• In the past decade, social protection coverage reached 4.7 billion people in low- and middle-income countries, the highest point in history. World Bank.
• The number of people in Indonesia living in extreme poverty has fallen from 120 million in 1984 to just 5 million in 2023. Our World in Data.
• Since 2010, the South-East Asia region has recorded a 53% reduction in the maternal mortality ratio, a 44% reduction in the neonatal mortality rate, a 39% reduction in the stillbirth rate, and a 49% reduction in the under-five mortality rate. WHO.
• New vaccine exceeds 95% efficacy in preventing infection from the deadliest variant of Ebola. Gavi.
• A flu strain has likely gone extinct since 2020. Our World in Data.
• In the US, a nonprofit has struck a deal to pay off $30 billion worth of unpaid medical bills for an estimated 20 million people. NPR.
• Kenya’s electricity access rose from 37% in 2013 to 79% in 2023, with full access achieved in urban areas. Energy Monitor.
• New law will provide free school lunch for 40,000 students in Utah. KSL.
• India overtakes Germany to become 3rd-largest generator of wind, solar power. The Hindu.
• Florida built more large-scale solar than California last year, despite state leadership opposed to climate action. Canary Media.
• Pakistan added 22 gigawatts worth of solar panels in a single year, more than Canada has installed in total. Clean Technica.
• The Ocean Cleanup says it can clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years. Good Good Good.
• Plastic pollution littering Australian coastlines has dropped by 39% over the last decade. Oceanographic.
• Scientists invent edible ‘squid shell biofilm’ to double shelf-life of strawberries — without changing their taste. Good Good Good.
• How Japan built a 3D-printed train station in 6 hours. The New York Times.
• Astronomers have found signs of biological activity on a planet 124 light years from Earth, in what they call the strongest evidence yet of extraterrestrial life. Financial Times.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.