• Bangladesh eliminates visceral leishmaniasis, Maldives interrupts leprosy transmission, and North Korea eliminates rubella. WHO.
• In 2023, Niger became the first country in Africa to eliminate Onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness); and Senegal is now on track to become the second. WHO.
• India to extend free food grains program for 800 million people by five years. Reuters.
• Cleaner air in London brought about by the Low Emission Zones contributed to a 4.5% reduction in long-term health problems and an 8% decrease in respiratory issues like asthma and bronchitis. Medical Xpress.
• A combination of treatments cut the risk of death in people with advanced bladder cancer by more than half. Nature.
• The amount of coal used in the United States has fallen from about 2.8 million tons a day in 2008 to about 1.1 million tons a day this year. IEEFA.
• Portugal was powered solely by renewables for an entire weekend. PV Magazine.
• EV sales are booming in the United States. Sales rose by 49% in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2022. Kelley Blue Book (PDF link).
• U.S. solar generation has grown 12x in a decade. PV Magazine.
• The COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved 2.4 million lives in 141 countries. Futurity.

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

• The Mosquirix vaccine for malaria has cut deaths among young children by 13% and reduced severe cases by 22% during its four-year pilot rollout to two million kids in three countries. Science.
• Access to electricity in Tanzania has increased from 7% in 2011 to 37.7% in 2020, one of the fastest access expansion rates in sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank.
• In Europe and North America, dementia has fallen by 13% per decade over the past 25 years. Financial Times.
• From 2000 to 2021, the imprisonment rate in the US fell by 70% for Black women and by 48% for Black men. The 19th.
• Number of sea turtle nests on Florida coasts exploding, even tripling in some regions. ABC News.
• Some deaf children in China can hear after gene treatment. MIT Technology Review.
• The typical American family got about 37% richer between 2019 and 2022. Noahpinion.
• 40% more snow leopards in Bhutan. Warp News.
• 98% of Uruguay’s grid is powered by green energy. NPR.
• This Japanese city is piloting EV wireless charging at traffic lights. electrek.
• The world has made substantial progress in increasing basic levels of education. Our World in Data.

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

• Between 2002 and 2022, the Global Fund saved over 59 million lives through its HIV, TB, and malaria programs. Friends of the Global Fight.
• Between 2013 and 2021, cases of measles in Indonesia decreased by 95% and rubella incidence decreased by 89%. WHO.
• New cervical cancer therapy cut the risk of women dying or the cancer returning by more than a third. BBC.
• Denver experimented with giving people $1,000 a month. It reduced homelessness and increased full-time employment. Insider.
• In the US so far this year, homicides nationwide have declined 11% to 12%. Los Angeles Times.
• Crime in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level on record. BBC.
• 50 million more girls have been enrolled in school globally since 2015. UNESCO.
• Half of the world is past a peak in fossil power. Ember.
• Kids are much less likely to be killed by cars than in the past. Economist Writing Every Day.
• Human Progress has launched a new tool with access to thousands of datasets including visualizations of the rise of global income, life expectancy, democracy, education, the end of famine, and more. Human Progress.
• Over the last seven years, Kenya has trained over 1,200 nurses and under-five mortality has more than halved. World Bank.
• Last year, 55,870 hectares of land were reforested in Xizang, China, employing over 1.68 million people. Global Times.
• Between 2010 and 2020, the cost of solar fell by around 15% each year, and installed capacity rose by 25% per year. If this trend continues, solar will become the dominant form of energy for the world. Nature.
• UK emissions fall 3.4% in 2022 as coal use drops to lowest level since 1757. CarbonBrief.
• In August, when heavy rain hit parts of Chile, tens of thousands of people had to evacuate their homes as their communities flooded. Many got a warning a couple of days in advance, thanks to a tool called Flood Hub that rolled out in the country earlier this year. Fast Company.

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

• Poland gives support to centrist opposition after 8 years of nationalist rule. AP.
• Brazil set to widen lead as cleanest major power sector. Reuters.
• Bionic hand solves user’s pains in more than one way. Interesting Engineering.
• New AI tool diagnoses brain tumors on the operating table. The New York Times.
• Boston’s high school dropout rate fell by more than half. Here’s their blueprint. Next City.
• ‘People are happier in a walkable neighborhood’: the US community that banned cars. The Guardian.

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

• Only 8.6% of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty. This is the lowest percentage in human history. World Bank.
• 100 million doses of a cheap, reliable malaria vaccine are in the process of being manufactured. BBC.
• Egypt has gone from having one of the world’s highest rates of hepatitis C to being on the path to elimination in less than ten years. WHO.
• Millions more students to receive free school meals under expanded U.S. program. PBS.
• UK minimum wage set to rise in 2024. Euronews.
• The monarch butterfly is no longer endangered. Science.
• World’s electricity supply close to ‘peak emissions’ due to growth of wind and solar. CarbonBrief.
• Wind generation exceeds demand for electricity for the first time ever in Ireland. Euronews.
• AI predicts 70% of earthquakes a week before they occur. Interesting Engineering.

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