Archive for category: Good News

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Poverty in Uzbekistan Falls, What’s Next?

Poverty in UzbekistanIn 2021, Uzbekistan, with assistance from the World Bank, set out an ambitious goal: to halve poverty by 2026. The poverty headcount rate based on the national poverty line fell from 17% in 2021 to 5.8% in 2025, accounting for a drop in poverty of two-thirds. After surpassing this target ahead of schedule, Uzbekistan has set a goal to completely eradicate poverty by 2030.

It’s worth noting that Uzbekistan’s national poverty line, used to calculate this figure, is set well below international benchmarks — at roughly $54.50 per person per month, less than half the World Bank’s $126 threshold for lower-middle-income countries. That means the 5.8% figure reflects Uzbekistan’s own, lower domestic standard rather than what a comparable international poverty measure might show, a distinction worth keeping in mind when evaluating the scale of the achievement.

How This Was Achieved

In 2023, Uzbekistan implemented the National Development Strategy 2030, aimed at becoming an upper-middle-income country by the end of the decade. With these aspirations, the upper-middle-income country (UMIC) poverty line is relevant in understanding Uzbekistan’s progress. Uzbekistan reduced the UMIC poverty line rate from 36% in 2015 to 17% in 2022. This rate fell faster than the rest of Europe and Central Asia, which saw only a 5% drop from 13% to 8% in the same period.

Increases in wage income accounted for nearly 60% of the poverty reduction progress. Other factors driving this reduction include an increase in social spending. The government expanded many social programs, such as pensions, which had the biggest overall impact among social benefit programs.

Other reasons include direct support from the World Bank. Between 2018 and 2021, the World Bank delivered around $2.1 billion to Uzbekistan across different Development Policy Operations. This financing backed reforms including the end of forced and child labor in the cotton sector, a shift away from state-run agriculture and the removal of price controls and internal mobility restrictions. The World Bank also partnered with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to help build Uzbekistan’s Single Registry, a social protection database that expanded and simplified benefit access for low-income families and other vulnerable groups.

Inequality Concerns

While the progress made over the last couple of years is noteworthy, there are some inequality concerns. The increase in household incomes and wage growth was much higher in urban areas and for wealthier workers. Government and other official statistics show the highest wage growth took place in the service sector, jobs such as telecommunications and information technology. World Bank statistics showed that while the poorest 10% saw their income grow by 6%, the richest 10% saw incomes grow by more than 30% between 2022 and 2023. During this period, the Gini coefficient grew from 0.31 to 0.35, a measure of income inequality on a scale of 0 to 1, where higher values indicate a wider gap between rich and poor.

Building a Stronger Safety Net

Nevertheless, Uzbekistan’s reforms are still in their early stages. Recent moves show the government and its partners continuing to build out systems meant to reach those left behind. In mid-2024, the World Bank approved an additional $100 million “INSON” project to improve social care for vulnerable groups, establishing more than 50 community-based social service centers and expanding services to roughly 50,000 people. In 2025, Uzbekistan adopted its State Social Insurance Law, extending social protection coverage for maternity and sickness benefits to six million workers, with support from the United Nations (UN) Global Accelerator. That same year, the World Bank approved a further $800 million package, which will help protect low-income households from rising energy costs and expand social services delivered by accredited private and non-governmental providers. These developments show a social protection system that continues to grow, laying the groundwork for Uzbekistan’s poverty reduction targets and a more equal society.

Looking Ahead to 2030

With its 2026 target met three years ahead of schedule, Uzbekistan has set its sights on eradicating poverty by 2030. The government’s National Development Strategy 2030 ties this goal to its broader ambition of becoming an upper-middle-income country, with continued wage growth, expanded social insurance coverage and ongoing World Bank-backed reforms all expected to play a role. Sustained partnerships with the World Bank, International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF, alongside newer initiatives like the INSON project and the National Agency for Social Protection, give Uzbekistan a strong institutional base heading into its last target. If the country’s pace over the past five years is any indication, Uzbekistan’s push toward zero poverty by 2030 is well underway, with the infrastructure now in place to reach even the most vulnerable households.

– 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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Helping the Poor: Legacy of Pope Francis

Pope FrancisPoverty deeply impacted Pope Francis from his childhood in Argentina and continued to shape his outlook throughout his life as head of the Catholic Church, who died in April 2025.

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the capital, Buenos Aires, and had firsthand experience of poverty surrounding him, with people often dying in deeply impoverished conditions.

Argentina has struggled with high and inconsistent poverty rates much like its neighbors. By the end of 2023, it stood at almost 50%, and it came down to almost 28% in 2025. While the numbers are confusing, they show how difficult it is to measure poverty in Argentina, as people report the ground realities of even struggling to eat and live properly.

This prepared his mission to revitalize the idea that many people had forgotten about the origins of Christ himself, as he was born into a poor family and lived in poverty. This journey was initiated by the name he chose when he became pope. The name Francis links back to 13th-century mystic St. Francis of Assisi, who was widely known in his era for promoting the issue of poverty and how it is rooted in the origins of humanity.

This inspired Pope Francis to use his name as a message to highlight the struggles of the poor and advocate for their care.

His Work for the Poor

  • Helping the Homeless: Pope Francis welcomed the homeless and poor refugees to the Vatican plaza and often washed the feet of migrants and prisoners. He elevated the status of the poor in spirit by calling them “nobles of the street.”
  • Gender Pay Gap: The pope was progressive in providing better opportunities to women and appointed several to positions of power, including Sister Raffaela Petrini as president of the Governorate of Vatican City State. He was instrumental in setting equal pay for women and their male counterparts, thereby setting standards around the world.
  • Enhancing Global Voice: Pope Francis understood that the Western populace dominated the church, which meant the economically weaker sections often did not receive an opportunity to voice their concerns. This is why the pope changed the order of the church by including more Global South voices, to understand the roots of the poverty problem, appointing cardinals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the Philippines.
  • Providing Financial Aid: The pope was well known for providing monetary assistance to the needy, and this was seen once again in 2021. Pope Francis took a trip to war-torn Iraq, where poverty has become an ongoing crisis. He did not come there empty-handed but brought $350,000 as aid money, especially for impoverished families.

The Path Ahead

Pope Francis was very vocal about emphasizing the issue of poverty, whether in an address to the United Nations or on one of his trips around the world.

During his 2015 trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, he reiterated how people, especially Catholics, had forgotten about Jesus’s upbringing in poverty and how it should serve as an example to strive to end it. He initiated the World Day of the Poor, where he ate beside people who were often deprived of a single meal every day. By doing this, he attempted to reduce the gap and discrimination among the poor and forge greater acceptance.

– Tanay Ashok Sonthalia

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

Photo: Pixabay

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Vietnam’s Social Housing Program

Vietnam’s Social Housing ProgramFor millions of factory workers in Vietnam’s industrial zones, the dream of a stable, safe home has been out of reach. Nhà Ở Xã Hội, Vietnam’s sweeping new social housing program, is changing that.

The Housing Gap Squeezing Vietnam’s Workers

Vietnam’s economic growth over the last two decades has been incredible, yet workers who power that growth face a painful trade-off. Home prices in major cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have risen 5.6% in the last year, with apartments averaging 80 million Vietnamese dong (VND), or about $3,028, per square meter. An average Vietnamese worker earns roughly 98.4 million VND annually, meaning an apartment can cost more than an entire year’s wages per square meter.

The burden falls hardest on the country’s industrial workforce. According to a National Statistics Office survey, nearly 70% of industrial zone workers currently live in substandard, unsafe rental accommodations. More than half live in temporary housing or on-site at factories, with 18.4% having less than six square meters of personal living space — about the size of a parking spot.

That strain persists even as Vietnam has made rapid progress against poverty nationally: 1.3% of the population lived below the national poverty line in 2025, down from 4.4% in 2021, according to the Asian Development Bank. Housing costs, rather than income alone, are now one of the sharpest financial pressures facing low-wage industrial workers, whose earnings have not kept pace with urban housing prices.

The 1 Million-Unit Solution

In response, the Vietnamese government launched Nhà Ở Xã Hội, one of Southeast Asia’s most ambitious housing initiatives. The plan aims to build more than 1 million social housing units between 2021 and 2030, specifically targeting industrial workers, low-income families and urban youth priced out of the commercial market.

The program offers heavily subsidized purchase prices and favorable loan terms, and has progressively expanded who qualifies. In April 2026, Ho Chi Minh City raised its income ceiling for eligibility to 25 million VND per month, meaning more workers can now access the program.

Momentum has accelerated dramatically. In 2025, Vietnam completed 102,633 social housing units across the country, exceeding its annual target by 2% and marking the highest single-year total since the program began. Ho Chi Minh City alone completed 14 projects totaling 13,040 apartments, hitting 100% of its local target.

Nationally, 698 projects are now underway covering more than 657,000 units in total, putting the program at roughly 62% of its overall 2030 target. Officials now believe the one-million-unit target could be reached two years ahead of schedule.

What It Means for Families

While the numbers tell one story, lived experience tells another. For workers commuting long distances from cramped rented rooms near industrial zones, access to a stable, affordable unit close to employment can mean lower transportation costs, better sleep, improved productivity and the ability to begin building savings for the first time. Ho Chi Minh City’s Social Policy Bank has extended housing loans totaling 1,570 billion VND to 2,205 borrowers as of March 2026, a 10.3% increase from the end of 2025, reflecting growing uptake as units become available and eligibility expands.

The government has also adjusted land use fee regulations to prevent commercial developers from pricing units beyond affordability. Additional preferential credit for social housing developers is also being introduced to keep construction moving.

Looking Ahead

Vietnam’s social housing program is far from finished, and challenges remain. Developers have flagged difficulties accessing preferential credit at certain stages of construction, and building at scale requires continued policy support and investment. For the 2026-2030 period, Ho Chi Minh City alone is targeting 181,257 units — a significant scale-up from prior years.

But the trajectory is clear. What began as an aspirational pledge is becoming infrastructure that real families can move into. For Vietnam’s industrial workers — the people assembling goods sold worldwide — the slow, quiet work of building stable homes is one of the most consequential poverty-reduction efforts in the region today.

– Saakshi Bhat

Saakshi is based in San Marcos, CA, USA and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Poverty in Guyana and the Impact of the Oil Boom

Priests baptizing people in a river, highlighting cultural aspects amid poverty in Guyana.Despite the rapidly growing economy, poverty in Guyana remains a serious challenge. Since the beginning of massive oil production, Guyana’s economy has experienced unprecedented growth and transformation. According to the latest data from the World Bank, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 43.8% by 2024, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. However, the benefits of this growth did not accrue equally to all communities. Guyana still faces significant problems with poverty, unemployment rates and insufficient infrastructure, especially in rural areas.

Poverty in Guyana and Regional Inequality

The World Bank reports that Guyana reduced its poverty rate from 58.6% in 2006 to 43.4% in 2017. Despite this progress, poverty remained twice as high as the average of 23% for the Latin American and Caribbean region and even higher than the average of 20% for upper-middle-income countries. The World Bank noted that poverty is concentrated in rural and hinterland regions, particularly among Indigenous populations who often have less access to economic opportunities and public services.

Geography contributes significantly to these disparities. Around 70% of Guyana’s population lives in rural areas, where communities are often far from the country’s main economic centers and public services. As a result, many rural residents have not directly benefited from the oil-driven economic growth. They continue to face limited investment in infrastructure, transportation and essential services compared with people living in coastal and urban areas.

Unemployment and Infrastructure Challenges

Poor infrastructure remains one of the main obstacles to fighting poverty in Guyana. According to the World Bank, the country’s transportation network is mainly concentrated along the coastline, leaving many interior and rural areas physically isolated from main economic centers. Additionally, Guyana’s road density is just 0.024, significantly lower than the Latin America and Caribbean average of 0.462. As a result, many residents face difficulties accessing markets, schools, healthcare facilities and other essential public services.

Infrastructure challenges extend beyond transportation. Many hinterland communities continue to face limited access to reliable electricity and digital connectivity, reducing access to education, financial services and economic opportunities. These deficits make it more difficult for rural residents to participate in the country’s rapidly growing economy and benefit from the opportunities created by the oil boom.

Poor infrastructure also limits economic opportunities for the people. Weak transportation networks, high electricity prices and limited access to digital connectivity increase the cost of delivering goods and connecting businesses with consumers. These make it harder to attract investment and create jobs, especially in rural areas. These challenges are reflected in Guyana’s labor market, where unemployment rose from 11.6% in 2010 to 15.4% in 2020. The country returned to its previous unemployment level only in 2022, and this figure has remained unchanged at 12% for the third consecutive year.

Infrastructure deficits have also contributed to long-term migration trends, as many Guyanese leave in search of better economic opportunities abroad. According to the World Bank, approximately 39% of Guyanese citizens live abroad, while nearly half of all Guyanese with tertiary education have emigrated to the United States. Together, inadequate infrastructure, limited employment opportunities and sustained brain drain continue to reinforce poverty and regional inequality, particularly in the country’s interior regions.

Governmental and International Initiatives

Recognizing these challenges, the government of Guyana has sought to use oil revenues to support long-term development through the Natural Resource Fund and the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030. According to the government of Guyana, these initiatives aim to channel resource revenues into investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure, renewable energy and community development. With this strategy, the government founded the Amerindian Development Fund and implemented Community Development Plans in more than 180 villages.

International organizations have also partnered with Guyana to support inclusive growth. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) have implemented agricultural development programs that help farmers adopt climate-smart practices and improve food security. Thanks to these programs, 77 farmers in Guyana were trained to use new farming techniques to increase their harvests while reducing the negative effects on the environment. As a result, Guyana is becoming a leader in the Caribbean region in terms of food security.

The WFP’s Home-Grown School Feeding Program supports local farmers while providing nutritious meals to schoolchildren. This program feeds 2,600 children using the production of 75 local farmers, 28 of whom are women. It created great opportunities for local businesses and improved the nutrition of schoolchildren.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has supported the expansion of information and communication technology infrastructure in underserved regions, helping communities gain better access to digital services, education, and economic opportunities. By improving connectivity and establishing 200 ICT hubs, these programs can make it easier for residents of more than 200 Indigenous communities in remote areas to access government services, participate in online learning, and connect with broader markets.

Meanwhile, UNICEF has worked with the government to strengthen healthcare delivery systems, improve immunization coverage, and expand access to essential medical services in remote communities. These initiatives are especially important in areas where distance, limited infrastructure, and shortages of trained personnel have historically made it difficult for families to receive consistent care.

Moving Forward

Guyana’s oil boom presents a historic opportunity to accelerate poverty reduction and improve living standards. However, economic growth alone does not guarantee inclusive development. Continued investment in infrastructure, education, and public institutions will be essential to sustaining long-term prosperity. Through targeted government spending and partnerships with organizations such as the World Bank, UNDP, FAO, WFP, and UNICEF, Guyana is working to ensure that the benefits of its economic transformation reach all citizens. If these efforts succeed, the country’s oil wealth could become a powerful tool for reducing poverty and creating more equitable economic opportunities.

– Dias Assan

Dias is based in Rome, Italy and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Poverty in Madagascar: Photo Essay Inspired Social Change

Children playing in a dusty street surrounded by makeshift homes, illustrating poverty in Madagascar.The 2005 animated film “Madagascar” depicts the Southeastern African island as an untouched jungle paradise. As the New York animals navigate the unfamiliar wild, they encounter almost everything except the extreme poverty in Madagascar.

Poverty in Madagascar

Madagascar, an African island praised for its biodiversity and remarkably distinct natural landscape, is one of the poorest countries in the world. The World Bank reported that 80% of the country’s population lives below the international extreme poverty line ($2.15 per day) as of 2024. One of the most jarring manifestations of this poverty in Madagascar is the Andralanitra dumpsite.

Andralanitra is a dumpsite located just outside of Antananarivo, the country’s capital. It has been operational since the 1960s and receives more than 600 tons of trash each day. The 50 acres of gray waste are visible in satellite imagery. For years, the Malagasy government did not provide a population count for Andralanitra, saying no one inhabited the dumpsite. In 2015, however, Riccardo Bononi confirmed the existence of 3,000 people living and working at the dumpsite, a finding that inspired social change within the Madagascan government.

Riccardo Bononi’s Work in Andralanitra

Riccardo Bononi is a visual anthropologist from Padua, Italy. He traveled to Madagascar in 2006 as a field researcher and journalist, initially intending to focus on the plague, which remains present on the island today. Locals informed him of an area with the highest number of cases of the disease in the entire country: Andralanitra.

Upon arriving at the dumpsite, Bononi was struck not by the prevalence of disease but by the dire circumstances in which residents lived. He spent four years learning about and documenting the lives of the people of Andralanitra. His photographs and interviews became the photo essay and documentary “City of Flies.”

“City of Flies” was one of the first published works to document the demographics and living conditions of Andralanitra’s residents, giving visibility to some of the most extreme cases of poverty in Madagascar. Most residents are orphans; even adults living at the site were abandoned there as infants by mothers who could not afford to keep them. Residents make a living by sorting through waste to recover metals and plastics that can be sold in town.

A small collection of Bononi’s photos was first published in VICE magazine in 2016. Two years later, Irfoss published Bononi’s complete photobook, “Une Belle Vie, Une Belle Mort” (“A Beautiful Life, a Beautiful Death”). The combination of a photo essay, documentary and photobook drew international attention and became an example of how journalism can inspire social change.

How “City of Flies” Inspired Social Change

In June 2026, Bononi spoke as a guest lecturer for Boston University’s Conflict & Crisis Reporting summer class in Padua, Italy. Speaking to a group of 10 journalism students, Bononi described his work in Andralanitra as his greatest success, saying its value lay not in money or awards but in the change it brought about in Madagascar.

According to Bononi, his documentary’s proof of 3,000 people living in the dumpsite forced the Madagascan government to acknowledge that the site was inhabited, and that the community was made up largely of children. His work also motivated local and international groups to pressure the government to address the humanitarian conditions in which people were working, living and sleeping among waste.

The most significant change, Bononi said, came when he returned to the dumpsite years after his work was published and found it had no residents. The Madagascan government had reintegrated the community, providing residents with jobs within the country’s broader society.

Looking Ahead

Poverty in Madagascar as a whole remains far from resolved, and numerous nonprofit organizations continue working to address the country’s economic and environmental hardships. Still, Bononi’s “City of Flies” illustrates the impact that can come from documenting injustice and giving voice to communities that are otherwise overlooked.

– Mia Puleo

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

Photo: Flickr

 

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Social Contract Program and Poverty Reduction in Kyrgyzstan

Poverty Reduction in KyrgyzstanDespite recent economic growth, poverty remains a challenge in Kyrgyzstan, with 25.7% of the population living below the national poverty line.

To help vulnerable households achieve greater financial stability, the government initiated the Social Contract Program, which supports the creation of microbusinesses, small businesses that are usually operated by individuals or families and require relatively low startup costs. This article explores how the Social Contract Program is helping families launch microbusinesses, increase household incomes and support poverty reduction in Kyrgyzstan.

Social Contract Program

Established in 2022, the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration launched Kyrgyzstan’s Social Contract Program. The program targets struggling households with viable business ideas. It provides benefits such as cash grants and a support package that includes agricultural training, financial literacy training, business plan development, social services and mentoring. Participants have used the grants to launch a variety of microbusinesses, including livestock breeding, dairy production, sewing services, beekeeping and greenhouse farming.

The Social Contract Program has significantly impacted the growth of microbusinesses. More than 35,226 families received a total of 3.5 billion KGS to start microbusinesses since its launch in 2022. The program’s continued expansion demonstrates its potential to create sustainable sources of income for vulnerable households across Kyrgyzstan.

Impact on Poverty Reduction

The Social Contract Program has expanded significantly since its launch, helping thousands of low-income households create sustainable sources of income. Before the program was implemented nationwide, the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration piloted the initiative in two districts. The pilot supported 100 families, each receiving a grant of 100,000 KGS (approximately $1,200) to start a business (p. 6). By May 2022, 62 of the participating families had already begun generating income from their enterprises.

Following the success of the pilot program, the government expanded the initiative to 2,800 families in 2022 and 10,000 families in 2023 (p. 7-8). The program has continued to grow, reaching more than 35,226 families and distributing a total of 3.5 billion KGS to support the creation of microbusinesses.

The Social Contract Program has also expanded economic opportunities for women in Kyrgyzstan. In 2025, 10,902 of the program’s participants were women. Many of them have used grants to launch businesses in agriculture, manufacturing, trade and services, showing how the program helps women generate independent incomes and contribute to their households’ financial stability.

By providing vulnerable households with the resources needed to start businesses, the Social Contract Program is creating new opportunities for long-term economic growth and poverty reduction in Kyrgyzstan.

Looking Ahead

To fight economic instability, the Social Contract Program is helping vulnerable households across Kyrgyzstan build more stable futures through entrepreneurship. By providing grants, business training and mentorship, the program allows participants to establish microbusinesses and generate sustainable sources of income. Its rapid expansion and strong participation rates demonstrate its potential to improve livelihoods and create new economic opportunities. As the program continues to grow, it plays an increasingly important role in poverty reduction in Kyrgyzstan by helping families achieve greater financial independence and long-term stability.

– Michelle Kurniali

Michelle is based in Dallas, TX, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr