Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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How Diego González Rivas is Fighting Poverty With a Mobile Surgery Unit

Mobile Surgery Unit
Diego González Rivas is a doctor from Galicia, Spain, who has become globally recognized for his skills as a thoracic surgeon. With 15 years of experience, his surgical feats have garnered him attention. González Rivas is the first doctor in the world to successfully perform uniportal anatomical resections using VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery). He addresses lung cancer, tumors and other life-threatening health complications. Equally impressive as his work is his dedication to sharing his knowledge, resources and skills through education and a mobile surgery unit.

Diego González Rivas Foundation

The Diego González Rivas Foundation is the catalyst for taking González Rivas’ skills to the next level. Alongside international collaboration and the support of six partners, the foundation attributes much of its success to the work of director Carla Salgado Fernández. Fernández has supported the financial growth of the foundation, raising money to continue their work in hospitals and their research in the latest science. A key component in González Rivas’ philosophy and the success of the mobile surgery unit is to keep incisions as small as possible. Thus, patients experience faster recovery times and a decreased risk of infection.

Taking Skill and Success Global

González Rivas expanded his efforts by making it possible to bring “advanced surgery to remote regions” where people live without access to adequate healthcare. The mobile unit aims to deliver advanced thoracic surgery to areas where hospitals may lack the equipment and resources necessary for complex procedures. By providing free surgical care in underserved settings, the foundation aims to reduce barriers to specialist treatment.

The mobile surgery unit has demonstrated how innovation in surgery can bypass geographic and socioeconomic barriers and how the collaboration of surgeons and new technologies can improve quality of life.

Research and Surgical Innovation

Separate from the mobile surgery program, the foundation lists artificial vision, augmented and virtual reality, nanotechnology and robotic surgery among its research and development areas. These projects explore technologies that may improve surgical precision, training and treatment. The foundation’s mobile unit is equipped to perform minimally invasive Uniportal VATS procedures in underserved settings.

Success in Ghana

In Ghana, González Rivas’s team and the mobile surgery unit have witnessed great success. In a region where thoracic surgery is “practically non-existent,” González Rivas and his team provided the “only hope for many people.” They were able to save lives, many of whom faced no alternatives. The team treated patients with conditions including aspergilloma and pneumothorax, demonstrating that complex minimally invasive thoracic procedures can be delivered through the mobile unit.

The mobile surgery unit has expanded access to specialist thoracic care for patients treated during its missions in Ghana and has also supported collaboration with local medical teams.

– Stella Corbin

Stella is based in Newark, Delaware, United States and focuses on Good News, Technology and Solutions, and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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10 Ways Smart Cities in India Transform Urban Lives

Smart Cities in India
The country with the largest population in the world, India faces overcrowding and pressure on infrastructure and services in urban areas. However, the government launched the Smart Cities Mission in 2015, which has set up Integrated Control and Command Centers (ICCCs) in more than 100 cities, spearheading a data-driven approach to urban problems. This initiative has aided the urban population by remodeling urban spaces and increasing access to basic services. Here are 10 ways in which smart cities in India transform urban lives.

1. Traffic Management

By integrating data from disparate systems like traffic camera footage and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, ICCCs manage traffic congestion in real time. In Agra, a densely populated city in India, the incorporation of Adaptive Traffic Control Systems (ATCS) and Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) into its ICCC optimized green light timings, decreasing waiting time on the road.

The data collected through ICCCs has increased the efficiency and reach of public transportation networks. Bus services in both Aurangabad and Surat have grown to cover over 40 routes. Improvements in traffic management and public transport enable urban citizens to commute safely, efficiently and affordably, reducing the stress and hassle of daily travels.

2. Upgrading the Water Supply Network

The World Bank Group estimates that water stress affects around 600 million people in India. However, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems have expanded access to clean water in Smart Cities. These systems, within the cities’ ICCCs, monitor water levels and detect leakages in real time, facilitating effective water distribution. Ahmedabad has produced an additional water supply of more than 50 million liters per day, serving 150,000 more people as of 2023. Through smart technologies, India maximizes the use of its available resources to meet the demands of a large urban population.

3. Self-cleaning Toilets

The number of people practicing open defecation has dropped from 500 million in 2014 to 75 million in 2023, demonstrating an improvement in public hygiene over the years. The installation of self-cleaning toilets equipped with automated flushing and cleaning systems in numerous smart cities in India, including Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Prayagraj, has sanitized public spaces and toilet facilities. Additionally, the construction of smart toilets both generates revenue for local entrepreneurs and increases their involvement in community infrastructure.

4. Converting Waste to Energy

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, from 2021 to 2022, close to half of urban India’s solid waste generated per day was untreated. However, waste-to-energy initiatives have simultaneously tackled solid waste management and boosted energy output. This shrinks the size of landfills, lowering the risk of contaminating the surrounding environment, and adapts to rising demands for electricity in urban areas. Jabalpur’s innovative Waste-to-Energy plant generates electricity by burning solid waste, powering more than 18,000 homes and saving 4.4 hectares of land.

5. Providing Housing

Urban areas in India suffered from a housing shortage of an estimated 1.5 to 2 crore units in 2025. Smart cities in India have been assisting the urban poor through the provision of affordable housing, along with basic amenities. This allowed Surat to build higher quality homes accompanied by sewage treatment and biowaste converter facilities, decreasing the area of slums by 14% from 2002 to 2022.

6. Incubation Centers

Incubation centers support startups involved in emerging technologies like AI and blockchain. Technical and financial assistance, including data sharing and the provision of modern workspaces, equip startups with the tools they need to thrive. These startups have then created more than 1,500 direct and indirect jobs, helping Smart Cities in India keep up with and prosper from new technological developments.

7. Smart Cards

Eighteen Smart Cities have improved their financial services through the implementation of smart cards. This allows citizens to make financial transactions, such as paying their property taxes or bus fares, conveniently and securely.

8. WiFi Hotspots

There has been a rapid increase in Internet access in India, from 15% in 2015 to 70% in 2025. WiFi hotspots in public locations, such as bus stations, hospitals and slum areas, have secured equitable access to the Internet, benefiting low-income households that may not be able to afford mobile data. This enhances digital connectivity and literacy in low-income neighborhoods, narrowing social disparities.

9. Registering Grievances

ICCCs organize service complaints on a digital dashboard, facilitating swift responses. Bengaluru has synthesized its Stakeholder Grievance management system with its ICCC, setting up 24-hour call centers and an online platform and app with chat bot function. These services register and process grievances in real time, alleviating stress.

10. Disaster Management

The installation of flood sensors in Smart Cities like Pune measures water levels, warning authorities of possible flooding and giving them more time to enact preparatory measures. This lessens the impact of flooding events, protecting lives and infrastructure. The 50 flood sensors in Pune facilitated the evacuation of more than 1,000 residents as heavy rain in July 2026 caused the Mutha River to overflow.

Utilizing technology in various ways, Smart Cities in India have adapted to expanding urban populations, striving to provide sufficient housing, clean water and electricity and cultivating safe and hygienic environments.

– Katy Wong

Katy is based in Hong Kong and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Congolese Fashion and its Potential For Economic Growth

Congolese Fashion
Since October 2023, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has collaborated with 300 professionals to help foster the growth of creative industries in 33 African countries. This is part of their Création Africa program, which focuses on connecting young African entrepreneurs with funding opportunities to help their creative businesses grow. The Colloque Scientifique International Conference in September 2026 is their latest venture and will spotlight the Congolese fashion movement, La Sape.

Création Africa

Expanding from 16 to 33 eligible countries in 2024, Création Africa has connected 300 African and French professionals to open doors for creatives. By fostering the growth of the art sector, Création Africa hopes to stimulate economic and cultural flourishing across Africa.

The program operates in three key stages:

  1. Online networking through its website, where creatives can connect with both each other and sponsors. By streamlining resources and communication, Création Africa’s website increases businesses’ visibility.
  2. A tailored mentoring scheme for a dozen individuals at a time to aid their structuring and development plans. This includes insight into Création Africa’s work mapping, which has traced the emerging trends across the continent. Individuals leave with future-oriented business models backed by professional guidance.
  3. International partnerships through ties to French and European experts. This allows creatives to develop both regional and international prominence.

Roundabout is one organization that has benefited from Création Africa’s work. Following the 2025 Création Africa Forum where their project “Heritage in Motion” was spotlighted, the zero-waste collective engaged with over 500 guests and six cross-continental collaborators. Roundabout was one of 27 creative organizations from Lesotho, South Africa and Malawi showcased at the two-day event, where high-profile guests, including President Emmanuel Macron, were spotted.

The 2026 Colloque Scientific International Conference in the DRC hopes to follow on from this success, bringing together experts in sociology, history, economics, technology and art to see the work of Congolese organizations. This will coincide with the opening of Kinshasa’s permanent exhibition on Congolese fashion and La Sape.

What is La Sape?

La Sape stands for the “Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes” (Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant People) and is a fashion subculture in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Clad in colorful and boldly styled suits, the Sapuers and Sapueses are taxi drivers, laborers and shopkeepers. They are the everymen and women who turn the streets into catwalks worthy of the finest fashion houses.

Emerging in the mid-20th century, La Sape originated from Congolese sailors, workers and traders who returned from sea with European suits. Traditionally for the colonial elite, the suits were paired with personal pieces and reinterpreted to assert a distinct Congolese Creole identity.

This identity extends into a code of honor, politeness and pacifism where clothing is shared and the whole community is lifted up through innovation.

The Kobo Hub highlights this innovation potential as founder Sidonie Latere is providing technical training to Sapeur designers so they can streamline their supply chains. For the textile brand Kilubukila, this enables them to supply their Kasai velvet to Monoprix in France and export designs across Europe and the U.S.

Latere is working alongside Création Africa and the Kinshasa exhibition and has highlighted how this will honor La Sape’s role in shaping the two nations’ history and future. She shows how investment into the Congolese fashion industry can create an upward spiral of economic growth alongside individual empowerment.

The World Cup

The DRC’s national team drew further attention to La Sape at the 2026 World Cup when they landed in Houston impeccably dressed in leopard-print suits. The designer, Alvin Junior Mak, drew heavily from La Sape’s visuals and described how he wanted to promote the artistic identity of the DRC.

Prior to the World Cup, Mak’s personal Instagram had only 8,000 followers and his brand, Jmakxparis, fewer than 4,000. However, following the World Cup and coverage from magazines such as Vogue and Forbes, the accounts grew to more than 40,000 and 12,000 followers respectively. One post featuring the national team, the Leopards, exceeded 79,000 likes.

The widespread attention also saw an influx of pre-orders from across the world, with Jmakxparis predicted to exceed €100,000 in revenue.

For Mak, this success extends beyond a viral moment and is a step toward solidifying a legacy that can create jobs and opportunities for others in the Congo.

Looking Ahead

The World Cup highlights how Congolese fashion innovation fosters international connection and can create opportunities for both economic growth and cultural understanding. Where many have historically recognized Europe for its fashion prowess, the DRC and Ivory Coast teams drew attention to Africa’s artistry, both past and present. Through programs like Création Africa, this talent can continue to be under a spotlight and opens the door for further investment.

– Elizabeth Holden

Elizabeth is based in London, UK and focuses on Business and New Markets, and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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How Women’s Land Rights in Côte d’Ivoire Strengthen Economic Security

Women’s Land Rights in Côte d’Ivoire
Land ownership can provide an important source of income and economic security for women in rural Côte d’Ivoire, where agriculture supports many livelihoods. However, women have historically faced barriers to owning land independently, despite having equal legal rights to own and inherit property. Recent land registration programs are beginning to address this gap. Between 2018 and 2024, the Land Policy Improvement and Implementation Project (PAMOFOR) helped deliver more than 51,000 land certificates, with 21% of those certificates going to female landowners. Strengthening women’s land rights in Côte d’Ivoire can therefore provide greater economic security while addressing inequalities that contribute to rural poverty.

Women Still Face a Large Land Ownership Gap

Despite having legal rights to own land, women in Côte d’Ivoire remain less likely than men to own agricultural land. OECD data from its 2022 Côte d’Ivoire SIGI study show that around 5% of women own agricultural land compared with 25% of men. This gap is particularly important because agriculture provides livelihoods for many women in rural communities, yet women continue to face difficulties accessing land and other economic resources. This can restrict women’s control over an important source of income. Improving women’s land rights in Côte d’Ivoire can help narrow this gap and give women greater control over land and the economic opportunities that come with it.

Customary Practices Can Limit Women’s Land Rights

Although Ivorian law gives women rights to own and inherit land, customary practices can make exercising those rights more difficult. OECD research shows that customary inheritance practices continue to create barriers to women’s land ownership, despite reforms intended to strengthen equal property rights. Inheritance is particularly important because it is a major way people acquire land in Côte d’Ivoire. OECD data show that 50% of female landowners obtained their land through inheritance, compared with 42% of male landowners. As inheritance is an important route to land ownership, discriminatory inheritance practices can have a significant effect on whether women gain control over land. Strengthening awareness of legal rights and recognizing women’s ownership can therefore help close the gap between rights provided by law and women’s experiences in practice.

Land Registration Is Strengthening Land Security

Côte d’Ivoire has begun expanding formal land registration to give rural landholders greater security. The PAMOFOR project, which ran from 2018 to 2024, helped the government deliver more than 51,000 land certificates, with 21% going to female landowners. The World Bank also found that the project reduced women’s risk of losing their land within five years by 55 percentage points. Building on this work, the government launched the Rural Land Tenure Management Strengthening Program (PRESFOR), which is expanding land registration across 16 of Côte d’Ivoire’s 31 regions. By increasing formal recognition of women’s ownership, these programs can give women greater security over land that supports their livelihoods.

Secure Land Rights Can Support Women’s Economic Security

Secure land rights can help women protect an important economic asset, particularly in rural communities where agriculture supports many livelihoods. FAO identifies secure land tenure as important for agricultural development and investment, while women in Côte d’Ivoire continue to face barriers to accessing land. Greater recognition of women’s ownership can therefore support poverty reduction by reducing the risk of losing land on which their livelihoods depend.

Women Have Been Underrepresented in Land Governance

Women’s land rights in Côte d’Ivoire are also affected by who participates in local decisions about land. Historical World Bank data from 2014 found that nearly 40% of Village Land Tenure Committees had no female members, while a further 55% had only one or two women among an average of 13 committee members. These committees play an important role in identifying customary land rights within villages, meaning limited female representation can reduce women’s influence over decisions that affect land ownership. PAMOFOR sought to address this by encouraging women to participate in village land committees and by providing gender-sensitive information about the registration process. Increasing women’s involvement in local land governance can help ensure that their legal rights are considered when communities identify and register customary land.

Legal Rights Do Not Always Translate Into Ownership

Although Côte d’Ivoire has strengthened legal protections for women’s property rights, access to land remains unequal in practice. While women received 21% of the land certificates delivered through the PAMOFOR project, this figure refers specifically to certificates issued under that program. More broadly, the African Development Bank reported in 2026 that women held only around 12% of registered land certificates in Côte d’Ivoire. The bank also highlighted the importance of improving women’s awareness of their rights and access to legal institutions, particularly in rural communities. Although the figures measure different things, both show that women still face inequalities in registered land ownership.

Looking Ahead

Côte d’Ivoire has made progress in formally recognizing rural land rights, but ensuring that women benefit fully from these reforms will require continued attention. PRESFOR is expected to expand land administration across the country and includes measures intended to strengthen women’s land rights. By 2029, the program aims to register 270,000 women with customary ownership rights and another 75,000 women with land-use rights. Continued efforts to involve women in registration, improve awareness of their legal rights and increase their participation in local land governance could help address barriers that still limit women’s ownership. As Côte d’Ivoire expands its rural land reforms, ensuring women can obtain and retain secure rights to land could strengthen their economic independence and make rural development more inclusive.

– Aniya Akram

Aniya is based in Bradford, United Kingdom and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How Brazil’s PIX Is Expanding Financial Inclusion

Financial Inclusion
Launched in November 2020, PIX is Brazil’s instant payment system created and managed by the Central Bank of Brazil. It allows people and businesses to transfer money between accounts within seconds. The system was designed to increase competition, reduce payment costs and make digital transactions more accessible.

PIX has become widely used across Brazil. According to the Central Bank of Brazil, more than 170 million individuals have used PIX as of 2026, representing about 80% of the country’s population. The system processed more than 7 billion transactions in May 2026 alone.

The scale of PIX expands financial inclusion because the cost of making and receiving payments can affect whether people and businesses participate fully in the formal economy. Traditional payment methods can involve fees, intermediaries or physical infrastructure that may be more difficult for small businesses and low-income consumers to access.

PIX serves as an alternative. Individuals generally do not pay fees to send or receive transactions, while businesses may pay transaction fees. Wire transfers, for example, can cost $1.50 to $3 per transaction. Debit or credit card transfers cost 1.1%-2.2% for a business per transaction. PIX transactions cost an average of 0.22% to 0.33% per transaction for businesses.

For Brazil’s small businesses, these lower payment costs are particularly important. Micro and small businesses account for about 95% of businesses in Brazil and face significant barriers to accessing financing. PIX can help address this challenge by making it easier and less expensive for businesses to accept digital payments.

How PIX is Expanding Financial Inclusion

PIX is expanding financial inclusion by making digital payments faster, less expensive and more widely available. These differences matter for people and businesses operating with limited financial resources. When transaction costs are lower, a greater share of a payment remains with the person or business receiving it. For a small business with narrow margins, reducing payment expenses can make digital payments more practical. Lower costs mean businesses retain more while getting access to the formal financial system. By connecting more people to digital financial services, PIX provides an additional tool to manage money and respond to financial challenges.

Supporting Small Businesses

Small businesses are an important part of Brazil’s economy and are particularly relevant to the connection between payment costs and financial inclusion. Research from Innovations for Poverty Action found that 96% of surveyed micro and small business owners used PIX for either business or personal transactions, while nearly half used it daily. Many business owners also reported using PIX for a substantial share of their non-cash business revenue.

PIX can benefit small businesses in several ways. Entrepreneurs can accept digital payments without relying on some of the infrastructure traditionally associated with electronic payments, while funds are transferred rapidly into an account. Combined with lower transaction costs, money that would otherwise go toward payment-related expenses can remain available for inventory, operating costs or other business needs.

PIX can also help businesses establish a digital record of transactions. That record does not automatically provide access to credit, but it can become useful financial information. Businesses using PIX more frequently were significantly more likely to adopt Open Finance. Open Finance allows businesses to securely share financial information across institutions, potentially helping financial providers evaluate their financial activity. The correlation between PIX and Open Finance suggests that greater use of formal digital finance may create additional opportunities for small businesses to access financial services.

PIX and Access to Financial Services

PIX is a payment system, not a complete financial-services platform. Its primary function is to move money quickly between accounts. However, some additional services are official PIX features. PIX Saque allows users to withdraw cash at participating businesses, while PIX Troco allows customers to receive cash as part of a PIX transaction at participating establishments. The Central Bank introduced these services to expand access to cash and reduce some of the costs associated with cash management.

Therefore, PIX can interact with Brazil’s broader digital financial infrastructure. Through Open Finance, individuals and businesses can choose to share financial information with other institutions. This creates a potential pathway from low-cost payments to broader financial inclusion. PIX makes digital transactions easier, while other financial systems can use its information to develop or evaluate additional financial services.

Financial Infrastructure and Poverty Reduction

PIX reduces some of the costs and barriers associated with making and receiving payments. Those changes can be particularly relevant for low-income households and small businesses, which may have fewer financial resources to absorb transaction fees and other costs.

For households, easier and lower-cost digital payments can make everyday financial transactions more accessible. For businesses, immediate payments and lower acceptance costs can improve the efficiency of receiving revenue and managing cash flow. Thus, PIX is expanding financial inclusion. Its potential contribution to poverty reduction comes from underlying improvements in economic participation.

PIX demonstrates how payment infrastructure can become part of a broader strategy for financial inclusion. The system does not eliminate poverty on its own, but by making financial transactions cheaper, faster and more accessible, it can remove some of the barriers that prevent people and businesses from fully participating in the economy.

– Julia M Kozin

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

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Addressing Common Bean Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa

Common Beans in Sub-Saharan Africa
The common bean is an integral part of Sub-Saharan Africa’s financial and nutritional security. With the continent accounting for 25% of global output, the cash crop provides employment, income and a healthy diet to both urban and rural populations. Devastating viral diseases threatening the crop, however, are increasing in frequency, putting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in peril. Here is how the TumainiBeans app is address common bean disease in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Common Beans in Sub-Saharan Africa

The common bean crop in Sub-Saharan Africa is a vital cash crop for the region. With Africa being the second-largest producer of the crop in the world, it brings in an average $3.84 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa per year. Through cultivation, processing and domestic trade, common beans provide income and employment to rural populations, especially to women involved in the trade. The very production of the crop benefits smallholder farmers, naturally enhancing soil fertility and aligning with crop rotations.

Common beans bring not only economic benefits to Sub-Saharan Africa but also nutritional advantages. The beans provide nutritional security for 420 million people in the region. They are high in protein and nutrients like iron and zinc, and are universally consumed in both rural and urban areas.

Crop Loss

Common beans in Sub-Saharan Africa are highly susceptible to a number of crop diseases that devastate yields and pose serious threats to the income and nutritional security of rural populations reliant on the crop.

A 2025 study published by the scientific review, Viruses, demonstrates a continent-wide upsurge in viral threats to the common bean crop. The two major viruses posing a threat are Bean Common Mosaic Virus and Bean Common Mosaic Necrosis Virus. These two viruses are transmitted by aphids or infected seeds and can reduce crop yields by a devastating 80%. Smallholder farmers find it difficult to prevent viral outbreaks, especially in remote areas, where access to disease identification and outbreak prevention resources is often out of reach due to distance and financial constraints.

The TumainiBeans App

The new TumainiBeans App offers an encouraging solution to common bean disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. In a region where traditional expert methods of disease identification are often geographically and economically inaccessible, the Tumaini app allows farmers to upload an image of any part of an infected bean plant and receive a real-time diagnosis. Independent validation saw the app achieve 90% disease classification accuracy. Downloaded onto a smartphone, the AI app is easy to use and can detect diseases even using poor-quality images. Its AI technology renders disease diagnosis accessible and timely, a crucial element in preventing the spread of viruses.

The TumainiBeans app also provides immediate, context-relevant solutions to a diagnosis, such as assistance on treatment options, advice on healthy farming practices like crop rotations and field sanitation, as well as counsel on the selection of disease-resistant crop varieties.

The technology is still new. While adoption rates, connectivity barriers and the question of whether diagnoses lead to improved yields and increased income at scale remain unknown, the Tumaini App shows potential as a useful decision-support tool for smallholder farmers whose disease-management options may be limited. With the capability to identify the problem and the solution, smallholder farmers could use this tool to protect their crops, income and livelihoods.

– Amelia Krone

Amelia is based in London, UK and focuses on Business and New Markets, Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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What Nepal Flooding Reveals About Global Aid Importance

Nepal Flooding
Following the melting glacier that caused floods and destruction across the Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading regions in Nepal in late August, the country now faces the monumental task of recovery: managing a high death toll, continuing search-and-rescue efforts for those still missing, and tackling massive infrastructure damage, while supporting a population facing homelessness, hunger and urgent medical needs. Tragedies such as Nepal flooding demonstrate why international assistance and aid are vital for global development and support.

Nepal’s Floods

As of Sept. 11, authorities had recovered 1,385 bodies and approximately 5,130 people remained missing following the Nepal flooding. Search-and-rescue efforts continue, but relief now focuses on the 93,000 Nepalis affected in its aftermath. Those most severely affected lived in the low-lying Rasuwa district, along the banks of the Trishuli River, a community already impacted by an earthquake in 2015. The flood damaged roads, schools, power districts and water systems across the northern districts, including Rasuwa. Flash floods swept away 32 bridges and 25 roads, leaving many communities stranded. Those in Nepal who faced poverty prior to the flooding now endure significantly worse conditions.

As Stephane Hallegatte and Marianne Fay write in “Natural Disaster, Poverty, and Inequality,” “…many of these impacts of natural disasters accrue disproportionately to poor households…[and] poor households take longer to recover from disasters, and are more likely to face long-term consequences.”

Following a natural disaster of this magnitude, international aid is crucial, especially to help those already in poverty, who now face food and job insecurity, housing insecurity and health risks.

What International Aid Has Provided

Financial Supplies: Monetary support is essential following a disaster, allowing the government to rebuild, lead relief efforts, and provide support for citizens with essential supplies. The Red Cross and the World Bank are among the organizations that provided financial support to Nepal, along with aid from China and the United States, among others.

Personnel: More manpower, from search-and-rescuers to medical staff, is essential after a disaster. The United Nations and Doctors Without Borders, along with South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States, have all provided human support.

Supplies: Following a disaster like the Nepal flooding, medical supplies, hygiene kits and other essentials are often distributed to citizens. The World Health Organization (WHO) sent medical supplies and tents for emergency shelter. The World Food Program (WFP) used drones to send food to communities cut off from services, and UNICEF sent emergency kits with hygiene items, medical supplies and other essentials.

Why Is International Aid Important?

As of Sept. 11, rescuers had saved 13,676 people following the Nepal flooding. This highlights the impact of international aid—countries and international organizations providing financial support, technical expertise, medical and other essential supplies, and infrastructural reconstruction. Nepal flooding exemplifies international cooperation.

– Madalyn Youngbauer

Madalyn is based in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States and focuses on Good News, Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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How Political Isolation in Bahrain Affects Economic Opportunity

Political Isolation in Bahrain
Political restrictions can dictate more than who appears on a ballot. Human Rights Watch reports that political isolation in Bahrain extends beyond elections into civil society and that separate good conduct certificate practices can also affect access to education and employment. In 2018, Bahrain implemented new laws that restrict former members of opposition groups and certain other select individuals from serving on the boards of civil organizations or running for parliament.

Human Rights Watch has documented delays and denials of good conduct certificates among some former opposition members and prisoners. Human Rights Watch has additionally reported that these certificates can be required for employment and university admission. In the absence of official government data, Bahraini civil society groups have used membership lists from dissolved political societies to estimate that 6,000 to 11,000 Bahrainis may be subject to political and civil restrictions. Together, these political and administrative restrictions can affect access to civic participation, education, employment and economic opportunity for some individuals.

Bahrain’s Political Isolation Laws

The 2018 political isolation framework followed the court-ordered dissolution of two major political opposition societies, Al-Wifaq in 2016 and Wa’ad in 2017. In June 2018, Bahrain enacted Law 25/2018, limiting eligibility to run for the Council of Representatives. The law affects multiple groups, including the leaders and members of political societies the government dissolved, people with specific criminal convictions and individuals whom authorities consider responsible for disrupting constitutional or parliamentary life. Bahraini lawyers and civil society groups have interpreted this grouping to include former lawmakers and other individuals who have either resigned or boycotted their elected posts in protest. The U.S. State Department stated that such restrictions on former members of banned political groups limited political participation, while Bahrain has continued to maintain an elected lower legislative chamber and an appointed upper chamber.

In August 2018, Bahrain enacted Law 36/2018, extending eligibility requirements beyond elections to the boards of associations. The law amended Bahrain’s associations framework to require board members to possess full civil and political rights. As a consequence, individuals deprived of full civil and political rights can also be barred from leadership positions in civil society organizations. Human Rights Watch reported that authorities prevented three nominees from joining the Bahrain Human Rights Society’s board in 2022 because of their previous affiliations with Wa’ad. This demonstrates that these restrictions reach organizations operating separately from formal electoral politics and may further limit participation in civic institutions.

Economic Consequences of Political Isolation

A more direct link between political isolation in Bahrain and economic opportunity appears in Human Rights Watch’s reporting on Good Conduct Certificates. Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior handles these documents through the General Directorate of Crime Detection and Forensic Evidence. Human Rights Watch reports that Good Conduct Certificates may be required for employment, starting a business, university admission and membership in social and cultural organizations. The organization documented former opposition figures and former prisoners facing lengthy delays and denials. In one specific case, a former opposition member said he could not accept a position as head of a school because government authorities did not issue the mandated certificate. This documented example shows how a certificate delay or denial can create a direct employment barrier for an affected individual.

The certificate issue overlaps with the 2018 political isolation laws but remains legally distinct from them. The 2018 laws do not themselves deny Good Conduct Certificates to opposition members. Instead, Human Rights Watch has documented certificate delays and denials as a separate issue affecting some of these same politically marginalized communities. For individuals whose employment, education or business activities require the certificate, delays or outright denials can restrict access to jobs, education, and other income-generating opportunities. For affected households, those barriers can make it harder to maintain a stable income.

Recent Steps Toward Reintegration

Recent government measures have expanded prisoner-release and reintegration programs. On April 8, 2024, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa issued a royal pardon for 1,584 prisoners, including some who were convicted on charges related to earlier protests. Reuters reported that around 65% of the released prisoners had riot-related convictions. Separately, Bahrain has also used an alternative-sentencing program that allows select eligible prisoners to finish their sentences through the completion of community service, rehabilitation courses and electronic monitoring. By April 2024, Bahrain’s government reported that nearly 6,500 prisoners had benefited from the alternative sentencing program since its introduction in 2017.

Bahrain’s Open Prison program provides a more direct example of reintegration tied to economic opportunity. According to the U.S. State Department’s 2023 human rights report, the initiative opened in December 2022 and allowed 48 prisoners to reunite with their families while continuing to serve their sentences in a new facility. In 2023, 13 prisoners entered alternative programs and obtained full-time private-sector employment through an agreement between the Ministry of Interior and INJAZ Bahrain. The 2023 agreement was designed to provide training in employment, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and other practical skills intended to support participants’ reintegration into the workforce and civil society.

By December 2024, Bahraini officials reported a 97.5% rehabilitation and reintegration rate and stated that more than 7,600 families had benefitted from the alternative-sentencing and Open Prison Programs. Officials also highlighted partnerships with Gulf University and Applied Science University to provide full and partial scholarships to program beneficiaries.

Political Participation and Economic Inclusion

Political isolation in Bahrain remains in place while the government has separately expanded pardons, alternative sentencing programs and the Open Prison Program. On March 27, 2025, King Hamad granted amnesty to 630 inmates, according to Human Rights Watch’s 2026 World Report, following a series of pardons in 2024. The pardons and reintegration programs operate through mechanisms separate from the 2018 political isolation laws and the Good Conduct Certificate practices. At the same time, the 2018 political isolation laws remain in force. Whether that reintegration translates into broader access to education, employment and civic participation will dictate how far these efforts extend beyond prison walls.

– Elias Haskins

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

Photo: Unsplash

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Mobile Libraries in India: How they Can Improve Literacy in Urban Slums

Mobile Libraries in India
For children living in India’s urban slums, access to a book can be more than an opportunity to read. Literacy provides the foundation for continued education, employment and economic opportunities, making access to reading materials an important tool in the fight against poverty. In India, mobile libraries are bringing books directly to communities that may otherwise have limited access to reading materials. By using vehicles and portable collections to reach underserved areas, these initiatives make literacy resources more accessible to children outside of traditional educational settings.

India’s Learning Poverty Challenge

India has made significant progress in expanding access to education, but enrollment does not necessarily mean that children are developing foundational reading skills. According to the World Bank, when accounting for children who are out of school, 56% of children at late-primary age are not proficient in reading.

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 highlights similar challenges in foundational literacy, although its findings cited here specifically concern children attending government schools in rural India. Among Grade Three children in government schools, 23.4% could read a Grade Two level text in 2024, compared with 16.3% in 2022. While this represents significant improvement, the figures demonstrate that many children in rural India continue to struggle with basic reading skills.

These national and rural findings do not directly measure literacy among children living in urban slums, but they illustrate the broader challenges India faces in developing foundational reading skills. For children in underserved urban communities, access to books and other educational resources may also be limited, making community-based approaches to literacy particularly relevant.

Bringing Libraries to Children

Mobile libraries in India have provided one way of overcoming barriers that have resulted a lack of permanent library infrastructure. The Delhi Public Library, an autonomous organization under India’s Ministry of Culture, has operated mobile library services since 1953, with efforts continually increasing. The service currently uses four mobile vans across 73 areas of Delhi and has 4,275 registered mobile-library members.

The vans bring library services directly to communities with limited access to traditional library facilities. The Indian government has identified slums and resettlement colonies as places that can specifically benefit from mobile library services through its Ghar Ghar Dastak, Ghar Ghar Pustak initiative.

Mobile libraries can also provide materials in multiple languages. The Delhi Public Library’s collection includes books in Hindi, English, Urdu, Punjabi and other Indian languages. This allows mobile libraries in India to respond to the linguistic diversity of the communities they reach.

Bookwallah provides another example of how libraries can operate without relying entirely on permanent buildings, which can be difficult to establish in underserved communities. The organization runs permanent libraries in special schools and orphanages in India, while its portable “Magic Crate” libraries deliver books to locations including crisis shelters, hospitals and child-friendly police stations.

According to Bookwallah, its Magic Crate program has reached tens of thousands of children through first-level interventions. While the program is not specific to urban slums, the organization demonstrates how portable collections can provide books and literacy opportunities to children who face barriers to conventional libraries and education centers.

Literacy as a Tool for Poverty Reduction in Urban Slums

There is evidence that community-based and mobile library initiatives can support literacy among children in underserved communities. In Kolkata, the Little Literacy Library was established in two slum communities, Chetla Lock Gate and RG Kar, providing bilingual English and Bengali books to children ages five to 15.

The initiative was designed to address educational inequalities by bringing learning materials directly into communities where children had limited access to books. According to the organization, the project has reached 45 children across the two sites. Although the initiative is small-scale, it demonstrates how community-based literacy programs can bring reading materials directly to children living in underserved communities.

Wider research also supports the potential of mobile libraries as a literacy intervention, although this research is not specific to India or urban slums. A 2025 study involving 487 mobile-library participants, educators, facilitators and administrators found a statistically significant relationship between mobile library access and literacy improvement. Participants’ reading comprehension scores increased by 3.3 points, while mobile library use accounted for 46.4% of the variation in literacy improvement.

Together, these findings suggest that mobile libraries can do more than provide recreational reading. By bringing books, structured literacy activities and educational support directly into underserved communities, they help children develop the reading and comprehension skills needed to progress through education.

Looking Ahead

For children growing up in urban poverty, stronger literacy can create opportunities that extend beyond the classroom. Literacy can help children engage with further education, develop additional skills and eventually access better employment opportunities. In this way, mobile libraries in India offer a relatively low-cost approach to addressing one of the educational barriers associated with poverty.

While mobile libraries cannot solve educational inequality or poverty alone, bringing books directly into underserved urban communities can help ensure that a child’s access to learning is not determined solely by where they live. Expanding these initiatives alongside investment in schools, teachers and wider educational infrastructure could help more children develop the foundational literacy skills needed to build a pathway out of poverty.

– Amber Bannon

Amber is based in High Wycombe and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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The Fight Against Tuberculosis in Timor-Leste

Tuberculosis in Timor-Leste
To much of the developed world, tuberculosis may seem like a distant threat. In 2024, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 10.7 million people developed TB worldwide and 1.23 million died from the disease. The WHO South-East Asia Region accounted for 34% of global TB cases, making it central to efforts to reduce the disease burden. Recently, efforts have increased to combat tuberculosis worldwide.

Why Tuberculosis in Timor-Leste is So Prevalent

The circumstances facing this small Southeast Asian nation demonstrate the challenges surrounding tuberculosis in Timor-Leste.

Timor-Leste is a small, ethnically diverse country on the Malay Archipelago, about 400 kilometers north of Australia. Following the 1999 referendum that began its transition from Indonesian rule, Timor-Leste has struggled with extreme poverty, with an estimated 44% of the population living on less than three dollars a day.

When a person becomes seriously ill in Timor-Leste, location and income limit options. About 70% of the population lives in rural areas. That means in order to get to a hospital, a would-be patient must make a journey of several hours, most likely on foot. With a lack of paved roads and a steep, mountainous environment, travel can be taxing. Accounting for the intense heat of the dry season and the flash floods of the rainy season, the trip becomes almost impossible for an ill person to endure. For many Timor-Leste citizens, reaching a hospital when illness strikes is not a realistic option. These barriers help explain why access to tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment remains challenging in Timor-Leste.

Efforts to Address Health Care Access in Timor-Leste

Since the pandemic, a time when many nations became attuned to the state of their health care systems, some organizations implemented efforts to fix this issue in Timor-Leste. In 2020, for example, the IOM—a branch of the UN’s migration offices—developed a program to train health care workers in Timor-Leste to use new diagnostic technologies. The program aimed to strengthen tuberculosis diagnosis and build the skills of health care workers in Timor-Leste. In 2024, IOM reported its successes: they had trained six radiographers, 60 medical doctors, and three laboratory technicians to detect tuberculosis with sophisticated new technologies, as well as educating 700 health care workers on tuberculosis diagnostic guidelines, according to an article on their website. These figures represent improvement, but the fight will not end without help from allies abroad.

International Efforts Against Tuberculosis

Combatting tuberculosis in Timor-Leste requires support. By providing the resources necessary to make health care accessible, hundreds of lives can be saved every year. With this in mind, on June 11, 2026, Senators Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire) and Todd Young (Indiana) officially reintroduced the End Tuberculosis Now Act. The bipartisan bill would make tuberculosis elimination a U.S. foreign-assistance priority and strengthen coordination around research, diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

Senator Young stated: “Tuberculosis is preventable, treatable and curable, yet it continues to claim far too many lives around the world. The End Tuberculosis Now Act will strengthen efforts to expand access to diagnosis and treatment, support the development of new tools and vaccines and improve our ability to detect and respond to future infectious disease threats. By helping countries combat tuberculosis before it spreads further, we can save lives, strengthen global health security and better protect Americans from emerging infectious diseases.”

It remains to be seen whether Congress will pass the bill. The legislation is one example of international policy efforts aimed at reducing the global burden of tuberculosis.

– Madison Hoar

Madison is based in Birmingham, AL, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr