programs that focus on concrete steps for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to follow.

Are UN Programs Doing Enough?

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s poverty rate increased from 69.9% in 2012 to 78.9% in 2020, according to World Bank data. This indicates a country in need of aid. The U.N. Secretary-General’s Initiative on Critical Energy Transition Minerals is a task force involving the DRC, launched in 2025 that focuses on five pillars to implement the UNGPGET principles. These pillars include value addition, traceability, a global mining legacy fund, artisanal and small-scale mining, as well as circularity and material efficiency. The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) also works with the DRC to promote sustainable economic growth while promoting ethical practices for the extraction and production of cobalt. Their programs in the DRC include collecting risk data to fund improvements in artisanal and small-scale mining sites (ASM). They also fund vocational training for at-risk youth as an alternative to working in the mines. The programs funded by the RMI are important to promoting economic growth and development by providing alternatives to mining, like education. Collective action is crucial in cases like the DRC involving unethical treatment, corruption and natural resource dependency. Programs with RMI support U.N. involvement in DRC cobalt production, making it as safe and ethical as possible.

Working Toward Standards of Human Rights

Due diligence processes have become important in bringing about a shift toward ethical mining practices. One of the biggest mines operating in the famous “Copperbelt” of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Kisanfu mines, has set forth a clear due diligence standard. Guidelines include no toleration of torture, cruel or inhumane and degrading treatment, forced or compulsory labor and the “worst” forms of child labor. These standards set forth clear treatment expectations, with violations resulting in suspension or discontinuation of engagement. The other major mine in the Copperbelt is the Tenke Fungurume mine. This mine does not set forth clear standards but has contributed to sustainable growth and development in four areas: education and capacity building, access to savings and credit, construction of production and conservation infrastructure and agriculture.

DRC Enacts Cobalt Export Ban

Earlier this year, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s government enacted a ban on exporting cobalt in hopes of retaining more value from these minerals in the form of sustainable economic growth and development. This is not the first ban on cobalt exports; the DRC enacted multiple bans in 2013, 2019 and 2023. Christian-Gerand Neema, a mining analyst for China-Global South Project, expects this ban to have little effect on the DRC economy because “the majority of Congo’s cobalt and copper is already refined domestically.”

Looking Ahead

While the U.N.’s involvement in DRC cobalt production is a good start and their programs lay out important guidelines, countries involved in armed conflicts from coups or violence from governments tend not to follow these guidelines until sanctions are placed upon them by international organizations. This is where the Due Diligence Standards are beneficial. However, there is an obvious need for more. While these programs and standards aim to stop unethical or inhumane treatment in the mines or mining communities, violence and armed conflict remain prevalent. Major sanctions placed upon the DRC by external actors with capital could leverage this position.

– Lily K Gibson

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

Photo: Pexels

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Lack of Healthcare in Madagascar Leads to Mass Exorcisms

Healthcare in MadagascarIn Madagascar, exorcisms are not just a plot of horror movies or scary stories. Across the country, numerous healing and revival camps perform daily exorcisms as the primary way to treat mental illness. While this practice is rooted in traditional ancestral customs, the prevalence of these exorcism camps intersects directly with the lack of healthcare in Madagascar, becoming a dangerous consequence of the country’s extreme poverty.

Poverty in Madagascar

Madagascar—a beautiful island known for its biodiversity, unique wildlife and the 2005 hit movie where New York animals escape their caged zoo life—has one of the highest global rates of poverty. Around 80% of the country’s population lives on less than 9,255 Malagasy ariary per day, which roughly converts to $2.15. One of the most prominent ways Madagascar’s poverty manifests is its extreme lack of access to healthcare. Most citizens must pay out-of-pocket for basic medical services that are unaffordable for the average household. In addition to roughly half of the country’s population living far from medical facilities, 75% of those health centers lack basic electricity and running water.

Underfunding, poor infrastructure, and a lack of utilities at most healthcare facilities in Madagascar have led citizens to seek alternatives. The most popular substitute is placing mentally ill individuals in exorcism camps.

History of Exorcisms in Madagascar

Madagascar has a deep ancestral tradition of holistic healing and spiritual well-being. Amid a period of severe socio-economic hardship in the country, a man named Rainisoalambo heard a calling from Jesus Christ to convert to Protestantism and add a ministry of exorcism to the Malagasy Lutheran Church. This divine experience galvanized him to start the fifohazana revival movement in 1894: a crusade that successfully translated modern European Christianity into a deeply local, culturally resonant experience. As the indigenous Christian movement grew, the traditional holistic healing of sick community members morphed into a violent expulsion of demons from those believed to be possessed.

Exorcisms and Poverty

Possession has less to do with a spiritual state and more to do with the absence of healthcare in Madagascar.

While traveling in Madagascar from 2006 to 2016, Riccardo Bononi, a visual anthropologist from Italy, visited one of the country’s most popular toby—the revival camps where exorcisms are performed. After observing many of these purification ceremonies, Bononi came to a troubling conclusion: most of the condemned people were not possessed, but actually ill. As a guest speaker for Boston University’s Conflict & Crisis Reporting, Bononi told a story of meeting a woman who was sent to the toby for showing indifference and disdain toward her newborn. While Madagascan culture labeled her as possessed by demons for such behavior, Bononi saw that she was instead suffering from postpartum depression.

Because only 1% of Madagascar’s national health budget is allocated for mental healthcare, Bononi’s story of mental illness being relabeled as possession is quite common. Olivia Legrip-Randriambelo, an anthropologist studying the religious healing practices of Madagascar, found that the prevalence of toby compensates for the scarcity and high cost of healthcare in Madagascar. Because chronic poverty, malnutrition and misfortune are frequently associated with spiritual disruption, and families usually bring patients to revival camps when they can no longer care for them for economic reasons, the country’s poverty seems to lead all roads to exorcism.

Harmfulness of Exorcisms

Even though exorcisms are important to Madagascar’s indigenous culture, the country’s economic dependency on them for solutions to mental and physical illness makes them extremely dangerous. In addition to Madagascar’s lack of healthcare, which causes families to bring patients with neurological disorders and mental health conditions to religious camps instead of hospitals, the conditions of these are extremely damaging. Bononi recalled that not only were the intensive exorcisms violent and traumatizing for such vulnerable individuals, but camp workers also chained together the wrists and ankles of most possessed Madagascans in a way that resembled the shackles used on enslaved people in America. Bononi observed that camp workers kept patients in small metal huts that resembled cages and fed them only one meal a day.

Ongoing Efforts

Water Yourself, a Malagasy organization founded in 2021, is just one of the many projects focused on destigmatizing mental health and closing the gaps in healthcare accessibility. The organization provides mental health services and education, including diagnosis, prevention, therapy, workshops and counseling. Since its founding, it has partnered with 15 businesses and five nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), helped more than 1,000 individuals, and achieved a 10% increase in mental health awareness. By addressing the country’s severe treatment gaps and confronting the stigma where psychological distress is frequently misunderstood as possession, Water Yourself is creating an alternative to religious torture. Its integrated approach blends therapy, advocacy and community empowerment.

Water Yourself, like many other organizations fighting the misuse of religious ceremonies as solutions to medical care, understands that poverty is the main cause. The underfunding, poor infrastructure, and lack of utilities in the country’s healthcare facilities are the main reasons this important religious tradition is being misused by struggling Madagascans. The solution is not stripping Madagascans of an important indigenous custom, but rather providing citizens with the economic means to access affordable healthcare in Madagascar.

– Mia Puleo

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

Photo: Flickr

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How Social Protection in Oman Expands Economic Security

Social Protection in OmanOver the past few years, Oman has restructured much of its social safety net to protect citizens from financial shocks throughout their lives. The government began a major review and reform of national social protection in 2020. These changes to Social Protection in Oman combine contributory insurance for workers with government-financed benefits and coverage for women, children and people with disabilities.

A Shift Toward Broader Social Protection

Oman’s Social Protection Law, created by Royal Decree 52 in 2023, restructured the country’s previous benefits system into a multilayered, integrated framework. According to a joint report by the Social Protection Fund and the International Labour Organization (ILO), the previous system had gaps in both coverage and spending, particularly for women, children and non-Omani residents. The Social Protection Law also consolidated 11 separate pension funds into a single system and expanded the role of the Social Protection Fund.

The new system represents a break from a structure largely centered on limited social assistance and price subsidies. The report describes the reform as rights-based and states that it aims to provide more direct and continuous income security. These new protections include benefits that do not depend solely on a person’s connection to formal employment.

Supporting Families and Vulnerable Groups

These reforms provide several types of government-financed support. Children are eligible for 10 Omani rials, about $26 per month, while children from low-income families who attend primary or secondary school can receive 20 rials per month. Omanis with qualifying permanent disabilities are eligible for 130 rials, about $340 per month. Older citizens may receive up to 115 rials, around $300 per month, depending on pension or salary.

The protection network also includes survivor benefits and means-tested family income support. The report states that households whose income falls below the predetermined threshold can receive support that raises their income to meet a set standard. These programs provide a last-resort safety net for families experiencing financial hardship. By January 2026, more than 42,000 families were receiving direct family income assistance, providing additional support to households with the fewest financial resources.

Expanding Protection for Workers in Oman

Oman continues to expand protection through employment-based insurance. The Social Protection Law provides unemployment insurance, injury coverage and maternity and paternity benefits. Some of these protections also extend to eligible non-Omani workers, although this coverage is not universal.

On July 19, 2026, the Social Protection Fund launched its Sick Leave and Extraordinary Leave Insurance Branch. Under this new framework, employers pay their workers full wages for the first 21 days, after which the compensation rate gradually decreases but remains available for up to 182 days. This protection also provides limited coverage for family and other emergencies, with some benefits available to foreign workers as well.

Expanding Social Protection Across Oman

The scale of Social Protection in Oman has expanded alongside these reforms. Oman Observer reported statistics from the Social Protection Fund showing that more than 1.54 million people received social protection benefits by the end of September 2025. This support reached about 1.25 million children, roughly 175,000 older people and close to 50,000 people with disabilities. Family income support programs also reached tens of thousands of families.

In June 2026, Oman and the ILO presented the social protection reforms at the International Labour Conference in Geneva, highlighting the expanded coverage and the system’s connection to Oman’s Vision 2040. The ILO has portrayed Oman’s reforms as some of the most comprehensive social protection changes in the Arab region in recent decades.

Toward Greater Economic Security

Social Protection in Oman continues to develop. Oman plans to implement additional protections for foreign workers, including permanent injury coverage. However, these reforms already connect millions of people with programs that reduce the burden of unemployment, disability, illness and low income. By bringing together worker insurance with direct benefits for vulnerable and low-income families, Oman is building a wider safety net that helps families maintain economic security.

– Elias Haskins

Elias is based in Claremont, CA, USA and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Microfinancing Magic in Sierra Leone: SDG 8 in Sierra Leone

SDG 8 in Sierra LeoneFor many women across Africa, a small loan represents more than a week of groceries or rent. In Sierra Leone, more than 56% of the population lives below the national poverty line according to the most recent national household survey, with the rate reaching 60% in rural communities.

Microfinance as a Tool for Change

For low-income businesspeople with limited access to startup funds, even $50 may springboard a successful business venture and help individuals overcome cyclical poverty. Better known as microfinance, this small-scale investment practice rose to fame in the 1970s and has since supported more than 140 million aspiring entrepreneurs across the globe. As a powerful poverty reduction tool, microfinancing success hinges on financial access paired with legal empowerment, consumer protections, and awareness of rights.

One organization actively realizing this goal is L.A.W.Y.E.R.S of Sierra Leone. Short for Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social Justice, this Freetown-based organization has provided pro bono services to women who need legal support since 1997, reaching more than 10,000 women since its inception. By providing free clinics and defense on family matters, inheritance rights, disease prevention and career opportunities, they are working toward United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 8 in Sierra Leone: fostering inclusive, ethical work opportunities and economic growth.

Challenges in Microfinance

Despite these advances, recent headlines point to a more complicated reality. A 2019 investigation found that BRAC Sierra Leone, which had 46,500 loan borrowers, charged a 30% interest rate compared to an industry average of 22%. Coupled with unclear loan repayment information, many grantees began entering large debts as costs exceeded their weekly earnings. In an interview with The Borgen Project, L.A.W.Y.E.R.S President and Chairperson Menisa Sesay explained, “You have a lot of women in prison because of these microcredits. You will get someone locked up at the correctional center for as little as $100 debt… two years… three years.”

Even during microfinance court trials, some women have no legal representation due to cost barriers or unawareness of pro bono support. “Others never get the chance to share their business development since receiving the loan,” Sesay added. In these cases, courts receive an incomplete perspective of women’s endeavors and financial circumstances. This is one gap L.A.W.Y.E.R.S is bridging through free and timely legal representation for women in debt.

Education as a Solution

Sesay emphasizes that the main missing microfinance link is borrower education. Sierra Leone’s 2022 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act guarantees women equal access to credit, financial services, transactions, and financial products as a government priority. However, equal access to credit may not provide an equal shot at success without comprehensive education on loan management, repayment deadlines, credit scores and wage garnishment.

L.A.W.Y.E.R.S has taken a comprehensive approach to mitigating this problem, including the launch of microfinance workshops for new grantees, legal defense for those in peril and counseling for incarcerated women. Most importantly, the firm is drafting legislation to limit imprisonment for petty offenses of this nature, including small debts soon after loan issuance.

Osusu and Community-Based Solutions

Beyond traditional microfinance lies another common trend among Sierra Leone’s informal workers: Osusu. Osusu is a community-based savings practice where citizens pool money together to support one person at a time. It often occurs in markets, with a daily contribution amount and guaranteed payback for those who add to the pot. Alongside formal microfinance loans, traditional systems like Osusu offer another mechanism for expanding financial access, especially when partnered with financial literacy training.

As a lawyer and business owner of three companies, Sesay sees tremendous value in microfinance and its contribution to SDG 8 in Sierra Leone. In her words, “There are vast communities of investments and of need. A high amount of loan entrepreneurs who become successful, so added education for recipients will only improve the program’s success.” With heightened legal protections and greater training for borrowers, she is hopeful that the program will reach its full potential as a driver of opportunity for African women.

– Natasha Agarwal

Natasha is based in Philadelphia, PA, USA and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How Trachoma in El Salvador Was Eliminated

Trachoma in El SalvadorTrachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, still affects some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. The neglected tropical disease is linked to poverty and limited access to basic services such as clean water, sanitation and health care. While many communities continue to face the threat of trachoma, El Salvador recently reached a major milestone in efforts to eliminate the disease.

Trachoma Elimination in El Salvador

On July 13, 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) validated El Salvador’s elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. This makes El Salvador the first country in Central America and the second in the Americas to achieve this milestone. WHO validated the elimination after conducting targeted assessments between 2023 and 2026. Those assessments found no active transmission, no signs of the disease in children and no advanced cases among adults that could cause blindness.

Trachoma and Poverty

Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and remains the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. Repeated infections can scar the eyelids and cause blindness when severe. The disease disproportionately affects populations living in poverty, particularly communities with limited access to clean drinking water, sanitation and education. A study examining trachoma vulnerability across 22 Latin American countries found that these socioeconomic factors can help identify and prioritize communities for surveillance.

According to the World Bank, approximately 5% of the population lived on $3.00 a day or less in 2023. In 2022, El Salvador’s economic activity and market confidence increased, and strengthened security measures drove crime down. Challenges still remain in the country, however, including low productivity and limited human capital.

El Salvador’s Path to Elimination

The country joined the regional elimination effort in 2023 to identify and eliminate trachoma. Through collaboration among El Salvador’s Ministry of Health, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Government of Canada, health officials planned surveillance in communities where trachoma was suspected to be a public health problem. A multisectoral approach supported El Salvador’s progress. The approach included strengthened health care and eye health services, as well as improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

El Salvador conducted rapid assessments as part of the regional elimination initiative to confirm whether trachoma was present in prioritized communities. The assessments confirmed the presence or absence of trachoma and helped health officials determine what actions were needed based on the evidence.

Dr. Marcelo Korc, a public health professional with 28 years of international experience with PAHO/WHO, has served as Head of Country Office in El Salvador since March 2025. In an interview with The Borgen Project, Korc emphasized the importance of evidence in the elimination process, saying, “One lesson is that elimination must be grounded in evidence.”

Strengthening Communities

Eliminating trachoma in El Salvador also strengthened the country’s health system, helping sustain the progress made toward eliminating the disease. The country trained health personnel, integrated trachoma surveillance into its health systems and established the capacity to identify and manage trichiasis cases. WHO recommends that countries that achieve elimination maintain surveillance and continued access to quality eye care to prevent the disease from returning. El Salvador’s work toward elimination placed the country in a group of 64 countries worldwide that have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease.

The regional initiative also used trachoma activities as an opportunity to bring additional services to communities that can be difficult to reach. Outreach visits in participating countries combined eye care with services such as vaccination, nutrition and hygiene promotion, allowing health teams to address multiple needs during a single visit. The initiative also emphasized community participation and culturally appropriate approaches, including dialogue with Indigenous communities and training health teams to incorporate traditional knowledge into public health practices.

Progress Toward Elimination

El Salvador’s achievement comes as trachoma remains a public health problem in rural and remote areas of Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru. Other countries in the Americas are also investigating areas where the disease has been suspected, making El Salvador’s validation a significant step in the region’s broader effort to eliminate trachoma. The disease is one of more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions that PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative targets, aiming to eliminate them in the Americas by 2030.

Eliminating trachoma in El Salvador also charts a path for other countries in the Americas as they continue collecting evidence and expanding interventions in priority communities. During the initiative’s third year, representatives from 11 countries reviewed progress and identified continued epidemiological assessments, WASH actions and evidence collection as priorities for the next phase. Evaluators recognized PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative for using communication as a strategic component throughout the initiative; this combined communication helped record and highlight country progress and elimination milestones.

For El Salvador, however, validation represents more than the absence of active trachoma. Speaking on the achievement, Korc emphasized, “El Salvador’s validation as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem should not be viewed solely as the conclusion of a process, but as a contribution to a broader national, regional and global movement.” Looking ahead, El Salvador’s elimination of trachoma offers a model for other countries seeking to eliminate the disease and protect future generations from preventable blindness.

– Lily Hoch

Lily is based in Midway, PA, uSA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

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7 Things to Know About Education in the Paracel Islands

Education in the Paracel Islands
The Paracel Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan. China currently controls the islands, with most civilian activity centered on Woody Island, known in Chinese as Yongxing Island. Given the islands’ very small resident population, education there is less a conventional national school system than a small, strategically located service for the children of fishers, government officials, military personnel and other island workers. Here are eight facts about education in the Paracel Islands.

8 Facts About Education in the Paracel Islands

  1. Since the other islands are mostly military outposts, reefs or small settlements, formal education is centered on Woody Island – the administrative hub of China’s Sansha City. Woody Island is the largest of about 30 islands in the Paracel chain and serves as Sansha’s administrative center.
  2. The key educational institution is Sansha Yongxing School, which opened in December 2015. It is described as China’s southernmost school. Since its opening, the school’s kindergarten and primary departments have reportedly operated steadily, allowing children of island fishers, military personnel and government workers to attend school locally.
  3. Yongxing School grew from six students at its founding to 32 students across kindergarten and primary grades, served by eight teachers. By late 2023, local reporting claimed the school had reached a new high of 50 students, including 37 in kindergarten and 13 in primary school.
  4. Before the school existed, many parents working on Woody Island had to live apart from their children. One father said the school allowed his child to finally live with him on the island, while another parent noted that, because “there is a school on the island,” his child could grow up there. The practical effect is significant: access to education has made it more feasible for civilian families to live on the islands over the long term.
  5. Teaching on Woody Island comes with unusual hardship, such as isolation, typhoons and limited services. Seventy-seven teachers worked at Yongxing School between 2015 and 2023. After 2018, the school was co-managed with Qiongtai Normal University, with eight formal teaching positions and three-year contracts. 
  6. A tiny island school cannot staff every specialty, so digital teaching is critical. Yongxing School uses synchronized online classes with schools in Haikou, including Chinese classics lessons twice a week. The school found that information technology helps compensate for its limited access to specialist teaching resources. 
  7. Yongxing School is not only for children. China’s Ministry of Education revealed that the school library and electronic reading room were opened to island residents. Additionally, the school offered more than 60 adult vocational courses, providing training to 763 people in areas such as deep-sea fishing and aquaculture.

Looking Ahead

Education in the Paracel Islands remains politically sensitive and shaped by geography. There is no large school system, university sector or published learning-outcome dataset. Still, the available evidence shows that Yongxing School has become a pivotal civilian institution. It keeps families together, offers early and primary education and supports adult training. 

– Jeff Zhou 

Photo: Flickr