Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Innovation Sahara Supports Entrepreneurs in Southern Libya

Entrepreneurs in Southern LibyaIn southern Libya, young people and women face significant barriers to employment. Geographic isolation, limited access to investment and years of political instability have made it difficult for many communities to build sustainable livelihoods. In response, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has supported Innovation Sahara, an entrepreneurship program designed to help people in southern Libya turn business ideas into income-generating projects.

Innovation Sahara focuses on communities in Libya’s southern region, where economic opportunities are often more limited than in larger coastal cities such as Tripoli and Benghazi. The program offers practical business training, including budgeting, marketing and business planning. According to UNDP, more than 110 participants took part in the initiative, including 53 women-led ventures. Of these participants, 60 startups received grants to help launch their businesses, including 23 women-led startups.

Entrepreneurs in Southern Libya

Entrepreneurship can offer an alternative path to employment in areas where formal jobs are scarce. Rather than relying only on public-sector work or outside investment, small businesses allow communities to respond to their own local needs. A successful startup can support one household by generating income. Over time, it can also provide useful services, create products and open new employment opportunities for others in the community. Innovation Sahara in southern Libya is particularly significant for women, as they often face additional barriers due to limited access to finance, fewer professional networks and social expectations that restrict participation in public economic life. By including women-led ventures in training and grant opportunities, the program supports women’s economic participation and helps challenge the idea that entrepreneurship is only accessible to men or to people in major cities.

Libya’s economy has generally depended heavily on oil and public-sector employment. Oil wealth has shaped the country’s economy. However, it has not always produced stable opportunities for young people, especially outside urban centers. Supporting small businesses can help diversify local economies and reduce dependence on a narrow range of income sources. In southern Libya, entrepreneurs are often far from major markets. This distance can make it harder to access investors, customers and business-support services.

The Importance of Skill Development

The project also demonstrates the importance of combining financial support with skills development. Grants alone may not be enough to help a business survive. Entrepreneurs also need to understand how to manage costs, reach customers and adapt their ideas to real market conditions. By offering training in budgeting, marketing and business planning, Innovation Sahara gives participants tools that can continue to benefit them after the initial grant period ends.

However, the long-term impact of the program will depend on whether these startups can survive and grow. Many early-stage businesses struggle after initial funding runs out. Entrepreneurs may still need mentoring, access to larger markets, legal support and continued financing. Infrastructure challenges, political instability and weak private-sector institutions also limit business growth.

From Training to Employment

One example is Hamed Mohamed from Gurda Al-Shati, who used support from Innovation Sahara to develop Akakus Restaurant. Hamed identified a clear local need: his community had few food-delivery options, leaving residents underserved. With the help of the program, he expanded the restaurant and hired 14 people, including chefs, cleaners and delivery riders. His story shows how a small business can respond to everyday community needs while also creating stable employment. In an area where formal job opportunities are limited, Akakus Restaurant demonstrates how entrepreneurship can strengthen local economies from within.

Another example from Gurda Al-Shati is Rahma El Farjani, an architect who previously worked from home. Before joining Innovation Sahara, her limited visibility made it difficult to reach clients and earn a stable income. Through the program’s training and grant support, she established Dalilak for Architectural Services, described by UNDP as the first architectural firm in the region. Her work expands professional services in southern Libya and challenges the idea that innovation belongs only in major urban centers.

Both Hamed and Rahma’s stories show how targeted support can help entrepreneurs turn local challenges into businesses that improve livelihoods and community development.

The program’s focus on youth and women makes it particularly relevant to poverty reduction. When young people are unable to find work, they may face financial insecurity, migration pressures or exclusion from community decision-making. When women lack access to income, households and communities lose an important source of economic potential.

Looking Ahead

Innovation Sahara in southern Libya shows how targeted entrepreneurship programs can help marginalized regions participate in economic recovery. By providing training, grants and visibility to entrepreneurs in southern Libya, the initiative supports people who are often excluded from national economic opportunities. Its success will depend on long-term follow-up, continued investment and the ability of new businesses to create lasting employment. Still, the program offers a hopeful example of how locally driven innovation can improve livelihoods in communities facing poverty, instability and limited opportunity.

– Nina Novillo Astrada

Nina is based in London, UK and focuses on Business and Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Household Microplans in Kerala Addressing Extreme Poverty

Household Microplans in keralaIn November 2025, Kerala declared itself free from extreme poverty, becoming the first Indian state to make such a claim. Officials said the program had reached the most marginalized families through coordination among local bodies, government departments and volunteers.

A Local Approach to Extreme Poverty

Kerala, a state in southern India, has taken a household-level approach to reducing extreme poverty. Instead of relying only on broad welfare programs, the state created individual plans for families facing severe hardship. These plans, known as household microplans, focus on the specific needs of each family, including food, health care, income and housing.

This approach is important because poverty does not affect every household in the same way. Some families may need regular food support. Others may need medical care, identity documents, housing assistance or help finding stable work. Kerala’s model shows that anti-poverty programs can be more effective when they address the real problems each family faces.

Kerala’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Project

Kerala launched the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project in 2021. According to Kerala’s Local Self Government Department (LSGD), the project aimed to identify people experiencing extreme poverty who were outside existing support systems. The department states that the project used local governments, Kudumbashree networks, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, anganwadi workers, residential associations and civil society groups to find families facing the most severe deprivation. ASHA workers are community health workers who connect households with basic health services. Anganwadi workers support early childhood care, nutrition and welfare services at the local level. Their involvement helped the project reach vulnerable families who may not have been visible through official records alone.

The LSGD reported that more than 1.4 million people participated in the identification process. Through this effort, Kerala identified 103,099 people from 64,006 families across 1,032 local institutions. These families were identified based on four main areas of distress: food, health, income and housing.

What Are Household Microplans?

A household microplan is a personalized support plan created for one family. Instead of giving every family the same type of assistance, Kerala looked at what each household specifically needed. For example, one family might need a ration card to access food benefits. Another might need health insurance, disability documents or social security pensions.  This is why household microplans in Kerala have drawn attention as a possible model for other regions working to reduce poverty.

According to Kerala’s LSGD, each family’s situation was studied before special microplans were created. The department also reported that documents and emergency services, including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, disability cards, health insurance and social security pensions, were made available to 21,263 families through the project.

Kerala carried out the project in three phases. According to the LSGD, the first phase focused on food and health care. The second phase focused on sustainable livelihoods and income. The third phase focused on safe and permanent housing.

This structure allowed the state to respond first to urgent needs, such as hunger and health problems, before moving toward longer-term goals like income security and housing. Kerala also used related campaigns to help families access land, housing, documents, educational support and travel benefits, according to the LSGD.

One of the strongest parts of Kerala’s model was local monitoring. According to the LSGD, household needs were recorded in a digital management information system. This allowed local governments and departments to track whether families were receiving the support promised to them.

Kudumbashree, Kerala’s women-led poverty eradication network, also worked as a community monitor and service provider, according to the department. This helped make the project more accountable and reduced the chance that families would be forgotten after being identified.

Kerala’s Poverty-Free Declaration

In November 2025, Kerala declared itself free from extreme poverty. The Times of India reported that Kerala’s Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh said the state had identified 64,006 extremely poor families through indicators such as food security, health, livelihood and housing. He also said each family received a microplan to help connect it with welfare schemes and essential services.

The LSGD also stated that the project was carried out through coordination among local bodies, government departments, missions, voluntary organizations and public participation.

Kerala’s declaration has also faced criticism. Some economists and activists argue that the state has reduced severe destitution rather than fully eliminated extreme poverty. In The Times of India, economist K.P. Kannan argued that Kerala’s list of around 64,000 households differs from other official poverty-related categories, including households covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana food security scheme. Antyodaya Anna Yojana is an Indian government scheme that provides highly subsidized food grains to the poorest households, making it an important measure of severe food insecurity and poverty. However, long-term monitoring remains necessary.

Why This Matters for Global Poverty

Household microplans in Kerala offer an important lesson for global poverty reduction. Many countries have welfare programs, but the poorest families may still be left out. Some households lack documents. Others live in remote areas, face disability or illness, or do not know how to access public services.

Household microplans in Kerala show that governments can improve poverty reduction by combining broad welfare programs with local, household-level planning. Community participation helped identify families who were hard to reach. Personalized plans helped match each family with the right kind of support. Digital tracking and local monitoring then helped ensure that support was delivered.

Even though Kerala’s claim to have eliminated extreme poverty remains debated, its method offers a practical model for other regions. By focusing on individual households, Kerala has shown how anti-poverty programs can become more targeted, accountable and human-centered.

– Nina Novillo Astrada

Nina is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How KOTO Trains At-Risk Youth in Vietnam

Mist-covered mountains and terraced fields in Sapa, Vietnam, showcasing natural beauty. KOTOIn a 180-seat restaurant and training center near Hanoi’s Temple of Literature, young cooks and servers practice a trade that can lift them out of poverty for good. They are trainees at KOTO — short for “Know One, Teach One” — a social enterprise that has spent more than 25 years turning at-risk youth in Vietnam into hospitality professionals. The idea is simple but powerful: pair vocational training with a stable, supportive home, then send graduates into one of the country’s fastest-growing sectors.

Jimmy Pham, a Vietnamese-Australian who grew up in Sydney, founded KOTO in 1999. Returning to Vietnam in his twenties, he met street children who told him they wanted skills to find stable jobs. He opened a small Hanoi sandwich shop and hired nine street kids as its first crew. The venture puzzled local officials, who had no category for a business built to serve the poor — KOTO later became the first legally recognized social enterprise in Vietnam. The shop drew global attention in 2000, when U.S. President Bill Clinton, the first American president to visit Vietnam after the war, made an unannounced stop. RMIT University awarded Pham an honorary doctorate in recognition of his work.

The Model: Skills, Stability and a Second Family

KOTO runs a 24-month hospitality program for young people 16 to 22 years old, training about 150 each year. Trainees choose front-of-house service or commercial cookery and earn an internationally recognized certificate through Australia’s Box Hill Institute. Crucially, the program is entirely free: KOTO covers food, health care and accommodation in a family environment, so trainees can focus on learning rather than survival. Alongside cooking and service, instructors teach English and life skills such as personal hygiene and money management. When trainees finish, KOTO places them in their first hospitality job.

The scale of need explains why the model matters. Vietnamese call children who live and work on the streets “bụi đời,” which means “the dust of life,” and in Hanoi alone an estimated 19,000 young people live on the streets. Many support themselves and their families through hard labor, with limited access to education and real exposure to exploitation and abuse. For at-risk youth in Vietnam, a steady wage often stands between them and those dangers — and the skills to earn one are exactly what KOTO provides.

Breaking the Cycle

The results suggest stable employment can break cycles of poverty within a single generation. KOTO reports that 100% of its trainees secure a job, 33% move into managerial roles and 78% contribute financially to their families. Graduates staff five-star hotels such as Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton and Sofitel, and alumni mentor newcomers so closely that the industry jokes about a “KOTO mafia.” Over 25 years, more than 1,700 graduates — including chefs, managers and entrepreneurs — have come through the program.

Nguyen Thi Thu’s story shows what that can look like. She met Pham at 16, while selling candy to support her mother and siblings, and joined KOTO’s second cohort. Today, she heads training at a multinational corporation, and her sister is a personal chef to an ambassador in Vietnam. Thu calls Pham her “moon” — a source of light and guidance. Pham frames the mission in larger terms, saying he wants to build the next generation of Vietnamese leaders in the industry.

KOTO is now expanding. The Kind Heart Foundation of the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup is helping fund a new training center in Bac Ninh Province that will double KOTO’s capacity to 300 trainees, up from 150. To stay sustainable, KOTO funds its work through restaurant revenue, grants, corporate sponsorship, fundraising and alumni-run services, which reduces its reliance on any single donor.

Looking Ahead

The self-renewing design is the point. For at-risk youth in Vietnam, KOTO offers more than a job — it offers a stable income, a marketable skill and a community that expects each graduate to lift up the next. In a country where tourism keeps growing and skilled hospitality workers stay in demand, that combination can turn a vulnerable childhood into a durable livelihood, and often pull an entire family out of poverty along with it.

– Jen Phan

Jen is based in Hanoi, Vietnam and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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USAID Programs in Mauritania

USAID Programs in MauritaniaMauritania in West Africa is one of the most arid countries on earth. Recurrent droughts push communities into food insecurity and only a fraction of the land is suitable for farming. For rural populations in regions like Guidimaka, simply growing enough food to survive the dry season is a daily struggle. USAID programs in Mauritania worked to change that, through emergency relief, but also by investing in youth employment and good governance programs to increase the capacity of Mauritania to sustain itself. Following the dismantling of USAID in 2025, much of that work now faces an uncertain future. Understanding what these programs achieved matters, as a record of progress and as a reminder of what is at stake.

Mauritania is a vast nation of approximately 5.3 million people in West Africa. Only 0.4% of its land is suitable for agriculture and more than 590,000 people face acute malnutrition during the 2025 lean season alone. Instability in neighboring countries has also deepened the crisis. In addition, Mauritania now hosts 288,000 refugees. This has placed additional pressure on already stretched food and resource supplies.

Feeding Refugees at Mbera Camp

In February 2024, USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance contributed $5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver urgent relief to Malian refugees at the Mbera camp in eastern Mauritania. This aid reached 65,000 food-insecure refugees through cash assistance, while 4,000 malnourished children under the age of 5 and 350 pregnant and breastfeeding women received more specialized, nutritious care.

The results from previous years demonstrate what these investments can achieve. In 2023, WFP reached around 83,400 refugees in the camp with monthly cash distributions, supported by USAID and other donors. Following cuts to USAID, the United States government is still providing food aid through the WFP, meaning these vulnerable communities will still be receiving support.

Investing in Young People

According to UNESCO, “more than 60% of Mauritania’s population is under 25.” Youth unemployment among 15 to 24-year-olds stands at an estimated 23%. USAID’s Nafoore initiative, meaning “add value” in the Fulani language, tackled this directly. The five-year $17 million program, which began in 2022, focused on building economic skills and expanding income opportunities for people aged 15-29 in vulnerable communities.

Alongside Nafoore, USAID also funded the Tamkeen project, meaning “empowerment” in Arabic. This is a $7 million, five-year initiative implemented by FHI 360, a global nonprofit organization aimed at improving public health and human development. Tamkeen built networks of youth and community groups across eight regions of Mauritania, created safe spaces for young people to develop leadership skills and worked to counter the spread of disinformation. Altogether, these two programs represented a serious, long-term investment aimed at improving the country’s next generation.

Strengthening Democracy

USAID programs also supported efforts to strengthen democratic institutions in Mauritania. The Kofo Sugande project, meaning “People’s Choice,” was funded by USAID and implemented by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. This project supported Mauritania’s national electoral commission ahead of its 2023 general elections and the 2024 presidential election, making both more inclusive and accessible to voters. Its long-term aim was to strengthen Mauritania’s capacity to run credible elections independently.

The Cost of Losing This Support

The breadth of USAID programs in Mauritania, spanning emergency relief, food security, youth empowerment, civic engagement and democratic governance, shows how interconnected all of these programs were. Each addressed a different root cause of poverty and instability, and they all reinforced each other.

In 2025, the dismantling of USAID brought many of these programs to a halt. For a country like Mauritania, where the need is acute and homegrown resources are limited, the consequences are serious. The progress made at Mbera camp, in youth centers across different regions and in electoral commissions across the country did not happen by accident. It was the result of consistent, targeted support. Without it, the communities that relied on these programs will be left more exposed and vulnerable than before. Thankfully, through the WFP the U.S. government will still provide food aid to Mauritania, helping those facing food insecurity and malnutrition.

– Gonzalo Rodriguez Da Fonte Martins

Gonzalo is based in London, UK and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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The Growing Need for Mental Health Support in Haiti

Mental Health Support in HaitiHaiti, a Caribbean country that shares an island with the Dominican Republic, faces an unstable government and frequent natural disasters that cause significant damage. Due to its geographical position, the country experiences natural calamities such as floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, leading to food insecurity and instability. Over the years, these challenges have forced many to leave in search of a better and safer life. Haiti is characterized not only by natural disasters but also by armed groups and violent gangs controlling some areas. These conditions have significantly impacted children, women and young individuals.

The Growing Need for Mental Health Support

While the need for medical care, education and food stability is visible and recognized, the psychological and mental health sphere has been significantly ignored. Efforts in social services, including mental health support, are essential. More than one in five Haitians face serious mental health challenges, and these conditions have led to increased stress, psychological issues, sleep problems, anxiety and depression, creating an immediate need for mental health support in Haiti.

Organizations Working for Mental Health in Haiti

The 2010 earthquake triggered a humanitarian crisis, affecting Haitians both in the country and in the U.S. due to relocation and cultural adjustment. The uncertainty and new challenges faced by Haitians, especially migrants, created a demand for mental health support. Haiti is one of the countries with the largest number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating for its recovery. In recent decades, especially after 2010, organizations such as Rebati Santé Mentale (RSM) have rushed to provide mental health support. RSM offers clinical services in the country and to the Haitian diaspora in the U.S., along with consultation and training on mental health for government agencies, schools, health care systems and community-based organizations. RSM is also dedicated to educating on the importance of mental health in well-being and the creation of stable communities. The nonprofit organization researches culturally sensitive mental health support in Haiti, contributing to a shift in global understanding.

The mental health support crisis extends beyond Haiti, affecting Haitian emigrants globally. Gemima St. Louis and Gina Dessources Benjamin address this by supporting Haitian communities in the U.S. through the Haitian Mental Health Network, which respects cultural values and language while promoting awareness of mental health illnesses and paths to wellness.

Looking Ahead

NGOs, organizations and movements continue to highlight and address this emergency. The issue is not limited to Haiti but affects Haitian migrants worldwide. As awareness grows and culturally sensitive approaches expand, sustained investment in mental health services remains essential to the long-term recovery and well-being of Haitian communities both at home and abroad

– Ilaria Alberti

Ilaria is based in Dublin, Ireland and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Food Systems in Costa Rica: Advancing Nutrition Accessibility

Food Systems in Costa RicaCosta Rica is a hotspot of global biodiversity, containing 5% to 6% of all estimated species life on Earth despite being only 51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi), or 0.03% of the world’s landmass. Bordered by Nicaragua and Panama, it in fact ranks third among the smallest countries in Central America, leaving the country little to work with.

Costa Rica was traditionally an agrarian export-based economy, supplying coffee, bananas and cocoa to countries around the world. However, from private-public industry diversification and policy adaptation leveraging Free Trade Zones, it is now has become one of Latin America’s largest high-value services and high-tech manufacturing providers. In short, Costa Rica is very different from the narrative one might expect. It is a modernized powerhouse, featuring growing population density, declining birth rates, steady immigration inflow and a population overwhelmingly concentrated in urban areas. It is a competitive high-income economy, particularly stark as the only OECD country in Central America, concentrated into a small biodiverse and climate-prone geographic area.

The same is true of food systems in Costa Rica. With all these factors at play, Costa Rica has faced a difficult task in achieving a robust and interconnected network of farm to fork food production and distribution in its food systems. However, rejecting assumptions once more, Costa Rica has continued to rise above expectations in developing globally-leading food system strategies.

Food Insecurity Solutions for Underserved Communities

Despite Costa Rica’s high-income status, many households still experience strong impacts from poverty. About 18% of households across the country lived in poverty in 2024, with an additional 4.8% living in extreme poverty conditions. Economic inequality has also increased according to measures of Costa Rica’s Gini coefficient (a figure which evaluates wealth distribution among a population), made even more starkly apparent by almost a third of all Costa Rican children experiencing poverty or extreme poverty conditions.

The country has worked heavily to expand food accessibility to more rural communities through the national initiative “Empowering Communities in Sustainable Agri-food Systems,” a program that the SDG Fund and UNICEF and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement supported. Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health found that food insecurity in 2020 impacted 11.76% and 22.65% of households in the cities of Buenos Aires and Guatuso respectively. Efforts have therefore been especially focused on working to assist these hard-hit cities and rural communities surrounding them, in addition to reducing overall food insecurity from a national average of 16.42% of Costa Ricans without clear or quality food.

Community and Government Coordination

Multisectoral partnerships among government and community bodies are have also been a key focus of the SUN Movement, with agencies responsible for agriculture and health working alongside local governments and community organizations to create more realistic and community-centered approaches to nutrition awareness.

The SUN Movement’s efforts have trained more than 180 Costa Ricans in nutrition-awareness activities through the SUN Movement’s efforts. SUN has additionally been effective in helping to integrate integrating community-led food strategies into formal national policy, revitalizing the national food and nutrition body Secretaria de la Politica Nacional de Alimentacion y Nutricion (SEPAN) and aiding EU4SUN and Universidad EARTH to expand early childhood nutritional access and integrate Mesoamerican farming traditions into the National Plan for Sustainable and Healthy Gastronomy. Ultimately, the initiative hopes to improve agri-food system governance, sustainable production practices and Costa Rican eating habits with strategies encompassing the often-overlooked role of women, children and indigenous peoples in creating change.

Affordability and Accessibility Policy Problems

Some have still raised concerns regarding the affordability of nutrition, however, even as the Costa Rican government works to meet the United Nation (UN)’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A 2024 UN report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World found that an average healthy diet in Costa Rica costs $4.56 per day, 60 cents higher than the worldwide average. Costa Rica also features some of the highest rates of obesity in Central America due to cheap and accessible modern ultra-processed foods, underscoring the complex web of challenges Costa Rica faces in ensuring not just food access but complete quality nutrition in its food systems.

To address these issues, Costa Rica has tried innovative new approaches. In 2023, the Costa Rican government implemented a value-added tax (VAT) on food with explicitly defined positive nutritional content, becoming the first country in the world to attempt basic tax basket reform meant to encourage more balanced dietary improvements. While not entirely successful, the 2023 VAT and its subsequent 2024 amendments represent a conscious and continuous effort to address longstanding nutritional issues in the country, especially for lower-income populations more highly affected by incomplete food systems.

Costa Rica’s Robust Environmental Sustainability Efforts

Even while addressing affordability, nutritional program implementation and economic shifts away from agriculture in its food systems, Costa Rica is notably still conscious of environmental sustainability. Given the country’s diverse topography and biological life and its high concentration of volcanic sites, Costa Rica has historically been a global leader in leading environmentally sustainable climate action, despite even with agriculture accounting for more than a third of the country’s land use and a seventh of its overall employment.

Several plans, namely Costa Rica’s National Climate Change Adaptation Policy (2018-2030), National Development Plan (2019-2022) and National Decarbonization Plan (2018-2050), present the country’s ecological and environmental adaptation and carbon neutrality ambitions. Costa Rica has also developed national low-emission livestock, coffee and banana production strategies, export industries which the country still relies on heavily. It has involved significant partnerships, most notably SCALA, or Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture, a 2020-2028 joint initiative by the UNDP Climate Change Adaptation and the Food and Agriculture Organization to develop low-carbon farming systems for the country’s beef and coffee sectors.

In addition, Costa Rica has innovated sustainable direct interventions to great success. The Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) program of 1997, which provided financial incentives to landowners to protect forested area, has resulted in a net negative to deforestation countrywide. Digital traceability has been improved by a $120 million initiative to modernize 10,500 small and medium agricultural producers, allowing for digital registration systems and food-tracking networks. Methods like crop rotation, companion planting and natural repellents, polyculture planting and indigenous natural nutrient cycling have all been practical strategies advocated for long-term sustainable farming.

An Optimistic Food System Future

Costa Rica’s food system combines an urbanized population and a strong agricultural export economy with ambitious sustainability goals. Despite challenges in rural food insecurity, nutritional accessibility and climate and environmental concerns, the country has managed to develop strategies focused on creating a more sustainable, healthy and resilient food system that supports both people and ecosystems. With a clear commitment to using community, policy and environmental solutions to drive change, Costa Rica appears well-suited to solving its food system shortfalls with a variety of effective and concrete means.

– Matthew Hecomovich

Matthew is based in Santa Clara, CA, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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How 3D Printing Can Be a Resource for Developing Countries

3D Printing Can Be a Resource
For educational purposes, healthcare treatments and local production, learn why 3D printing technology is a resource for developing countries.

Across many developing countries, progress can stall when essential systems lack funding, materials, or reliable access to specialized tools. Advanced technology cannot erase those barriers on its own, but it can give communities new ways to act. 3D printing can be a resource when organizations know how to leverage this technology.

Local Production Reduces Delays

Shipping costs, customs delays, limited storage and uneven supplier access can slow a simple repair. Those delays place extra pressure on communities that already stretch equipment and materials across many users.

Instead of waiting for every small object to arrive from far away, trained teams can produce selected parts using a 3D printer and digital designs. A repair component for a water system or a teaching model for a classroom becomes easier to replace once production moves closer to daily life.

Health Systems Gain Practical Tools

Health systems in developing countries often work with limited equipment and long replacement timelines. A rural clinic may not have the tools to print complex medical devices. It may still benefit from basic models, simple supplies or selected lab items that support routine care. 

The National Library of Medicine describes 3D printing as a potential way to produce basic medical supplies, laboratory equipment, anatomical models and prosthetic limbs in developing countries. These uses place 3D printing in a supportive role within existing health systems. The technology expands what trained professionals have available for care, planning and problem-solving. While it cannot replace clinical judgment or formal medical infrastructure, health workers gain a practical resource when supply gaps limit what they can provide.

Rapid Prosthetic Production in Uganda

Children who needed prosthetic support in Uganda faced long production timelines because clinics relied on manual methods and limited specialist capacity. That delay kept patients in the hospital for extended periods and made timely mobility support difficult to provide. 

Through 3D PrintAbility at CoRSU Hospital, clinicians tested a process that used 3D scanning, digital design and 3D printing to produce prosthetic sockets and braces for children. The technology did not replace trained orthopedic professionals. Instead, it gave them a fast workflow that fit the needs of a resource-limited clinical setting.

CoRSU reported that prosthetic socket production time dropped by as much as 70%, from five days with conventional manual methods to 1.5 days with 3D PrintAbility. That improvement shows how 3D printing can strengthen care when local teams receive practical tools that support existing medical work.

Medical Training Improves

Medical education depends on strong instruction, repeated practice and access to clear learning materials. In many settings, students learn anatomy through textbooks or flat digital images because advanced simulation tools cost too much. Those resources still teach important concepts, but they can make depth and proportion difficult to judge.

Printed anatomical models address that gap. A student can study the shape of a bone or organ from multiple angles while connecting structure to function. Then, a clinician can use the same type of model during a patient conversation, so an unfamiliar diagnosis becomes easier to understand.

Education Turns Problems Into Projects

Students and researchers can use 3D printing to connect technical learning with public service. A classroom project becomes more meaningful when it responds to a local challenge. A university lab can test a low-cost teaching tool, then improve the design after a school or clinic explains how it works in practice.

That exchange strengthens both sides. Students learn that design begins with listening. Researchers gain insight from community partners who understand daily conditions better than outside observers. The finished object matters, but the shared process builds people’s problem-solving skills.

Innovations With Global Value

A printer alone cannot overcome weak infrastructure or limited public funding. Strong programs begin with people who understand the setting. Local technicians, educators, clinicians and community organizations should guide decisions about what to print and how to maintain the equipment.

Long-term success also depends on training that fits local capacity. Programs should account for the difficulty level of learning 3D printing before they introduce new equipment. With steady instruction, repair knowledge and realistic goals, 3D printing can be a resource that supports community-led problem-solving instead of creating another unused technology project.

– Kelly Schoessling

Photo: Flickr

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Higher Education for Refugees: A Scholarship for Women

Higher Education for RefugeesA refugee child is far less likely than almost any other young person to set foot in a university lecture hall, and a refugee young woman is least likely of all. Globally, just 9% of refugee youth are enrolled in higher education, compared with a global average of about 42%. One program has spent more than three decades expanding higher education for refugees, and it is now reaching more women than at any point in its history.

A Narrow Door to University

The barriers to higher education for refugees stack quickly: prohibitive tuition, legal restrictions, language obstacles and the simple cost of survival taking priority over study. Women face an additional layer. For every 10 refugee boys enrolled in secondary school, only seven girls are enrolled, which narrows the pool that can reach university at all.

The result is a sharp loss of potential. Refugee girls who leave school early are more likely to marry young, less able to support themselves and their families and less able to take part in rebuilding their communities. Higher education offers a route in the other direction, toward employment, self-reliance and leadership, but only for those who can reach it.

The Scholarship Built for Refugees

The Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative, known by its German acronym DAFI (Deutsche Akademische Flüchtlingsinitiative Albert Einstein), exists to widen access to higher education for refugees. Funded primarily by the German government and administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 1992, it provides full university scholarships to refugees in their countries of asylum, covering not only tuition and fees but also books, transport, accommodation and health care. Since its founding, the program has supported more than 27,200 refugee students across 59 host countries.

DAFI does more than pay fees. Scholars receive academic tutoring, language support, mentoring and networking, and many graduates return to guide the next cohort. In Burundi, for example, former scholars run the DAFI Women Power Club, a mentoring initiative led by refugee women determined to help younger women into higher education. Grace, a public health graduate from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who served as president of the club, frames the mission plainly: “We still have to fight the idea that an educated woman will not make a good wife. But we keep moving forward and mentoring younger refugee girls and women who come after us so that they can become leaders and have some impact in this world.” That model of women lifting women is now central to the program’s approach.

A Record Year for Women

The focus on women is producing measurable results. In 2024, women made up 45% of all DAFI scholars, the highest share in the program’s history, up from 42% the year before, and 60% of newly awarded scholarships went to women, a sharp rise from 40% the previous year. The gains came from targeted outreach in places with the widest gender gaps. In Ethiopia, female enrollment rose by 14%, with women making up more than 75% of new scholars, supported by tutoring, outreach and financial aid for girls still in secondary school.

Kenya shows both the need and the model at work. The country hosts more than 774,000 refugees and asylum seekers, with the camps at Kakuma and Dadaab home to tens of thousands of school-aged children. There, the DAFI program is run on UNHCR’s behalf by Windle International Kenya, which prioritizes girls and women in its scholarship awards to address the gender gap directly. Yet the access gap remains stark. Across refugee settings, fewer than one in 10 eligible young people reaches higher education at all, and in camps like Kakuma and Dadaab the share has long been smaller still.

Progress Against a Funding Headwind

DAFI is the largest and longest-running source of higher education for refugees. That reach now faces a serious threat. In 2024, the number of DAFI scholars fell to 7,890, down from a record 9,312 in 2023, the first decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by shrinking global humanitarian funding. Demand has not fallen with it. In 2024, around 5,000 applicants competed for just 879 new scholarships, meaning fewer than one in five was accepted.

New efforts are trying to hold the line. In 2025, USA for UNHCR launched the Building Better Futures campaign, which aims to raise $15 million by 2028 to fund 1,000 scholarships for refugee women and had already secured $3.1 million in lead gifts.

Keeping the Door Open

DAFI alone cannot close the refugee education gap, and the funding pressures are real. Even so, refugee enrollment in higher education has climbed from 1% in 2019 to 9% in 2025, and DAFI remains one of the few avenues through which a refugee woman can earn a degree at all. When a young woman in a camp like Kakuma reaches a university lecture hall, the effect reaches further than her own life, into her family and the community she will one day help rebuild. Sustained investment is what will keep it open for the next young woman in line.

– Amna Al Harrazi

Amna is based in Dubai, UAE and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

Free Maternal And Newborn Care in Mali

A woman in traditional attire holds her newborn baby lovingly. Maternal And Newborn Care in MaliFree maternal care in Mali has become a reality. In a country where nearly half the population lives below the national poverty line, the cost of a prenatal consultation has long stood between a mother and the care she needs. The program launched in December 2025 is dismantling that barrier, and results are already visible.

The Weight of Poverty on Motherhood

Mali ranks among the world’s poorest nations. According to World Bank data, 43.3% of Mali’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2024, while the United Nations Development Programme’s 2024 Multidimensional Poverty Index estimates that 68.3% of Malians face deprivations across health, education and living standards simultaneously.

For pregnant women in Mali, poverty is not just an inconvenience but life-threatening. Mali’s maternal mortality ratio stands as high as 562 deaths per 100,000 live births, and more than 80% of those deaths are preventable. Research shows that educated women have significantly higher odds of attending antenatal care, delivering in a health facility and continuing with postnatal care. The majority of health care financing in Mali relies on out-of-pocket payments, making user fees a major barrier for vulnerable populations, especially pregnant women.

The consequences fall hardest on rural communities where conflict in Mali’s central and northern regions further limits access to care and where women face the longest distances to health facilities.

A New Model for Financing Care

In August 2025, Mali’s Ministry of Health, through its Health System Strengthening Unit (UMRSS), and Muso, a global health nonprofit founded in 2005, signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing Muso’s role as the independent verification agent for a new Direct Health Facility Financing (DHFF) program, supported by the Global Fund.

The program, launched in December 2025, covers 53 community health centers, 37 in the Kayes region and 16 in Bamako. Under the DHFF model, pregnant women up to 42 days postpartum and newborns from birth to 28 days receive care entirely free of charge. Health facilities receive performance-based funding directly, linking payments to verified results rather than patient fees. This approach strengthens accountability, removes financial barriers and expands equitable access to essential maternal and newborn services.

Muso’s Role: Verification With Accountability

Muso’s role as the independent verification agent is central to the program’s integrity. The organization confirms performance indicators, calculates subsidies for each health center, ensures targeted patients receive free care, follows up on corrective actions and submits comprehensive verification reports to UMRSS.

Founded in 2005, Muso has partnered with the Malian government since 2008, designing, testing and scaling strategies to remove barriers to early care. Muso currently reaches more than 330,000 patients in Mali through its Proactive Care, in which Community Health Workers (CHWs) actively search for patients door-to-door, provide care at home and evacuate the sickest patients to government health centers, all at no out-of-pocket cost.

Research has documented that communities in Mali previously recorded some of the world’s highest child mortality rates. However, with Muso’s Proactive Care, communities achieved and sustained the lowest child mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa. It currently supports the Malian and Ivorian governments’ national efforts to connect their 45 million citizens with rapid, evidence-based health care.

Impact of Free Maternal Care in Mali

The impact of eliminating fees has been immediate. Since the rollout of free care in December 2025, prenatal consultations have increased sharply across the 53 covered health centers. This is a direct reflection of what happens when cost ceases to be an obstacle. Women who previously could not afford to seek care now arrive at health facilities. Some come with family support for the first time. Others no longer face the permission barriers that poverty and cost once created.

Mothers and newborns now feel more protected, and the data is beginning to reflect that shift.

Globally, nearly 800 women died every day in 2020, about one every two minutes, and the world is not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 69% of global maternal deaths, with pregnancy-related causes remaining the leading cause of death among African women aged 15 to 29.

Mali’s DHFF program represents a direct response to that crisis by recognizing that poverty must not determine whether a mother survives childbirth. By channeling funds directly to facilities, tying payments to independently verified results and eliminating fees at the point of care, the program is building a model that could scale across Mali and beyond. For the mothers and newborns of the Kayes region and Bamako, it is already making a difference.

– Joy Kohol

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

Photo: Pexels

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Poverty and Higher Education in Madagascar

Higher education in MadagascarIn Madagascar, reaching university is an opportunity available to very few young people. Poverty, weak learning and school dropout prevent many students from completing secondary education. Others must work to help their families. However, higher education in Madagascar could give people the skills needed for secure employment. Education can also train the professionals needed to improve health care, education, agriculture and other essential services. Madagascar has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, with 75.2% of the population living below the national poverty line in 2022. The poverty rate reached 79.9% in rural areas. Expanding access to higher education could help address poverty.

Higher Education and Poverty Reduction

Higher education can prepare students for skilled and better-paid work. Universities and technical colleges train teachers, doctors, engineers, researchers and business professionals. These workers can earn more stable incomes and provide financial support to their families. By earning regular wages, graduates may be better able to pay for food, housing, health care and their children’s education, reducing the risk that poverty continues from one generation to the next. Their skills can also benefit the wider community.

Agricultural specialists can help farmers improve production and respond to climate change, which can increase food security and raise rural incomes. Health workers can improve people’s ability to remain healthy and work, reducing the financial pressure caused by illness.

Engineers and technology specialists can improve infrastructure, water systems and local services, making communities more productive and resilient. Teachers can strengthen the education system for future generations, helping more children gain the skills needed to escape poverty.

Graduates may also establish businesses and create jobs for other people, increasing local incomes and economic activity. However, university courses should meet the needs of employers and local communities. Practical programs in areas such as agriculture, health, tourism, manufacturing and technology could prepare students for available work. Internships and apprenticeships could also help graduates move from education into employment.

For many children, the barriers to university begin in primary school. Madagascar’s learning poverty rate is estimated at 94%. Most children cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10. Without basic reading, writing and mathematics skills, children are more likely to repeat grades or leave school.

Dropout is another serious problem. UNESCO has reported that children entering primary school have only a 33% chance of reaching its final grade. As a result, many students leave education before they can enter secondary school.

Poverty makes continuing education especially difficult. Families may need to pay for uniforms, materials, meals and transport, even when tuition is free. Private education is even less accessible due to the additional fees. Rural students may also live far from the nearest secondary school.

Some children leave school to work. International Labour Organization (ILO) data show that 29.8% of children ages 5 to 17 were involved in economic activity in 2018. Many work in agriculture, fishing, domestic service or other informal jobs. Although their earnings may help their families in the short term, work can limit the time and energy available for education. Leaving school without qualifications can then keep young people in insecure and poorly paid employment.

Helping Students Reach Higher Education

Financial assistance is one way to break this cycle. Scholarships, free materials, school meals and transport support can reduce the costs faced by poor families. Cash transfers may also reduce the pressure for children to work. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Madagascar’s Let Us Learn program provides a successful example. The initiative supports vulnerable students as they move from primary to secondary school, a stage when many children are at risk of dropping out. It operates as a cash-transfer supplement for families with children ages 11 to 18, helping them cover school-related costs and reducing the need for children to work.

The support is linked to continued school enrollment, so families receive financial help while children remain in education. In some cases, the money is paid regularly, such as every two months, and families can use it for expenses like school supplies, transport, food or other household needs that affect a child’s ability to stay in school. Its cash-transfer program increased overall enrollment by 7% among children ages 11 to 14. Among girls in this age group, enrollment rose by 13%.

Creating a Path Out of Poverty

Higher education alone cannot end poverty in Madagascar. Financial aid at university level is important, but it comes too late for many students. Children often need support from their first years of primary school.

Programs such as Let Us Learn show that targeted help can keep vulnerable students in school. However, long-term progress will require investment in early education as well as scholarships and university places. Expanding higher education in Madagascar begins with ensuring that children receive a strong education from their earliest school years. By improving basic learning and supporting students throughout their education, Madagascar can give more young people a real chance to reach university, gain secure employment and help reduce poverty in their communities. Helping citizens access higher education is also an investment in Madagascar’s long-term effort to reduce poverty.

– Nina Novillo Astrada

Nina is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr