• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

• Best science news 2022. Neurologica.
• New clean energy investments have topped $40B since the IRA passed, report says. Utility Dive.
• Oregon governor commutes all 17 of the state’s death sentences. CBS News.
• Largest study to date confirms Ebola vaccine safety, with immunity lasting up to a year. Gavi.
• Moderna’s mRNA cancer vaccine shows promise in preliminary study. The Wall Street Journal.
• U.S. rents drop at the fastest rate in 7 years. Axios.

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

• 99 good news stories you probably didn’t hear about in 2022. Future Crunch.

• The biggest wins in clean energy in 2022. Inside Climate News.
• Experimental CRISPR technique has promise against aggressive leukaemia. NewScientist.
• More cities are excelling at policies on LGBTQ equality even amid hostile legislation, report finds. USA Today.
• How Houston halved homelessness. The Nation.
• The White House unveils a new system to track and better prevent opioid overdoses. NPR.

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

• Rubella eliminated from Singapore. WHO.
• Over the past 30 years, Cambodia has cleared landmines from a total of 2,531 sq km, making the land safe for an estimated nine million people to use for the construction of houses, schools, hospitals, bridges, roads and farming. The Phnom Penh Post.
• Bangladesh attains huge success in reducing infant, maternal mortality. The Business Standard.
• Canada’s overall poverty rate fell from 14.5% in 2015 to 6.4% in 2020. This means that Canada has met its target of reducing poverty by 50% by 2030 ten years ahead of time. National Advisory Council on Poverty (PDF link).
• Abu Dhabi reduces number of single-use plastic bags by half a million per day. The National News.
• The cost of college has stopped rising faster than inflation for the first time since the 1980s. The Hechingerr Report.
• Here are all the positive environmental stories from 2022 so far. Euronews.
• New Mexico voted a child care guarantee into its constitution. CNN.
• Critically endangered tiny gecko comes back from the brink. New Scientist.
• Kenyan female innovator awarded $1.2M for providing clean cooking stove. Africanews.
• Renewable energy sources accounted for 47.1% of Greece’s electricity generation in the first 10 months of the year, surpassing the share of fossil fuels. Ekathimerini.
• Captioned smart glasses let deaf people see, rewind conversations. CBS.
• Immigration naturalizations in the US highest in a decade. Changing America.
• U.S. jobless claims fell last week, showing solid labor market. The Wall Street Journal.

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