Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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5 Charities Helping After the Venezuelan Earthquakes

Nurse holding a clipboard in a hospital hallway, representing healthcare support. Charities Helping After the Venezuelan EarthquakesOn June 24, 2026, two earthquakes with 7.2 and 7.5 magnitudes hit northern and central Venezuela. Since then, more than 3,500 people have died, thousands were injured, and tens of thousands remain missing. Additionally, over 17,000 citizens have been left homeless after the damage and destruction of approximately 59,000 buildings.

Before these earthquakes, Venezuela was already in a state where about 8 million people needed humanitarian aid. The aftermath has caused overcrowding, the spread of disease, and difficulty accessing food and water as thousands attempt to find shelter. This situation has pushed those already in need into a deeper crisis. Multiple charities and organizations, already working in Venezuela, have been able to provide immediate assistance. Here are five charities helping after the Venezuelan earthquakes:

5 Charities Helping After the Venezuelan Earthquakes

  • Project HOPE: Project HOPE has reached 1.2 million people since 2019, providing health and humanitarian assistance in Venezuela. Since the earthquakes, Project HOPE has focused on delivering medical care and supplies, clean drinking water, mental health support, and search and rescue teams where needed. They currently have over 100 staff members in the field, many of whom were already working in Venezuela.
  • Doctors Without Borders: Doctors Without Borders has sent about 50 staff members to respond to the crisis. Their main focus is providing medical care to those injured and sick. They have supplied eight hospitals with the resources to treat around 4,000 patients. They continue to support the country by building mobile clinics offering physical and mental health care, with the first one launched in Naiguatá, La Guaira.
  • The International Rescue Committee: The International Rescue Committee has supported women and children in Venezuela since 2021 by providing primary health care, reproductive health services, and assistance with malnutrition, food and hygiene. In 2025, they helped more than 75,000 citizens. They are currently providing medical care, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene services to those affected by the earthquakes.
  • Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps has impacted over 496,000 Venezuelans since 2019. They prioritize distributing medical supplies, specifically maternal care, and providing cash assistance and entrepreneurship training. During this crisis, they continue to offer cash provisions and support to damaged community health facilities, focusing on basic needs such as nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene. They have delivered sanitation and hygiene kits to 200 children in Caracas.
  • World Vision: World Vision has been providing assistance in Venezuela since 2019, focusing on children. They work with over 2,000 local partners to offer food, water, sanitation and psychological aid across La Guaira, Caracas and Miranda, helping nearly 15,000 people since the earthquakes. They have also established child-friendly spaces for structured play and psychosocial support.

Looking Ahead

Rebuilding and recovery remain critical for Venezuela and its citizens. As charities and organizations continue their efforts, along with international assistance, the support needed is available, making the road to recovery possible.

– Ally Jones

Ally is based in Bethany, OK, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay

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Staying Connected: Indigenous Families in Mexico City

Indigenous Families in Mexico CityIn July 2025, the sound of drums carried across Zócalo as dancers and musicians in traditional prehispanic clothing performed ceremonies marking 700 years since the founding of Tenochtitlan. Families gathered around the square while performers celebrated traditions that long predate the modern capital. Behind them stood the Metropolitan Cathedral, built from the stones of the dismantled ceremonial precinct that once occupied the same ground. The celebration honored the city’s Indigenous foundations while also reflecting something much more current. Indigenous communities continue to shape life in Mexico City despite the pressures of poverty, migration and urban exclusion that many families experience after arriving in the capital.

Strengthening Community Ties

For many Indigenous families, gatherings such as these represent more than a commemoration. They provide an opportunity to strengthen community ties that can come under pressure from economic hardship and displacement. According to the World Bank, Indigenous people across Latin America continue to experience poverty at more than twice the rate of non-Indigenous populations, with Mexico home to one of the region’s largest Indigenous populations. As families move to the capital in search of work or education, community spaces help preserve the relationships, traditions and support networks that remain important long after they arrive.

Year-Round Community Life

The ceremonies in Zócalo lasted only a day, but community life continues throughout the year. Across the city, public spaces host language workshops, artisan markets, traditional dance, communal meals and cultural events that bring Indigenous families together on a regular basis. One example is Mexico City’s PILARES network, which has expanded across the capital to around 300 community centers offering free educational, cultural, sporting and skills-based programs. Alongside workshops and artistic activities, these centers provide places where residents can meet, organize local events and strengthen community ties without financial barriers to participation. During the anniversary celebrations, President Claudia Sheinbaum described Tenochtitlan not as “a dead past,” but as “the living pulse that beats beneath our capital city,” reflecting the continued presence of Indigenous culture in everyday life.

Shared Loss and Memory

Community space also takes shape through shared loss and memory. Across the capital, anti-monuments dedicated to people who have disappeared have become regular meeting places for families, campaigners and neighbors. Relatives return carrying photographs, embroidered names and banners demanding justice for those still missing. These gatherings rarely end when speeches finish. Families exchange legal information, organize future demonstrations, collect donations and support one another through investigations that often continue for years. Places of remembrance become places of practical solidarity as well as public memory.

Visibility and Support

Community spaces cannot remove the inequalities Indigenous families continue to face in Mexico City, but they can make them less isolating. Shared meals, neighborhood events, cultural workshops and public acts of remembrance allow families to exchange practical support while preserving language, tradition and collective memory. They also help ensure that Indigenous communities remain visible in the life of the capital. By the time the ceremonies in Zócalo came to an end, the crowds began to disperse, but the work of sustaining community continues elsewhere. Across Mexico City, shared spaces continue to bring Indigenous families together, strengthening relationships that extend well beyond a single celebration.

– Elliott J Carter

Elliott is based in Mexico City and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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How Trachoma Elimination in Guatemala is Changing Lives

Man and child eating watermelon in Sololá, Guatemala, benefiting from trachoma elimination efforts.“Today I feel very grateful, satisfied, and happy. Now I can do my daily tasks. I used to feel a lot of discomfort and pain,” Manuela Suy Yac told PAHO, a 66-year-old resident of Guineales, a rural community in Guatemala’s Sololá department.

Yac received eyelid surgery as part of a trachoma elimination campaign supported by Guatemala’s Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), and the Government of Canada. After the procedure, she said she no longer feels the constant discomfort that once kept her from her daily tasks.

Yac’s experience reflects Guatemala’s broader efforts to eliminate trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. The country is using surveillance initiatives, health worker training, and regional partnerships to identify remaining cases and prevent future outbreaks in vulnerable communities. Recent efforts, supported by PAHO, Tropical Data, and international partners, focus on strengthening disease monitoring through training and enhanced surveys.

Understanding the Impact of Trachoma in Guatemala

Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease caused by repeated infection with certain strains of the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. If left untreated, the disease can lead to serious scarring of the eyelids over time. In severe cases, the eyelashes turn inward and rub against the surface of the eye, which can result in permanent vision loss. Trachoma occurs most often in communities affected by poverty, where access to clean water and sanitation is limited.

Although trachoma has been eliminated as a public health problem in some countries in the Americas, Guatemala still requires active surveillance to track the disease’s prevalence and identify vulnerable populations. Researchers identified 69 municipalities in Guatemala as very high priority for trachoma surveillance, highlighting where continued monitoring is most needed.

Guatemala Strengthens Trachoma Surveillance

Since 2011, Guatemala’s Ministry of Health, in partnership with PAHO and the Government of Canada, has implemented the SAFE strategy to eliminate trachoma in affected areas (p. 2). These efforts have included antibiotic treatment for more than 75,000 people across 95 communities in Sololá, as well as surgical interventions for more than 100 people between 2019 and 2022 to treat advanced trachoma-related eye damage.

As part of these elimination efforts, the country hosted a regional Training of Trainers workshop in February 2025 focused on expanding surveillance capabilities across regions. Organized by PAHO with support from Tropical Data and funding from the Government of Canada, the workshop trained health professionals to conduct enhanced trachoma surveys and collect additional data to help identify remaining cases. These efforts are designed to improve the quality of surveillance and provide public health officials with better information to guide elimination strategies.

Unlike standard trachoma surveys, the enhanced “plus” surveys include conjunctival swabs and dried blood spot samples, which provide additional information about transmission and exposure. According to Tropical Data, these methods support more integrated disease surveillance by allowing health officials to screen for multiple diseases with a single sample and detect disease patterns across communities. As Guatemala moves toward trachoma elimination, these tools support a more multi-disease surveillance approach to public health monitoring.

Regional Partnerships Expand Elimination Efforts

Regional partnerships have played an important role in supporting trachoma elimination in Guatemala. As reported by Tropical Data, the 2025 training workshop brought together 14 delegates from Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Participants received training they can share with health professionals in their home countries, helping to strengthen surveillance capacity and standardize methods across the region.

Beyond trachoma, these collaborative efforts support broader disease surveillance and elimination goals across the Americas. Tropical Data notes that integrated approaches to disease monitoring improve both the efficiency and the reach of public health surveillance. By strengthening partnerships and sharing expertise across borders, countries can build more sustainable public health systems while working toward the elimination of neglected tropical diseases.

Improving Lives Across Guatemala

The benefits of this work extend beyond improved health outcomes. According to PAHO, restoring eye health allows people to resume daily, economic, and family activities that were limited by the disease. As communities gain greater access to treatment and prevention, trachoma elimination can reduce the burden of preventable vision loss in vulnerable populations.

The progress made so far shows how investments in public health can create lasting benefits for communities. Through continued surveillance, training, and collaboration with regional and international partners, the country is eliminating a disease that has long affected some of its most vulnerable residents. While challenges remain, these efforts are helping move Guatemala closer to a future free from trachoma-related blindness.

For patients like Yac, this work is more than a public health achievement. It represents a personal transformation. Reflecting on the impact of her surgery, she put it simply: “I am free of trachoma.” As Guatemala continues its elimination efforts, stories like hers highlight the life-changing potential of accessible health care and disease prevention.

– Lily Hoch

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

Photo: Pixnio

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Brazil’s Legislative Strategy for Informal Workers

 

Brazil's legislative strategy for informal workersHistorically, Latin American economies have left informal laborers and gig economy workers completely outside state regulatory safety nets. This structural gap traps millions of street vendors, domestic cleaners, and ride-hailing drivers in structural vulnerability. In Brazil, where approximately 37.3% of the workforce operates informally—representing over 38 million citizens—the lack of formal protections historically meant that a medical emergency, an economic downturn, or a sudden vehicular breakdown could instantly plunge low-income families into absolute destitution. However, a major legislative turning point is underway in South America. The Brazilian federal government, through the Ministry of Labor and Employment, has systematically advanced groundbreaking labor frameworks designed to formally absorb informal workers into the state’s social architecture. This proactive strategy provides a scalable blueprint for developing nations worldwide, proving that targeted poverty reduction can effectively align with modern technological growth.

Aligning With Global Progress and the ILO Treaty

Brazil’s transformative domestic policy is moving forward alongside historic international milestones. In June 2026, the United Nations’ International Labour Organization officially adopted its landmark global treaty on platform work, known as the Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention (Convention No. 193). This groundbreaking treaty represents the first time the global community has established a binding international standard to guarantee fundamental rights, algorithmic transparency, and social safety nets for those earning their livelihood via digital platforms. The convention still requires individual member states to ratify it before it becomes legally binding in those countries.

By positioning its domestic laws to align with the June 2026 ILO treaty, Brazil has demonstrated notable leadership on this issue. The synchronization between international guidelines and Brazil’s legislative strategy for informal workers has accelerated the implementation of vital safety nets across the country. Rather than viewing technological innovation as a legal loophole to bypass labor protections, Brazil’s current approach utilizes these modern business models to systematically lift citizens out of precarious financial situations. The shared momentum between Geneva and Brasília ensures that millions of ride-share drivers and couriers now operate under a recognized, legally protected framework that guarantees algorithmic transparency, a predictable baseline income, and clear avenues for legal recourse against unfair platform account deactivations.

The Dual Strategy

At the heart of Brazil’s legislative strategy for informal workers is a sophisticated, dual-pronged strategy that directly addresses the root causes of systemic financial insecurity. The first component focuses on legal enforcement and immediate economic stability. The federal framework introduces a mandatory minimum hourly wage specifically calculated for app-based workers, ensuring that corporate algorithms cannot drive base payouts below a livable standard. Simultaneously, the legislation establishes strict working-hour caps. These caps actively prevent individuals from enduring the extreme exhaustion and hazardous conditions that previously characterized unregulated gig labor, directly fostering a healthier, safer, and more sustainable working environment.

The second component of the strategy secures long-term structural mobility by integrating these newly recognized workers into the official state public pension and maternity benefit systems. Historically, an informal courier or driver had no access to retirement security or paid parental leave. The new system remedies this through an innovative, shared social security contribution model. Under this architecture, digital tech giants are legally mandated to co-contribute to the state social security fund alongside the workers, meaning that companies pay a fixed percentage of the labor costs directly into the social security system to match the individual worker’s inputs.

This model effectively shifts the sole burden of risk away from the individual and shares it with multinational digital platforms. These policy adjustments deliver clear, measurable safety nets for vulnerable households:

  • Guaranteed Retirement: Platform workers accumulate verifiable years of service toward a state pension.
  • Maternity Protection: Female gig workers and domestic cleaners access full maternity benefits, protecting maternal and infant health without risking a total loss of household income.
  • Injury Buffers: Universal coverage provides automated disability and workplace injury buffers, preventing temporary health crises from turning into long-term economic disasters.

The CNPJ Surge and the Decline of Informality

The positive impacts of Brazil’s legislative strategy for informal workers extend far beyond the digital gig economy. Simultaneously, a national surge in registrations within the Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica (CNPJ), Brazil’s official National Registry of Legal Entities, has transformed the country’s broader macroeconomic landscape. By simplifying the registration process and offering clear fiscal incentives, the government has encouraged millions of micro-entrepreneurs, independent traders, and traditional street vendors to formalize their small businesses.

According to data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in 2026, this national wave of formalization has driven the country’s informality rate down to 37.3%, the lowest level recorded in over five years. At the same time, IBGE tracked a historic rise in the usual real monthly earnings of Brazilian workers, reaching an average of 3,652 Brazilian reais (BRL), which represents a 5.4% increase in an annual comparison. Transitioning into the CNPJ registry opens up a vast array of previously inaccessible economic opportunities for independent workers. Registered individuals can now open official business bank accounts, secure low-interest public credit lines through state-backed banks to expand their operations, and issue legal tax invoices.

This shift meaningfully changes the socioeconomic outlook for millions of citizens. By replacing structural vulnerability with institutional legitimacy, the registry acts as an engine for upward financial mobility. It transforms survival-based informal labor into thriving, more protected micro-enterprises.

A Sustainable Blueprint for Global Poverty Reduction

The measurable success of Brazil’s legislative overhaul provides an encouraging template for the global development community. For decades, international organizations combating extreme poverty struggled with the reality that informal economies in developing nations represent a massive, unprotected block of human labor. Brazil’s current trajectory suggests that modern states do not need to choose between technological advancement and human rights; instead, regulatory frameworks can evolve alongside digital platforms.

By successfully absorbing vulnerable populations into the formal state architecture, Brazil is effectively building a stronger defense against sudden poverty. The positive outcomes visible across the country—ranging from stabilized weekly household incomes to comprehensive social protection access for over 38 million citizens—illustrate that targeted legislative action yields significant systemic benefits. As other emerging markets look to address the expanding gig economy, Brazil’s legislative strategy for informal workers stands out as a notable example of progressive, balanced socioeconomic policy.

– Ioana Marin

Ioana is based in Bucharest, Romania and focuses on Business and Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How Auto-Disable Syringes Make Immunization Safer

Auto-Disable SyringesOver the last century, the development of vaccines has greatly reduced the transmission, severity, and fatality of many diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, and influenza. Global immunization efforts have been so effective that in 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared smallpox, which contributed to millions of deaths for thousands of years, to be the first infectious disease to be eradicated. However, this innovation brought a new complication, especially for low-income regions. Due to a lack of funding, many low-income countries struggle with low supplies of needles and syringes, leading to increased unsafe injection practices, such as reusing needles. In 1999, it was estimated that about 30% of immunization injections were unsafe, putting both patients and health care providers at risk of contracting blood-borne illnesses such as Hepatitis B and HIV/AIDS.

Blood-Borne Illnesses in the Eastern Mediterranean

Although cases of HIV in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) have been deemed low for many years, a 2025 scientific review suggests that it is one of the few regions in the world where the prevalence of HIV is rising. In 2025, Saadia Alsomali and colleagues examined several studies on the prevalence of HIV and other blood-borne diseases in Eastern Mediterranean countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Pakistan, and Palestine. The results suggest that between 530,000 and 610,000 people in the EMR were reported to have HIV, and cases of new infections have almost doubled within the last decade.

The prevalence of HIV varies across countries and demographics; however, there are some notable trends. Pakistan has the highest prevalence of HIV in the EMR at 33%, while most other countries in the EMR have a prevalence of less than 10%, below the average of other global regions. The fact that Pakistan is the most populous country in the EMR likely contributes to the high prevalence of HIV. Additionally, marginalized groups such as female sex workers, intravenous drug users, and non-heterosexual men are disproportionately affected by HIV, contributing to 97% of HIV cases in the EMR. Their marginalized status and the lack of accurate information about HIV may contribute to less than 10% of people from these populations being tested for HIV, meaning the true prevalence may be higher. Intravenous drug users are at particular risk of contracting HIV, as only nine out of 22 EMR countries have needle and syringe programs.

How Auto-Disable Syringes Help

Auto-disable needles prevent the transmission of blood-borne diseases via a safety mechanism that locks the plunger of the syringe after one use, preventing reuse and decreasing the risk of accidental needle sticks. These syringes have been a staple of many global immunization efforts because they allow health care workers to immunize large volumes of people safely and reduce the transmission of serious diseases. Also, since many low-income regions lack resources and health care services, auto-disable syringes ensure people living in any region, regardless of socioeconomic status, can be immunized safely.

That is why more nonprofit organizations, such as UNICEF, are incorporating auto-disable syringes into their immunization campaigns. In 1999, UNICEF, as well as WHO and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), released a joint statement affirming their dedication to making immunization efforts safer. Since then, UNICEF has become one of the largest buyers of auto-disable syringes, purchasing about 40% of the global supply. It delivers these syringes to immunization programs in over 90 countries, providing about 800 million childhood vaccinations every year.

Looking Ahead

Auto-disable syringes are an important innovation used in global immunization campaigns. By preventing reuse, these syringes make immunization safer by reducing the risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases such as HIV. Since the risk of contracting blood-borne diseases is especially high in low-income regions and marginalized populations, widespread use of auto-disable syringes can improve health equity around the world.

– Lily Alexander

Lily is based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Rawpixel

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NGOs Working in Syria

Children in a Syrian refugee camp, highlighting NGO humanitarian initiatives. NGOs Working in SyriaThe role of nonprofit organizations (NGOs) working in Syria encompasses a broad range of activities, providing fundamental necessities such as food, water, shelter, and legal aid. NGO-led cash aid has contributed to Syria’s monetary resilience over time. These organizations focus on providing civilians with health care services and psychological support.

Syria’s Demolished Economy

The economy in Syria has suffered a GDP loss of $800 billion over 14 years of conflict. One-third of all housing units were destroyed during the conflict, leaving 5.7 million people in need of shelter support today. Over half of all water treatment facilities and sewer systems are impaired, leaving roughly 14 million people without clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. The conflict has caused 618,000 deaths and 113,000 disappearances. Many lives have been lost due to the collapse of the health system. One-third of the health centers collapsed, and nearly half of ambulance services were impaired. Energy production has dropped 80%, with over 70% of power plants and power lines damaged, diminishing the national grid capacity by more than three-quarters.

British Red Cross Mission in Syria

The British Red Cross is one of the NGOs working in Syria that has assisted over 6 million Syrians since the conflict started in March 2011. The charity has supplied lifesaving aid such as food, blankets, mattresses, and other assistance. The British Red Cross has trained many Red Cross volunteers in Syria. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they provided masks and food packages so families could protect themselves. The British Red Cross helped people in Syria during the 2023 earthquake, which affected 153,000 people, providing emergency cash support for essential household items. The organization stated that they have aided 43,600 migrants with residences and care coordination within the United Kingdom. The British Red Cross is a leading contributor to a $130 million IFRC emergency appeal to provide food, health care, and psychological assistance for those experiencing trauma.

Oxfam Beating Poverty in Syria

The global organization Oxfam has been working closely with local and national NGOs in Syria since 2013 to assist people impacted by poverty and conflict. Oxfam has refurbished wells and pumping stations, sewage, and water supply structures that help more than 490,000 people in Syria. This work includes providing generators to help water pumping methods operate correctly. In March 2025, Oxfam’s partner GOPA-DERD provided 1,000 hygiene products, including soap and menstrual products, to families who lost their homes in Jableh. In July and August 2025, Oxfam provided water by truck to cities near Latakia affected by wildfires and plans to build two water pumping terminals. Oxfam reached more than 92,000 people and spent 844,536 euros on food and living responses between Oxfam KEDV and Oxfam in Syria. They provided cash to 1,000 households to buy food at local markets after wildfires destroyed their agricultural assets.

World Food Programme Support

In 2026, the World Food Programme (WFP) increased its efforts in food assistance for displaced families in North Syria. Areas such as Al-Hasakeh now shelter families in schools and camps. WFP provides date bars, dietary supplements, and food boxes to displaced families in sanctuaries, schools, and Newroz camp in Al-Hasakeh governorate. They have recently resumed food deliveries in Al-Hol camp, aiming to ensure all residents receive two months of food assistance. WFP has also provided support with fortified flour to more than 300 bakeries across the nation, enabling 4 million people to obtain subsidized fresh bread. The organization is spending $189 million in 2026 to stabilize crucial nutrition in Syria, reaching 1.6 million of the most vulnerable people and securing access to affordable bread for millions.

International Rescue Committee Building Hope in Syria

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has over 1,000 staff in Syria providing life-saving medical care, protection, and personalized support to communities. The IRC partners with local and emigration groups to ensure the continuous flow of crucial medicines, supplies, and equipment. The IRC runs classes, counseling, and security services for children in camps and communities, incorporating mental health services into its main work. The IRC has provided more than 166,000 people with access to medical care, including primary and hospital-level health services and care for mothers. They have partnered with the European Union, increasing funding to local partners from 30% to 48%. Finally, the IRC is building household monetary stability with career training, apprenticeships, and small business support for Syrians.

– Ruba Alghurab

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

Photo: Pexels

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The Displacement Crisis in Somalia

displacement crisis in somaliaSomalia, a nation in eastern Africa, faces one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. Somalia is in the throes of a devastating civil war, and the crisis is further exacerbated by disease outbreaks, severe droughts, and food shortages. Due to this immense pressure on social and health infrastructure, poverty and the displacement crisis in Somalia are critical humanitarian issues.

Background on Poverty in Somalia

To achieve a more holistic understanding of these issues and how to alleviate them, the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics and Somalia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs partnered to launch a new Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in 2022.

Multidimensional poverty considers the challenges faced by people experiencing financial poverty as well as those who lack access to adequate educational opportunities, sanitation, electricity or clean drinking water. Under this more holistic approach to poverty, far greater numbers of people living in areas lacking basic infrastructure qualify as impoverished. Overall, approximately two-thirds of Somali citizens face multidimensional poverty.

The Internal Displacement Crisis

Internal displacement is another critical dimension of the crisis in Somalia. The number of internally displaced people has tripled in the last decade due to ongoing armed conflicts and droughts.

There are currently an estimated 3.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia, amounting to roughly 20% of the total population. Further, more than 80% of the IDPs in Somalia are women and children. This striking gender and age-based disparity shows the importance of aid specifically geared toward the most heavily impacted demographics of women and children.

Ongoing Efforts to Alleviate Displacement in Somalia

Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC) is a Mogadishu-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that provides shelter to displaced women and children. The organization pursues this goal by constructing and managing temporary shelters for IDPs and providing non-food item (NFI) kits with a blanket, mosquito net, sleeping mat and other essential items to displaced people.

Further, the United Nations is engaged in active efforts to combat the marginalization of women, children and other minority groups in Somalia. Its action plans aim to alleviate the displacement crisis by working with the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to support displaced populations.

Specifically, these partnered organizations will conduct research to generate accurate gender-relevant data to adequately inform their humanitarian responses and gender-responsive legislation. They also plan to incorporate more representatives of minority groups, including women and youth, to participate in humanitarian and public affairs, largely by supporting and partnering with women-led civil society organizations, NGOs and networks.

Additionally, Somalia’s federal government established the Durable Solutions Unit (DSU) at the Ministry of Planning, Investments and Economic Development. Some central aims of this unit include promoting government leadership in ameliorating the displacement crisis, coordinating across sectors to implement durable and efficient solutions, prioritizing interventions in governmental policy, and raising awareness and funds for lasting solutions. The unit recognizes that Somalia’s displacement interventions must be gender and age sensitive, giving special attention and support to the women and youth who make up the bulk of the displaced population.

The DSU created the Somalia Durable Solutions Progress Survey, which enables the local and federal government to identify and provide aid to more than two-thirds of Somalia’s IDPs. This survey gives the government a more comprehensive understanding of the displacement problem, helping inform how to effectively alleviate it.

Somalia has used the new information gathered from this survey to inform its National Solutions Pathways Action Plan for 2024-2029. Under this action plan, $288,055,732 is allocated to improving employment and livelihood opportunities. A key component of this goal is to promote business development for women, youth and disadvantaged communities, including targeted financial support for startups, finance programs for women’s groups and expanded employment opportunities.

Looking Ahead

Despite the severity of the ongoing displacement crisis in Somalia and its particularly profound impact on women and children, many groups are taking complementary approaches to alleviate it. NGOs such as SSWC provide immediate aid in the form of temporary shelter and emergency kits, while the United Nations and Somalia’s federal government continue working to alleviate the crisis both by providing direct aid to IDPs and by addressing the larger structural issues underlying the crisis.

– Melody Hubbard

Melody is based in Knoxville, TN, USA and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How Solar Mamas Reduce Poverty in Zanzibar

Women assembling solar panels, showcasing Solar Mamas empowerment in Zanzibar. Poverty in ZanzibarAccess to electricity remains a challenge for many families in Zanzibar. According to Power Africa, only half of Zanzibar’s 1.6 million residents have access to electricity. Limited access to reliable energy affects education, health care and economic opportunities, particularly in rural communities. Poverty also remains a significant challenge in Zanzibar. According to the World Bank, about 43% of the population in Tanzania lives below the international poverty line for lower-middle-income countries, making access to affordable energy and stable sources of income especially important. The Solar Mamas program is helping address these challenges by training women as solar engineers who bring renewable energy to underserved villages throughout the archipelago.

What Is the Solar Mamas Program?

The Solar Mamas initiative is part of Barefoot College International, an organization that trains women from rural communities as solar engineers regardless of their age or formal education. Participants complete several months of hands-on training before returning home with the skills needed to install, repair and maintain solar energy systems in their villages. The program focuses on women because they often play central roles in supporting their families and sharing knowledge throughout their communities.

Many rural communities in Zanzibar remain beyond the reach of reliable power infrastructure. Solar Mamas help close this gap by installing solar home systems that provide clean and dependable electricity. Access to electricity allows children to study after sunset, improves household safety and enables health care facilities to provide more reliable services.

The program also reduces families’ dependence on kerosene. Barefoot College reports that some rural households burn as much as 60 liters of kerosene each year for lighting. Replacing kerosene lamps with solar power lowers household energy costs while reducing indoor air pollution, creating both economic and health benefits for families.

Creating Economic Opportunities for Women

Beyond expanding access to electricity, the Solar Mamas program creates new economic opportunities for women. Graduates use their technical skills to install and maintain solar systems while earning an income and strengthening their financial independence. Many participants also train other community members, helping expand local expertise and creating additional employment opportunities.

Reliable electricity also supports local economic growth. Small businesses can stay open later, students have more time to complete schoolwork and health clinics can safely refrigerate medicines and vaccines. Together, these improvements strengthen communities and help create conditions that support long-term poverty reduction in Zanzibar.

Looking Ahead

Barefoot College Zanzibar has demonstrated measurable success since opening its regional training center in 2015. The organization has trained 65 women from Zanzibar as solar engineers. Those graduates have helped bring electricity to 1,858 households across 29 villages, expanding access to clean energy while creating new leadership and employment opportunities for women.

As Barefoot College continues to expand its programs across East Africa, the Solar Mamas initiative demonstrates how renewable energy can do more than provide electricity. By equipping women with technical skills and helping communities transition to sustainable energy, the program is improving education, supporting health care and creating lasting economic opportunities. Its success shows that investing in women and clean energy can play an important role in reducing poverty.

– Violette Bardouil

Violette is based in Paris, France and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How China Plus One is Creating Jobs in Vietnam

China Plus OneOver the past decade, a shift in global manufacturing has quietly reshaped Vietnam’s economy. As companies move to reduce their dependence on a single country for production — a strategy known as “China Plus One” — Vietnam has become one of the world’s favored alternatives. The result is a wave of factory investment that is pulling rural Vietnamese workers into steady, formal jobs and helping drive one of the developing world’s most dramatic reductions in poverty.

What “China Plus One” Means for Vietnam

The China Plus One shift took hold after 2018, when U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods pushed multinational firms to diversify their supply chains. Vietnam, with labor costs roughly half those of neighboring China, a young and growing workforce, and membership in 17 free-trade agreements, positioned itself to absorb the change. It has become a leading destination for electronics, footwear and apparel manufacturing.

The investment figures are striking. In 2024, Vietnam attracted around $38.2 billion in registered foreign direct investment and a record $25.35 billion in actual disbursements, up more than 9% from the year before, with most of it flowing into manufacturing, according to figures from Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment. Much of that capital builds factories, and factories create jobs.

The Anchor: Samsung

No company illustrates the trend better than Samsung. The South Korean electronics giant has invested about $23.2 billion in Vietnam, making it the country’s single largest foreign investor, and now employs roughly 87,000 people across six manufacturing plants. Its footprint is so large that Samsung’s operations accounted for around 13% of Vietnam’s GDP and export turnover in 2024, according to Vietnam’s National Statistics Office. Its network of local suppliers employs tens of thousands more, spreading the benefits well beyond Samsung’s own payroll.

The Role of U.S. Companies

American firms sit at the center of Vietnam’s China Plus One boom. Vietnam is now Nike’s largest manufacturing base worldwide, producing roughly 51% of the company’s footwear, and the factories that supply Nike employ close to 500,000 Vietnamese workers. Apple’s suppliers have followed suit: contract manufacturers like Foxconn now assemble iPads, AirPods and other devices in Vietnam, work that once happened almost exclusively in China. This deepening trade relationship has paid off for both sides. U.S. imports of Vietnamese goods surged more than 360% in the decade to 2023, topping $144 billion, according to U.S. government data reported by CNN.

From Factory Floors to Poverty Reduction

The human impact makes this a development story. Manufacturing jobs have drawn workers out of subsistence agriculture and into the wage economy, often transforming quiet rural provinces into industrial hubs. Regions like Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh, once farming districts, now host sprawling industrial parks that employ tens of thousands.

That transition tracks closely with Vietnam’s broader gains. The World Bank reports that Vietnam’s extreme poverty rate fell from 14% to under 4% between 2010 and 2023, while GDP per capita climbed from under $700 in 1986 to nearly $4,500 in 2023, a rise that export manufacturing largely powered. For millions of families, a factory paycheck has meant predictable income, access to benefits and a path into the middle class.

Why It Matters

The model has real limits. Much of Vietnam’s electronics work remains lower-margin assembly that depends on imported components, and factory towns can suffer when global demand slumps. Analysts note that sustaining progress will require Vietnam to move up the value chain and build domestic capacity.

Still, the core lesson offers hope to advocates of global poverty reduction: integration into world markets, combined with steady investment, can lift large numbers of people into stable work. For Vietnam, China Plus One has been more than a supply-chain footnote — it has been a jobs engine.

– Jen Phan

Jen is based in Hanoi, Vietnam and focuses on Business and New Markets for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How Local NGOs Are Fighting Food Insecurity in Venezuela

Food Insecurity in VenezuelaDespite some signs of economic stabilization in recent years, food insecurity in Venezuela continues to affect many families across the country. Rising living costs and limited household incomes make it difficult for many people to consistently access nutritious food, particularly in vulnerable communities. According to the European Commission, approximately 40% of the population experiences moderate or severe food insecurity, and millions continue to require humanitarian assistance. In response, local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have become an important source of support through community kitchens, nutrition programs and other community-based initiatives.

Community Organizations

Community organizations play an important role in addressing this challenge through a combination of emergency assistance and long-term support. These initiatives combine immediate relief with strategies that help communities become more resilient over time. Community kitchens provide children with regular nutritious meals, while nutrition monitoring programs help identify cases of malnutrition before they become more severe. Many organizations also work closely with parents, volunteers and local leaders, strengthening networks that can respond quickly to families in need. Because these organizations are deeply rooted in the areas they serve, they often identify vulnerable households and tailor assistance to local needs.

Alimenta La Solidaridad

Founded in 2016, Alimenta La Solidaridad partners with local communities to operate community kitchens in neighborhoods facing high levels of food insecurity. Rather than operating as a traditional food distribution program, the organization relies on parents and other volunteers, who open their homes for community kitchens, prepare meals, organize daily activities and help manage each location. Volunteers also help create safe and welcoming spaces where children can receive nutritious meals on a regular basis. This locally led model allows the organization to respond to changing community needs while strengthening participation and shared responsibility.

In addition to providing nutritious meals, Alimenta La Solidaridad offers nutrition education and training for parents and caregivers, helping families build healthy eating habits despite limited resources. According to the organization, it has served more than 22 million meals and reached more than 43,000 beneficiaries through its community kitchens and community-based programs.

While Alimenta La Solidaridad focuses primarily on expanding access to nutritious meals, Caritas Venezuela addresses the issue from another angle by monitoring child nutrition and identifying families requiring immediate intervention. Together, these complementary approaches help address both the immediate and long-term effects of hunger and malnutrition.

Caritas Venezuela

Caritas Venezuela operates the SAMAN nutrition monitoring program, which regularly assesses the nutritional status of children under 5 and pregnant or breastfeeding women across the country. The program identifies cases of acute malnutrition, provides nutritional treatment and generates data that help humanitarian organizations understand where needs are greatest. Children identified with acute malnutrition receive nutritional follow-up and referrals to appropriate health and nutrition services, while the data collected helps humanitarian organizations identify communities where support is most urgently needed.

According to Caritas’ March 2026 SAMAN bulletin, the program assessed 2,486 children and found that 11.1% were experiencing acute malnutrition, while nearly 30% were either acutely malnourished or at risk of becoming so. The report also found that moderate and severe food insecurity had increased substantially among vulnerable households, underscoring the continuing need for targeted nutritional support.

Partnerships Reducing Food Insecurity in Venezuela

While local NGOs lead many community-based initiatives, partnerships with international organizations help expand their reach. The World Food Programme (WFP), for example, works with national and community partners to support school feeding, nutrition and food assistance programs while strengthening local capacities. By combining international resources and technical expertise with the community knowledge of Venezuelan organizations, these partnerships help extend assistance to vulnerable children and families who might otherwise be difficult to reach. According to WFP, its school meals program currently reaches more than 330,000 people across more than 1,100 schools, helping improve children’s nutrition while encouraging school attendance and supporting families in vulnerable communities.

Since resuming operations in Venezuela in 2021, WFP has expanded school feeding programs, supported the rehabilitation of school kitchens and worked with national and local partners to improve access to nutritious food. These partnerships demonstrate how international organizations and locally led initiatives can complement one another.

These locally led initiatives have become even more important as humanitarian funding remains constrained. According to the European Commission, Venezuela’s 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan received only 17% of the funding requested, reducing the resources available for humanitarian assistance across the country. Despite these constraints, organizations such as Alimenta La Solidaridad and Caritas Venezuela continue providing essential services by relying on volunteers, community partnerships and locally based networks. As international resources become more limited, community organizations have become an increasingly important bridge between humanitarian assistance and the families who depend on it.

Looking Ahead

Beyond providing food, these organizations help children remain healthy enough to attend school, reduce the long-term effects of malnutrition and strengthen communities’ ability to respond to future crises. Their work illustrates how locally driven solutions can complement national and international humanitarian efforts. Although these organizations cannot solve food insecurity in Venezuela on their own, they demonstrate the value of locally led solutions during prolonged economic hardship. As Venezuela continues to face economic and humanitarian challenges, sustained support from donors, humanitarian organizations and international partners can strengthen these efforts, helping more children and families gain access to nutritious food, health services and opportunities for a healthier future.

– Natalia Fleith Gelasko

Natalia is based in Berlin, Germany and focuses on Business and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr