• Ten good news stories for kids in 2022 including bans to child marriage and corporal punishment. Human Rights Watch.
• A new law protecting women against discrimination and sexual harassment has come into effect in China, the most significant reform to women’s rights in 30 years. China Business Law Journal.
• Simple tweak to colon cancer treatment reduces relapse risk by 28%. Freethink.
• Several products that can analyze your urine every time you pee will be launched during the year. Warp News.
• The unemployment rate hit an ultra-low 3.4%. To find a water mark lower than that, you’d have to go all the way back to 1953. Axios.

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

• Nineteen countries including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda, have reduced child mortality by more than 75% since 1990. Unicef.
• Average net primary school enrollment in Western and Central Africa is close to universal, rising from 50% in the 1990s to nearly 90% today. The World Bank.
• Unemployment rate is the lowest in 50 years. The New Republic.
• Median weekly earnings rose 7.4% last year, outpacing inflation. Biggest pay raises went to Black workers, young people and low-wage earners. The Wall Street Journal.
• Over the first two decades of the 21st century, the disparity between Black and White state imprisonment rates fell by 40%; in 2020, Black adults were imprisoned at 4.9 times the rate of White adults, down from 8.2 times in 2000. Council on Criminal Justice.
• 2022 saw one of the lowest ever death rates from natural disasters. Our World in Data.
• For more sustainable affordable housing, just add mushrooms. Architect David Benjamin is bringing his biology-inspired recipe for construction materials to an affordable housing project in Oakland, California. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Women in Sierra Leone can finally own land. Quartz.
• Wind farms deliver economic jolt to rural middle America. Pew.
• Wind and solar were EU’s top electricity source in 2022 for first time ever. Carbon Brief.
• Maryland lawmakers eye four-day workweek. Changing America.

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

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo certified free of Guinea-worm disease. WHO.
• Between 2014 and 2021, the South-East Asia Region recorded 73% reduction in measles deaths and 64% reduction in measles cases. Five of the 11 countries have eliminated measles, and two countries – Maldives and Sri Lanka – have eliminated rubella as well. WHO.
• In India between 2017 and 2021, measles has decreased by 62%, and rubella by 48%. WHO (PDF link).
• Saudi Arabia is making strides in women’s rights. Strict dress regulations, mandatory gender segregation, and a ban on women drivers were abolished. ABC.
• Almost half of electricity in Germany was generated from renewables in 2022. IEEFA.
• Congress’s bipartisan deal to spend billions more fighting HIV and malaria abroad. Vox.
• Hawaii to make preschool available for all 3-4 year-olds. AP.
• Postpartum haemorrhage: Niger halves blood-loss deaths at clinics. BBC.
• Gentle policing: Social workers team up with Raleigh officers to successfully respond to over 1,000 calls. WRAL News.

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

• There’s been a 33% overall reduction in cancer deaths since 1991 and an estimated 3.8 million deaths averted, mostly due to the decline in tobacco use. American Cancer Society.
• Here are all the positive environmental stories from 2023 so far. Euronews.
• EU solar deployment rate soars by almost 50% in 2022. Energy Monitor.
• A powerful laser can redirect lightning strikes. Science News.
• Medicare begins to rein in drug costs for older Americans. The New York Times.
• 118th Congress is most racially diverse to date. The Hill.
• 118th Congress breaks record for lesbian, gay and bisexual representation. Pew Research Center.

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

• Why the ozone hole is on track to be healed by mid-century. Vox.
• The green jobs boom is benefiting the people who need it most. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• How Jersey City got to zero traffic deaths on its streets. Bloomberg.
• New antibody therapy works for 73% of multiple myeloma patients. Freethink.
• Number of populist world leaders at 20-year low. The Guardian.
• The economy is improving in three major ways. The Atlantic.

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

• 183 ways the world got better in 2022. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Adolescent risk behaviours (such as drinking, smoking, drug use, crime, and sex) have declined markedly in high-income countries between 1999-2019. ScienceDirect.
• Teen birth rates have declined 77 percent in the past 30 years. Child Trends.
• There are more than a billion fewer people living below the International Poverty Line today than in 1990. Our World in Data.
• Carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union reached a 30-year low this November despite Russia. The Hill.
• This new sea salt battery has 4 times the capacity of lithium. Euronews.
• Minimum wage rises in more than half of U.S. states. Yahoo!
• Cancer vaccines are showing promise. National Geographic.
• Secret Congress delivers more good news on clean water. Slow Boring.
• Income inequality has been falling for a while now. Slow Boring.

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