Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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The Innovative Fight Against Poverty in Papua New Guinea

Poverty in Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea has abundant natural resources, but many people still face barriers to stable employment and economic opportunity. The World Bank reports that the country’s economy grew by 5.6% in 2025, but formal employment per person has declined over time. Many people continue to depend on informal work and subsistence agriculture. Innovations in poverty eradication in Papua New Guinea are creating new opportunities through agriculture, digital technology and renewable energy.

Poverty in Papua New Guinea

Poverty remains a major challenge in Papua New Guinea, especially for people living in rural communities. The World Bank identifies the most recent national household survey, conducted in 2009-10, found that 39.9% of the population lived below the country’s basic-needs poverty line. Papua New Guinea does not have a more recent official national poverty estimate. The World Bank identifies the country’s large rural population, poor connectivity and low levels of human capital as factors that contribute to continued poverty. These challenges are closely connected to employment. The World Bank reports that economic growth has not produced enough secure jobs for Papua New Guinea’s growing workforce. Most new workers have entered subsistence farming and low-productivity informal work rather than secure formal employment.

Agriculture and Poverty Reduction

Agriculture plays a major role in the lives of Papua New Guineans. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, agriculture employs between 6 million and 7 million people in rural Papua New Guinea, with the majority involved in semi-subsistence agriculture. Smallholder farmers also produce between 80% and 90% of the country’s export crops other than oil palm. However, rural farmers have trouble reaching markets, accessing financing and receiving agricultural information. Improving these areas can help farmers increase production and turn agriculture into a more dependable source of income. Investments in infrastructure, technology and agricultural services therefore have the potential to improve livelihoods in communities where farming remains a primary source of income.

Farming and the Digital Age

Digital technology is one of the innovations in poverty eradication in Papua New Guinea helping rural farmers overcome these barriers. In 2023, the EU-funded STREIT PNG Programme provided digital training to 74 lead farmers and agrifood business participants in East Sepik and West Sepik. The training taught participants how to use smartphones, apps, social media marketing and mobile payments. Farmers also learned to access weather and climate information that could help them make decisions about their crops. These skills can help farmers communicate with customers and participate more effectively in agricultural markets. Papua New Guinea expanded its use of agricultural technology again in October 2025 with the launch of its Agriculture Management Information System. The International Telecommunication Union and FAO developed the system through the EU-STREIT PNG Programme. It provides agricultural information that can help farmers and other organizations make decisions based on current data.

Renewable Energy Expands Opportunity

Access to electricity is another major challenge for communities across Papua New Guinea. According to the Asian Development Bank, about 20% of the country’s population has access to electricity. Expanding renewable energy offers one way to provide power to communities that remain difficult to connect to traditional electrical grids. One example is taking place in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. The United Nations Development Programme reports that more than 80% of the region’s population lacks reliable access to energy. The Pacific Green Transformation Project led to the installation of solar panels at the Innovation Hub in Buka. The project, funded by Japan and implemented with UNDP, provides renewable electricity to the Hub, which supports innovation and economic opportunities, particularly for women and young people.

Creating Jobs Through Innovation

Creating employment is an important part of innovations in poverty eradication in Papua New Guinea. In July 2026, the World Bank reported that strengthening major agricultural value chains could generate about 330,000 additional formal jobs during the next decade. The World Bank estimates that this scenario could also reduce poverty by around 5 percentage points, potentially lifting about 500,000 Papua New Guineans out of poverty. Agricultural development could be especially important because it connects economic growth with people living in rural communities. Better infrastructure, technology and market access can help farmers move beyond subsistence farming and earn more reliable incomes.

What Is Ahead

No single project can eliminate poverty, but recent developments show how technology can address several barriers at once. Digital agricultural services can give farmers better information, renewable energy projects can support communities with limited electricity and investment in agriculture could create jobs. These innovations in poverty eradication in Papua New Guinea demonstrate how new technology can support practical improvements in everyday life. Continued investment in agriculture, digital connectivity and renewable energy could give more Papua New Guineans the tools needed to build sustainable livelihoods and strengthen their communities.

– Griffin Blanco

Griffin is based in Knoxville, TN, USA and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Read@Home Program Improves Child Literacy in Eswatini

Child Literacy in EswatiniIn 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank launched the Read@Home initiative. As schools began closing, the Read@Home initiative allowed children to learn despite those barriers. By providing books and other learning materials into homes, students continued building foundational skills in reading and mathematics.

Child Literacy in Eswatini

In Eswatini, third graders can read only about three English words per minute and about eight words per minute in SiSwati, the primary language of Eswatini.

This literacy gap exists alongside broader economic challenges in Eswatini. The country struggles with poverty, with 54% of the population surviving on only $4.20 per day. Limited employment and economic opportunities are among the challenges facing households. In fact, about 56% of young adults (15-24) remain unemployed.

Improving child literacy can strengthen children’s future educational and economic opportunities. Foundational reading and mathematics skills can help students progress through education and build skills relevant to future employment. Child illiteracy is partly driven by parents’ illiteracy, perpetuating a continuous cycle of poverty. However, by giving children the resources needed to stay in school, they gain the abilities needed to positively contribute to the economy.

The Read@Home Program

The Read@Home program is a World Bank initiative focused on improving child literacy in regions where resources are limited. Already, the World Bank has established partnerships in 18 countries. In Senegal, for example, books in both English and Senegalese languages have reached more than 2 million children. By partnering with governments and targeting families who do not have access to books and other learning materials, the program aims to improve child literacy at the source.

The Read@Home pilot has now worked to improve the literacy gap in Eswatini. The Ministry of Education in Eswatini has partnered with the World Bank to launch the Read@Home program in households across four tinkhundlas (constituencies in Eswatini’s government structure). Launched in 2025, the program primarily focused on rural, low-resource communities. The program provided 8,730 books in SiSwati and English to 546 caregivers, ultimately reaching more than 737 children.

Caregivers received home visits and coaching on how to read with their children. Teachers at early-childhood centers were similarly trained to create environments intended to promote child literacy.

Results

Expanding resource distribution beyond traditional books to include newspapers, magazines, and even church bulletins has produced promising results: nearly 78% of caregivers of children aged 3-5 reported reading more frequently with their children after receiving the resources and support. Additionally, numerous families reported seeing improvements in their child’s vocabulary and early literacy skills. Parents have also expressed more confidence in teaching their children.

Future Impact

Improving foundational reading skills improves future educational aspirations. These skills help children develop the knowledge and adaptability needed for future jobs and changing economies. By preventing learning gaps from widening, this program could potentially reduce the effects of poverty and increase economic opportunities in resource-limited settings. The Eswatini Read@Home pilot suggests that approaches such as book sharing and community-based support can help extend access to reading resources. Additionally, by providing books containing local and cultural stories, Read@Home can also strengthen children’s connection to their communities and instill a lasting love of reading.

Together, these efforts can give every child in Eswatini the foundational literacy skills and support they need to be successful both in school and beyond.

– Diya Rajkumar

Diya is based in Redmond, WA, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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5 Charities Operating in Madagascar

Charities Operating in MadagascarPoverty continues to challenge Malagasy youth, limiting access to education, health and nutrition services across the country’s rural regions. According to the World Food Programme, in Madagascar, more than 80% of the population lives on less than $2.15 per day, with 38.6% of children suffering from chronic malnutrition. A World Bank learning-poverty brief, using data available as of 2021, estimated that about 94% of children in Madagascar were not proficient in reading by late primary-school age. It also reported that primary education expenditure per child was 77.8% below the Sub-Saharan Africa regional average.

Amid these challenges, a number of organizations are stepping in to close the gaps in education, nutrition and child protection. Below are five charities operating in Madagascar that aim to fight poverty and enhance the quality of life for youths.

Charities Operating in Madagascar

  • ADRA Madagascar: ADRA Madagascar is a non-governmental organization that works to provide every Malagasy child the opportunity to learn and supports sustainable development across the country. ADRA Madagascar has three core aims: expanding access to education through improved infrastructure, increasing school attendance through financial support and enhancing education quality by strengthening teaching capacity. In addition to improved education, ADRA Madagascar also works to improve access to water, particularly in areas closely located to educational facilities. Since 2020, ADRA Madagascar reports that its programs have supported more than 1 million Malagasy people.
  • Learn Achieve Become: Learn Achieve Become (L.A.B.) is a U.K.-based charity dedicated to improving the quality of life for those living in disadvantaged communities by expanding access to quality education and sports. L.A.B.’s main activities involve organizing temporary educational programs, partnering with local schools and hosting sporting clubs and events. In 2023, L.A.B. opened its first educational and support center for people with disabilities in Madagascar, with goals to open more across the island. The organization reports that its centers provide free education to roughly 200 students per week, ensuring disadvantaged youth have access to basic learning opportunities.
  • Save the Children Madagascar: Save the Children is a global organization that aims to end child violence, expand access to basic education and prevent diseases affecting children. Its presence in Madagascar began in 2016 and, in conjunction with a wide range of donors, it has implemented programs combatting health, education, food security and child protection-related challenges. These programs are essential given Madagascar’s strained healthcare and education systems, as well as widespread food insecurity. In 2025, Save the Children Madagascar reported that 12,084 children were reached through its various programs.
  • Skyline NGO Madagascar: Skyline NGO Madagascar is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization, aiming to eradicate poverty and develop vulnerable communities within Madagascar. Skyline Madagascar runs a number of community-driven activities and programs that seek to address the needs of the Malagasy population. These include distributing medical supplies, establishing public libraries that provide educational books, running youth sports programs and partnering with the Phoenix Light Project to expand renewable energy methods and reforestation. Since 2020, Skyline Madagascar reports that its programs have reached more than 300,000 people across 23 regions in Madagascar.
  • Un Enfant par la Main Madagascar: Un Enfant par la Main is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that works with local communities to ensure the rights of all children are upheld. Un Enfant par la Main places an emphasis on working with communities, rather than working in their place, with a focus on co-constructing solutions and implementing sustainable change that can be maintained by the community. In Madagascar, the organization has implemented two long-term projects in vulnerable regions that aim to provide a comprehensive response to the needs of the children. Un Enfant par la Main reports that nearly 6,500 children and families receive support each month.

Final Thoughts

Madagascar continues to face poverty-related challenges, with many children still facing a lack of education and limited access to food and water. However, these five charities operating in Madagascar provide hope for the future of the island nation, particularly given the strong focus on upholding the rights of all children. Together, these organizations demonstrate how community-driven programs can drive meaningful change for Malagasy youth.

– Xavier Stephens

Xavier is based in Melbourne, Australia, and focuses on Technology and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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3 Diseases Impacting Kenya

Diseases Impacting KenyaThree of the main diseases impacting Kenya are HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. While these remain public health concerns, Kenya has made great strides in addressing them.

HIV/AIDS

As of 2026, roughly 1.5 million people in Kenya are living with HIV, making it one of the world’s largest HIV epidemics. However, HIV testing has improved significantly in recent years, largely due to community-based approaches and the use of new technology. In collaboration with the CDC, Kenya’s Ministry of Health has decentralized HIV testing by moving laboratories closer to their patients. This shift has resulted in faster delivery of test results. While it used to take two weeks for viral load test results, it now only takes a few days.

The Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health (SEARCH) study, led by a group of Kenyan, American and Ugandan researchers, used a similar method to reduce new infections. Instead of having patients travel to a clinic, SEARCH employed a team of health workers to deliver tests and preventative medications directly to patients’ homes. From there, the workers used a smartphone app to keep track and inform clinics.

The SEARCH trial involved 16 rural communities, with eight in Kenya and eight in Uganda. In these areas, it led to a 70% decline in new cases. Out of its 80,000 participants, 95% were put on treatment and nearly 95% achieved undetectable levels of HIV.

Tuberculosis

HIV and TB in Kenya are directly connected. Dr. Gabriel Chamie, one of SEARCH’s co-investigators, notes that “the immune suppression caused by HIV dramatically increases the risk of tuberculosis.”

In October 2025, Kenya’s government announced the deployment of 80 portable X-ray machines to help fight TB. Battery-powered and weighing only 11 pounds, the machines use computer-aided detection software to flag early signs of TB. In remote areas where medical professionals are scarce, this offers a vital tool for fighting TB.

More recently, Kenya became part of an early-adopter initiative to improve TB testing. Following WHO recommendations, the country has introduced rapid, swab-based tests as the first line in TB diagnostics. Like the X-ray machines, they are battery-powered, allowing them to operate in places without consistent electricity. The swab tests will complement traditional sputum tests, which remain important for identifying drug-resistant TB.

Despite social stigma, logistics and other challenges, Kenya continues to fight against TB. Since 2015, the country has seen a 45% decline in TB incidence, as well as a 58% decline in TB-related deaths.

Malaria

The CDC estimates that every year there are more than 3 million malaria cases in Kenya, resulting in more than 11,000 deaths. Young children are at especially high risk.

In 2019, Kenya was one of several countries that the WHO selected to receive doses of RTS,S, the world’s first malaria vaccine. The rollout began in western counties along Lake Victoria, where transmission rates are highest. In Homa Bay County, on Lake Victoria, malaria infection rates fell from 27% to just 3.6% in the span of five years.

Nationwide, 400,000 children have received at least one dose of the four-dose vaccine. The vaccines, along with existing measures like mosquito nets and insecticides, have helped reduce Kenya’s malaria incidence. Between 2004 and 2024, the cases per 1,000 population fell from 184 to 74.

These diseases are closely linked to poverty in Kenya. For example, a 2024 study found that food insecurity made access to care more difficult for people living with HIV. Furthermore, Kenyans still pay about a quarter of their health expenses out of pocket, and for those already near the poverty line, this can be disastrous. In 2018, around one million people were pushed into poverty by out-of-pocket payments.

HIV, tuberculosis and malaria are only a handful of the diseases impacting Kenya. Yet by meeting these challenges head-on, and continually testing new strategies and technologies, the country is working toward a healthier and more prosperous future.

– Harland Pusey-Nazzaro

Harland is based in Brunswick, ME, USA and focuses on Business and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Women’s Employment and the Gender Wage Gap in Djibouti

Gender Wage Gap in DjiboutiWomen in Djibouti face barriers that can make it harder to find stable jobs and earn an income. Although Djibouti has laws supporting equal pay, there is not enough recent data to calculate a reliable direct gender wage gap. Instead, available data show differences in employment and informal work between women and men. These differences can help show some of the larger challenges women face in the labor market.

The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law data gave Djibouti a score of 87.5 out of 100 in 2025 for its legal framework on pay. This score measures whether certain laws supporting equal pay are in place. It does not measure how much women and men actually earn or whether employers consistently enforce equal-pay laws. Therefore, the score shows the country’s legal framework but cannot be used as a measurement of Djibouti’s actual gender wage gap.

Unemployment

One challenge facing women in Djibouti is unemployment. According to the UN Women Data Hub, the unemployment rate for women ages 15 and older was 35.9% in 2017, compared with 22.1% for men. These figures are from 2017, so they should not be treated as current 2026 unemployment rates. However, they show that women faced higher unemployment than men in the available data.

Women also had a higher rate of informal employment. In 2017, 64.9% of women’s non-agricultural employment was informal, compared with 45.3% for men. Informal employment can make it harder for workers to access protections and stable employment conditions. More recent information is needed to determine how these differences have changed.

The lack of current gender data is another challenge. UN Women reports that Djibouti has gaps in important gender-related data, including information about the gender pay gap. Without reliable and updated information about wages and employment, it is difficult to measure the size of the pay gap or track changes over time.

What the Data Can Tell Us

The available information does not provide a reliable current percentage for the gender wage gap in Djibouti. However, the differences in unemployment and informal employment show that women and men do not have the same experiences in the labor market.

The World Bank’s 2026 Djibouti Economic Monitor also reports that unemployment is particularly high among women and young people and that informal employment remains widespread. The report uses evidence from Djibouti’s first nationally representative Labor Force Survey, providing newer information about the country’s labor market.

Collecting more information about women’s and men’s wages, occupations, working hours and access to different types of employment could make it easier to understand pay differences in Djibouti. Better data could also help policymakers identify areas where women face the greatest barriers.

A Program Supporting Women’s Economic Opportunities

One example of an initiative addressing women’s economic opportunities in Djibouti is the World Bank-supported Djibouti Support for Women and Youth Entrepreneurship Project. The project was approved in 2018 with $15 million in financing. It aimed to improve economic opportunities for women and young entrepreneurs by supporting new businesses, entrepreneurship training and access to financing.

The project worked with entrepreneurs through training, business-development services, grants and business-plan competitions. By the time of its completion, 2,359 beneficiaries had received grants, with women making up 60% of grant recipients. The project also provided 4,938 training-completion certificates and supported the registration of 740 new businesses. Women accounted for 55% of the entrepreneurs accessing project-supported services who registered new businesses.

These results show how programs can address some of the barriers that limit women’s participation in the economy. The project focused on helping women gain business skills and access to financial resources rather than directly measuring or closing a gender wage gap. Since Djibouti still lacks reliable direct pay-gap data, programs like this provide one way to expand women’s economic opportunities while better employment data is collected.

Looking Ahead

The gender wage gap in Djibouti cannot currently be measured reliably because important wage data are missing. However, available employment data show differences between women and men in unemployment and informal employment.

Improving gender-related labor data would make it easier to identify pay differences and track progress. At the same time, programs that provide women with business training, financing and employment opportunities can help address some of the barriers they face in the labor market.

Djibouti’s legal framework also provides a starting point. The country received an 87.5 out of 100 score for its legal framework on pay in the World Bank’s 2025 data, but that score does not show whether women and men actually receive equal wages. Combining legal protections, programs that expand women’s economic opportunities and better data collection could provide a clearer picture of women’s employment and pay equality in Djibouti.

– Neha Veerepalli

Neha is based in Redmond, WA, USA and focuses on Good News and Celebs for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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5 Charities Operating in Timor-Leste

Charities Operating in Timor-LesteTimor-Leste, a small island north of Australia and east of Indonesia, is one of the lowest-income countries in the Asia-Pacific.

According to World Bank data, approximately 44% of the population lived on less than $3 per day in 2014. Food insecurity remains a key challenge for the people of Timor-Leste. A 2020 UNICEF report indicated that about 64% of households rely on agriculture for income, while 87% use poor cooking fuel and 25% lack access to safe drinking water.

Children younger than five are most severely impacted. A 2018 UNICEF report noted that one in two children younger than five suffers from stunting. Child undernutrition is the leading risk factor for death in this age group. Addressing multidimensional poverty requires local and international support. Here are five charities operating in Timor-Leste to combat poverty, build resilience and improve livelihoods.

Oxfam

The first of the five charities operating in Timor-Leste is Oxfam, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting inequality, poverty and injustice. The organization believes lasting solutions require working with local organizations, allies and communities. In Timor-Leste, Oxfam Australia has been working alongside local organizations for more than 40 years to strengthen land rights, expand economic opportunity and build disaster preparedness.

Oxfam partners with the Australian government and local organizations to carry out the AHP Disaster READY program, helping Timorese communities strengthen local planning, emergency coordination and early-warning systems to prepare for extreme weather events like floods, cyclones and landslides. Additionally, its HAKFOUN II project empowers young voices in rural development by bringing together government, civil society and development partners in inclusive dialogue.

Plan International

Plan International is a global humanitarian organization that works to advance children’s rights and build a world where “equality for girls leads to progress for all.” The organization has been working in Timor-Leste since 2001 with young girls, boys and their communities to challenge discrimination and ensure every child grows up safe, healthy and educated.

The organization’s work focuses on keeping girls in school, nutritionally healthy and provided with access to clean water and hygiene facilities. Plan International also works with communities to protect girls from violence, support female leadership and strengthen climate resilience to protect children’s futures.

Empowering youth advocacy and leadership is central to its mission. In March 2025, Plan International Timor-Leste supported Lilerita, a youth delegate, as she represented her country at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. There, she advocated for girls’ rights and grassroots change to international decision-makers.

CARE International

CARE International is a global nonprofit organization working to save lives and defeat global poverty. Its work prioritizes women and girls, driven by the belief that girls both face specific barriers and have unique potential to change lives.

CARE International has been working in Timor-Leste since 1994. Following Timorese independence in 2002, CARE expanded its focus beyond emergency aid to help communities overcome poverty, especially in rural areas. Today, the organization empowers women and girls by strengthening economic opportunities, improving access to education and health care, supporting girls in community leadership roles and building resilience against environmental and economic crises.

A key part of CARE’s current work is the HATUTAN program, which works to ensure children in rural schools are provided with nutritious meals. CARE also publishes its Lafaek magazines, distributed three times per year to pre- and primary schools, providing vital information about health, hygiene, nutrition and agriculture.

Blue Ventures

Blue Ventures is a marine conservation charity working in 11 countries across Africa and Asia to strengthen local marine management and restore ocean life. Since 2016, the organization has worked with Timorese communities to improve coral reef management and restore seagrass ecosystems. This work includes supporting the revival of traditional local governance practices called Tara Bandu, which utilize seasonal fishing closures and community-led monitoring of marine ecosystems to support conservation.

According to Blue Ventures, these efforts have helped nearshore fish stocks recover in project areas, contributing to improved nutrition, food security and income stability for local families. This stability motivates communities to continue protecting marine resources, establishing a self-sustaining cycle that supports the local economy and provides more nutritional food for generations to come.

RAEBIA

RAEBIA Timor-Leste is a local nonprofit organization founded in 1997 that uses conservation agriculture to support rural communities. Its name combines two words from the local Kemak language (rae, meaning land, and bia, meaning water) to represent the two elements needed to grow something.

While national figures indicate around 64% of all households rely on agriculture for food or income, RAEBIA estimates that in its rural project areas that figure is closer to 80%. The steep slope and poor soil quality of the land can make farming difficult. To address this, RAEBIA runs three key programs to support sustainable agriculture: community seed banking, seeds of survival and natural resource management.

Through these programs, RAEBIA works to strengthen community seed security, restore soil health and boost crop diversity, while empowering women and youth as “champion farmers.” The organization reports that these interventions help eliminate the seasonal hunger period for participating farming households and build climate-resilient, self-sustaining communities.

Looking Ahead

These five charities operating in Timor-Leste are some of the many global and local organizations that work alongside Timorese communities to combat poverty, gender inequality and educational barriers. By addressing root causes through community-led solutions, these programs are helping local families build long-term economic stability and improved livelihoods for the future.

– Ruby Straker

Ruby is based in Edinburgh, UK and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay

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Remittances to Kenya Lift Households Out of Poverty

Remittances to KenyaBetween June 2024 and May 2025, remittances to Kenya totaled KES 931.8 billion (approximately $7.2 billion). Recipients spent the largest share of remittance income on food, household goods, education and medical care, a pattern linked to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals covering poverty reduction. Even so, the reported spending patterns do not by themselves prove that remittances caused progress on the SDGs. Behind Kenya’s remittance figures are families like Mohammed Juma’s, who lived better lives thanks to the money they received.

Kenya’s Economic Reality at a Glance

When discussing the economy of a country, dry statistics often obscure the human reality. However, behind every data point lies a real household trying to pay school fees or put food on the table. To understand the weight of a single household remittance, consider the broader financial environment facing families: In 2022, nearly 40% of the population (39.8%) lived below the national poverty line, while 45.48% survived on less than $3 a day. The Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio, which tracks deprivations in health, education and basic living standards, sat at 47.28% in 2022. Between 2015 and 2021, total per capita income dropped by 3.09%, and for the poorest 40% of the population, it fell even faster at an annualized rate of 1.18%. For Kenya’s population of over 56 million people, the overall unemployment rate hovered at 5.4% in 2024, with youth unemployment more than double that at 11.93%.

With nearly half the population experiencing multidimensional poverty and most new jobs anchored in the unpredictable informal sector, financial stability is a daily balancing act for many Kenyan families.

One Wage Abroad Rebuilds a Family’s Future

Mohammed Juma, known locally as Modi, grew up along Kenya’s coast in Kilifi County—a region known globally for tourism. While its attraction makes the coast popular, locals in Kilifi often experience an air of hopelessness because of poverty. Poverty pushes many people out of Kilifi to find better work. Juma’s wife, Aisha, wanted a fresh start. She found a job as a house manager in Saudi Arabia in 2023. A licensed employment agency helped her make the big move abroad. Aisha sends home about $1,200 a month. That money pays school fees for the couple’s two daughters. It also funds eight rental units the family is building for extra income. Juma volunteers at a local community-based organization, where he shares his family’s experience with neighbors who hope for the same kind of opportunity.

The Next Step for Remittances to Kenya

Kenya’s government and financial regulators are working to simplify inflows. The Central Bank of Kenya licensed six new remittance operators over an 18-month period, bringing the total to 24.

Mobile money adoption among Kenyan adults climbed from 27% in 2011 to 92% in 2024.

Fintech platforms carried just 1.92% of remittance inflows in 2024, leaving considerable room for growth as more digital operators enter the market.

Costs remain a barrier to efficient remittances. Sending $200 to Kenya carries an average fee of 9.15%. That is above the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target of 3%.

Digital platforms, mobile wallets and newly licensed fintech operators could help make remittances more accessible to Kenyan households, particularly in rural areas. Initiatives supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the European Union have highlighted the potential for digital remittances to reduce transaction costs and expand financial inclusion. For families receiving money from abroad, even a small reduction in transfer fees could leave more funds available for tuition, livestock or food.

– Otieno Onyango

Otieno is based in Nairobi, Kenya and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Everything You Need to Know About Poverty in Honduras

Poverty in HondurasFor Evelyn Suárez, getting her daughter Alexa healthy required more than medical care. It required finding a way to afford food, transportation and medicine while her daughter struggled with malnutrition. Doctors said Alexa had moderate acute malnutrition and was not gaining weight. After she received care at a UNICEF-backed clinic in El Progreso, Alexa started to bounce back. “Today she walks, runs and has an appetite,” Evelyn said in 2024. Alexa’s experience demonstrates how poverty in Honduras affects health even before families see a doctor. Not having enough money, food or access to transportation can keep families from living a healthy life. Groups like the World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are teaming up with Honduras to tackle these problems. Their efforts focus on nutrition, basic healthcare and social support.

Poverty and Malnutrition Are Closely Connected

WFP says 63% of the population lives in poverty in Honduras, while one in four children under five suffers from chronic malnutrition. The cost of malnutrition is huge – about $618 million a year, or 2.7% of the country’s GDP. For children, not getting enough to eat causes more than hunger. Nearly 19% of children under five in Honduras experience developmental delays due to malnutrition, according to WFP. Families in rural areas have an even harder time getting healthy food and medical help. WFP points to factors like lack of services, inequality, violence, displacement and climate problems as reasons so many people have food insecurity. WFP is helping the Honduran government run nutrition programs, support small farmers and build stronger food systems. These efforts meet urgent needs and help communities prepare for tough times ahead.

Children Often Experience the Impact First

Children growing up in poverty are hit hardest when there is not enough food or healthcare. UNICEF says at least 338,000 children enduring poverty in Honduras need help with nutrition. In just 2023 and 2024, more than 45,000 children under five received support that included food, clean water, hygiene, child protection and cash assistance for families. Alexa was among those children who got help. Her family received cash support, which helped pay for food, bus rides and other basics. Evelyn explained that her husband worked in sugar cane seasonally, so sometimes the family could not afford enough food. The extra money also helped them get Alexa to the clinic. Alexa’s story shows that improving health is not just about building more clinics. Families need the money and support to get to these clinics and keep their kids healthy at home.

Strengthening Healthcare Can Save Lives

Poverty in Honduras often makes it hard to get medical help quickly. For rural families, the nearest health center might be hours away – and travel costs money. PAHO says improving basic healthcare and connecting services are key steps Honduras is taking to boost health for everyone. There is already progress. Between 2023 and 2025, Honduras’ maternal mortality rate fell from 65 to 38 deaths per 100,000 live births, a reduction of 41.5%. PAHO reports that this progress was driven by an integrated territorial response that strengthened the clinical, operational and logistical capacity of the health system, particularly in higher-risk settings. This success shows what is possible when health services reach communities that once had limited access. Investing more in primary care means risks are caught sooner and families get help faster.

Social Protection Can Improve Health Outcomes

Health and money go hand in hand. If families cannot regularly pay for food, buses or basics, even simple medical care becomes a challenge. To help, the Inter-American Development Bank gave Honduras a $75.9 million boost. The program is designed to provide cash to 50,000 of the poorest households and support nutrition and early childhood services for 165,000 children. The program also aims to protect household income from climate, economic and health-related shocks while strengthening services for vulnerable families. By combining cash aid with nutrition and child services, the initiative breaks down many barriers that keep low-income families from getting care.

Building a Healthier Future

Poverty in Honduras remains a major obstacle for families. But programs focusing on food, healthcare and social support are starting to make a real difference. Alexa’s recovery demonstrates these efforts go beyond numbers. With the right treatment and support to buy food and get to the clinic, she went from barely crawling to running and eating on her own. Her story reminds us that health and poverty are intertwined. Fixing one without the other means families might face the same problems all over again. If Honduras continues investing in primary care, nutrition and social support, more families will get what they need – before a health scare turns into a crisis. The country’s progress so far shows that when these services reach people in need, health improves for everyone.

– Mia Lomonaco

Mia is based in Chicago, IL, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay

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The Taliban and the Afghan People: Oppression and Poverty

Taliban and the Afghan PeopleFive years ago, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, dismantling two decades of legal reform and setting aside the country’s constitution in favor of the group’s own interpretation of Islamic law. For the Afghan people, and especially for women and girls, the impact of the Taliban has been severe and, according to a recent report from Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security, unprecedented in the modern era.

A Government Built on Decree

Before 2021, Afghanistan operated under a constitution that balanced Islamic identity with human rights protections rooted in international treaties: no law could contradict Islamic principles, but the legal system was still expected to align with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That framework collapsed after the Taliban takeover. The current government rules primarily through verbal and written decrees interpreting sharia law rather than through codified law, and discrimination based on gender, religious belief and social status has become part of the system itself.

The Taliban’s de facto authorities, referred to internationally as the DFA, have issued more than 100 decrees affecting the rights of women and girls since 2021. UN Women describes the scale of this transformation as without precedent, noting that no other country in modern history has dismantled the rights of half its population so systematically.

The Toll on Women and Girls

The numbers illustrate just how far-reaching the changes of the Taliban have been for the Afghan people. Under current decrees, husbands hold legal authority over their wives, and their disciplinary actions are only criminalized if they cause severe injury. Child marriage remains widespread: in 2023, 28.7% of Afghan women aged 20-24 had been married or in a union before age 18, including 9.6% who had been married or in a union before age 15.

Access to justice has narrowed sharply along gender lines, with only one woman able to reach legal recourse for every four men. Health care has suffered as well. Afghanistan’s maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 638 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, among the highest rates in the world. The psychological toll is just as stark: seven in 10 Afghan women now describe their mental health as bad or very bad.

Education and employment have been hit hardest of all. An estimated 78% of young Afghan women are not in education, employment or training, a level of exclusion that threatens to erase two decades of progress in a single generation.

These figures have fueled criticism of governments and institutions that condemned Taliban policy without meaningfully changing conditions on the ground, a critique that casts doubt on the effectiveness of purely diplomatic responses.

Support for the Afghan People Continues, Quietly

Despite the bleak headlines, international support for the Afghan people has not disappeared. It has largely moved out of the spotlight. The Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and supported by international donors, continues to fund humanitarian projects addressing basic needs, health care and nutrition. In 2025, for example, an AHF grant of $1.39 million supported six sub-health centers and 13 inpatient therapeutic feeding centers in four of the country’s most vulnerable provinces.

Civil society has stepped in where governments have pulled back, especially in education. Afghan girls barred from classrooms are increasingly turning to virtual and underground schooling run by small, often volunteer-driven organizations:

  • AESOP (Afghan Education Student Outreach Project) began in June 2022 with a single class of 19 girls. It has since grown into a program of nearly 600 students taught by close to 100 volunteer instructors, selected from more than 4,500 applicants, offering English, math, STEM and leadership courses. Several graduates have gone on to win scholarships at universities abroad.
  • Afghanistan Education Action, founded by educator Angela Ghayour, grew from the Herat Online School, which she started in 2021. AEA is now a UK-registered charity running three online schools, including one that helps students work toward internationally recognized qualifications. Some of its students have also received scholarships to study at schools and universities abroad.
  • LEARN Afghanistan, founded by activist Pashtana Durrani in 2018, built the country’s first digital school network. Before 2021, it already reached more than 10,000 students through 18 digital schools and trained hundreds of teachers; after the Taliban takeover, it resumed operations covertly within a month rather than shutting down.

Economic empowerment programs are showing effective results. In 2025 alone, UN Women directly supported more than 5,000 Afghan women entrepreneurs, including 940 women-led enterprises and 4,130 women who established income-generating livelihoods, in part through community-based and formal microloan mechanisms.

A Fragile Lifeline

These efforts remain small relative to what could be achieved with sustained government-level backing, and that backing is now at risk. More than half of the women-led organizations providing life-saving services in Afghanistan expect to suspend operations or close entirely within the next year because of aid cuts. That makes continued attention to the Afghan people’s situation more urgent, not less. The organizations working discreetly inside and outside the country have shown that meaningful change is still possible even under one of the most repressive governments. What they lack is not proof of the impact of the Taliban on the Afghan people, but the sustained support needed to scale it.

– Juan Guillermo Rueda Castrillón

Juan is based in Barcelona, Spain and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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The Invisible Aid in Colombia’s Pacific Coast

Aid in Colombia’s Pacific CoastOn Aug. 10, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, killing hundreds and worsening conditions across some of the country’s poorest regions. Humanitarian aid missions have reached Colombia’s Pacific Coast in the weeks since, but their work has largely gone unnoticed by the public. Telecommunications and information networks were fragile before the earthquake and remain so now across most of Valle del Cauca, Chocó, Caldas and Quindío. Citizen movements have pushed for more visibility and faster aid, but how the government and humanitarian groups are actually working to improve conditions on the ground has remained largely unreported.

This reinforces a familiar narrative: that Chocó and Colombia’s other Pacific cities are like “ghost regions.” It is a rough label for a place rich in culture and diversity, home to significant Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities, but long isolated by geography and government neglect. That neglect is highlighted in the statistics. Chocó is Colombia’s poorest department: 66.7% of its residents live below the monetary poverty line, the highest rate in the country, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). Multidimensional poverty, which measures deprivation in education, health care and housing rather than income alone, shows a similar situation: 36.8% of Chocó’s population lives in multidimensional poverty, according to DANE. The earthquake exposed this long-existing gap between Colombia’s Pacific Coast and the rest of the country.

After the Disaster

Since the disaster, the death toll has risen to 331, while 240 people remain missing and around 400,000 people have been affected across 16 of the 32 departments in Colombia. The earthquake has created a nationwide humanitarian and infrastructure crisis, shutting down health, education, information and cultural centers, damaging housing and limiting transportation and communication across the country.

Creating Solutions

According to Gloria Miranda of the Institute for Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action, nonprofit and humanitarian organizations have advanced the response to the disaster in western Colombia. However, private donations and social initiatives are not enough on their own. Miranda argues that the priorities of affected communities need to be written into the government’s political agenda, so aid can be coordinated more efficiently and tracked.

On Aug. 21, German outlet DW criticized the response of President Abelardo de la Espriella’s government. It noted that the presidency’s public messaging diverged from other state institutions on the earthquake’s toll, pointed to a limited government presence in the press, and highlighted Colombia’s hesitation over international aid.

Such hesitation was present in the earthquake’s first days, when the United Nations said it had not received a formal request for assistance from Colombian authorities, even as several governments, including Mexico, Brazil and Chile, offered search and rescue teams. Government officials said they were relying on the country’s own capacity and strict technical certification standards for foreign rescuers, but the delay attracted criticism from disaster-response experts questioning whether caution or politics were driving the decision.

Long-Standing Issues

Buenaventura, a port city of more than 430,000 people, had already struggled for decades with limited electricity, unstable internet and scarce to absent drinking water before the earthquake made those problems worse.

Records from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which has worked in Colombia since 2005 helping refugees, indicate that even before the disaster, more than 9 million Colombians already required humanitarian aid, including those affected by forced displacement, armed conflict, floods and droughts. This reminds people of the tasks of repairing damage from the earthquake and also of reaching communities that were already facing long-standing vulnerabilities.

This organization is currently providing shelter and survival supplies, such as water, hygiene products and mattresses, for those affected in Chocó, along with monetary assistance for shelters and other families in Valle del Cauca. It is also raising funds that will become a substantial form of aid in Colombia’s Pacific Coast.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), present in Chocó for more than two decades, is coordinating with national authorities and United Nations partners to support children and families. Its focus is water, sanitation and hygiene. The goal is to ease public health problems that the earthquake made worse, along with the economic hardship and basic needs many families in these communities already faced.

Building Back

Reconstruction is now underway, and progress is coming from partnerships between companies, foundations and local communities. Grupo Argos and its foundation, working with singer Nicky Jam, are building 1,000 quick-assembly, earthquake-resistant houses nationwide, from which roughly half will go to Chocó, with the first units delivered by the end of September. In Buenaventura, manufacturers Eternit and Corporacero have donated more than 100 houses combined for displaced families, while the construction association Camacol and the Corporación Minuto de Dios are financing 27 homes for families in Chocó.

Some of the new buildings in Buenaventura are being built as stilt houses, adapted to the flood-prone geography that has shaped life along the Pacific coast. These efforts are still small next to the scale of the damage. However, they show what recovery could look like if it reaches the communities the earthquake, and decades of public policy before it, left behind. Making this urgent aid visible is not a matter of publicity, but about keeping Colombia’s Pacific Coast in the national conversation for the future development of the country.

– Juan Guillermo Rueda Castrillón

Juan is based in Barcelona, Spain and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr