It’s easy to focus on all the bad news out there, but let’s not ignore all the good news. Here’s just a small selection of good news from around the world:

• About 11.2 million or 38% of all households in regions of India deemed Japanese-encephalitis endemic now have access to clean piped water critical to improving health outcomes, up from about 2.9% in 2019. Hindustan Times.
• US faith groups unite to help Afghanistan refugees after war. AP.
• US poverty fell to 9.1 percent in 2020 — the lowest rate on record and a significant decline from 11.8 percent in 2019. Washington Post.
• The number of leprosy cases around the world plummeted last year, with new cases falling by 37% and total cases by 27% compared to 2019. WHO.
• Australian bandicoot brought back from brink of extinction. BBC.
• Northern hairy-nosed wombats are back from the brink of extinction. ABC.
• US Teen nicotine use is 55% lower today than it was 20 years ago. JAMA Network.
• Leaded gasoline, one of the worst public health dangers of the past century, has finally been eradicated. Vox.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network and Future Crunch.