• In 2023, vaccination saved at least 1.8 million lives in the African region. WHO.
• Since 2000, malaria cases in Southeast Asia have dropped by nearly 80%. Think Global Health.
• In Nepal, electricity access has now reached 97.5% of municipalities. In 2016 only 58% of households had electricity access. Makalu Khabar.
• Drones are helping rural women in India boost their income and India’s agricultural productivity. One drone is able to cover five acres in the time it takes five people to cover half an acre. Gates Notes.
• Maternal deaths decreased by 56% in the Ashanti region of Ghana in less than four years due to medical drone deliveries. BMC Health Services Research.
• New Mexico has approved three bipartisan bills that will extend clean water protections, create a state-run pollution prevention program to conserve river systems, and invest $50 million in wildlife crossings. Pew.
• Solar electricity production in Europe during the first quarter of 2025 was up by over 30% from the same months in 2024. Reuters.
• Latin America has went from just one gigawatt of solar power in 2017 to 31.8 GW by 2023. Dialogue Earth.
• Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fall to record low. Reuters.
• 50 states, 50 fixes. The New York Times.
• A veterinarian in Rwanda has tripled the population of the endangered gray crowned crane in less than ten years. Mongabay.
• After a century, Cook Islands’ atoll officially rat free. Fruits and vegetables are now flourishing without rat damage and wildlife is rebounding. New Zealand Department of Conservation.
• Self-driving cars reduced property damage claims by 88% and bodily injury claims by 92% compared to human drivers. Clean Technica.
• Eighteen years ago, Tim Friede began willingly injecting himself with escalating doses of venom from 16 snake species. Now, antibodies in his blood have led to the development of a three-part antivenom cocktail capable of protecting mice from the toxins of a variety of dangerous snakes. Fierce Biotech.

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• From 2018 to 2022, cancer death rates in the US decreased an average of 1.7% per year for men and an average of 1.3% per year for women. NIH.
• Poverty has declined for all Indians since 2012, from 30.4% to 3.9% in rural areas, and from 26.4% to 3.9% in urban areas. The Indian Express.
• From 2008 to 2023, multidimensional poverty in Latin America dropped from 45.8% to 25.4%. UNDP.
• A Cleveland, Ohio housing initiative got over 150 unhoused people into housing a year ahead of schedule. Good Good Good.
• Between 2019 and 2022, a collaborative project between Kenya, South Korea and UNICEF enabled over 232,000 people to gain improved water access through solar-powered boreholes. UNICEF.
• In 2024 in San Francisco, violent crime fell by 14%. SF Chronicle.
• Saiga antelope numbers increased from just 30,000 in 2006 to nearly 4 million today. Mongabay.
• Electric trains in California cut 89% of toxic air pollution. Interesting Engineering.

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• New Mexico made childcare free. It lifted 120,000 people above the poverty line. The Guardian.
• Burundi’s under-five mortality rates have significantly declined, from 143 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2002, to 50 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022. Vaccination is considered the leading factor in the significant decline. Gavi.
• Denmark could eradicate cervical cancer by 2040. CTV News.
• Kuwait and Portugal ban child marriage.
• Paris air pollution is down 50% after its radical bike-friendly transformation. Fast Company.
• One of Brazil’s rarest parrots almost doubled in 20 years, taking the bird from “endangered” to “near threatened” status. Mongabay.
• In Japan, induced pluripotent stem cells are being tested to treat blindness, paralysis, Parkinson’s disease and more. Approvals might be around the corner. Nature.

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• 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.

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• Thailand bans corporal punishment of minors. Asia News.
• Clean sources made up 41% of the world’s electricity mix in 2024. 80 countries now generate more than 50% of their electricity from clean sources and 47 get more than 75%. The Progress Playbook.
• Clean sources produce over 50% of US electricity for the first month on record. The Progress Playbook.
• Finland nearly coal-free four years ahead of schedule. Euronews.
• The number of proposed coal plants in the OECD region has decreased from 142 in 2015 to five today – a 96% fall. Carbon Brief.
• Adults who received a vaccine against shingles were 20 percent less likely to develop dementia in the seven years that followed vaccination. Nature.
• Japan creates plastic that dissolves in hours in the ocean and enhances soil health. Japan Daily.
• Thanks to AI sound analysis, an endangered bird was located for the first time in 30 years. Good Good Good.
• A new social media app punishes users for rage-baiting. Wired.

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• In 1990, 12.8 million children died before the age of 5, in 2023, that number dropped to just 4.8 million. Things are still bad, but they’re getting better. WHO.
• Last week would have been the 111th birthday of Norman Borlaug. The man who developed high-yield, disease-resistant wheat that sparked the Green Revolution, saving over a billion lives from hunger. Wikipedia.
• Vaccines have prevented 18.8 million deaths since 2000. Gavi.
• In 1995, an estimated 55% of Nepalis lived in extreme poverty. By 2023, this figure had plunged to just 0.37%. World Bank.
• In the past 15 years, New Zealand’s grid has went from 65% renewable electricy to 88%, driven entirely by economics, without government incentives. Clean Technica.
• Scientists develop concrete that captures carbon instead of emitting it. Northwestern University.
• California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles. Electrek.
• Paralyzed man stands again after receiving reprogrammed stem cells. Nature.

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• Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to end almost 40 years of conflict. Reuters.
• In the US, Medicaid expansion saved 27,400 lives by 2022. The Economist.
• Global average yields of cereal crops have tripled over the past 60 years. This has been crucial to feeding a growing population while sparing natural habitat from expanding agricultural land. Our World in Data.
• How China re-greened the most eroded place on earth. The Guardian.
• Texas broke its solar, wind, and battery records in one week. Canary Media.
• Covid ‘benevolence bump’ endures as acts of kindness 10% higher than before 2020. The Guardian.
• Tech millionaire builds village of 99 tiny houses for homeless neighbors in Canada. Good Good Good.
• Mediterranean monk seals make remarkable return from brink of extinction. ABC.
• In the past 25 years, 68 million child marriages have been averted. UNICEF.

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• $20k foldable tiny home can be installed in just 60 minutes: ‘Meeting the growing demand for housing’. Good Good Good.
• Man lives for 100 days with artificial titanium heart in successful new trial. CNN.
• U.S. battery capacity increased 66% in 2024. EIA.
• Almost 100 million people in Africa have gained access to electricity in recent years. Global Energy.

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• James Harrison, a man with an unusually high concentration of rare antibodies in his blood that can help prevent hemolytic disease in newborns, died recently. He helped save 2.4 million babies by donating blood. The Washington Post.
• Vaccines now save six lives per minute in Zimbabwe. The country has slashed under-five mortality from 93 to 48 deaths per 1,000 live births. Gavi.
• HPV vaccines help reduce US cervical cancer deaths by 62%. Gavi.
• Cambodia, once the world’s most mined country, is now almost landmine-free with the number of casualties plummeting from 4,320 in 1996 to just 49 in 2024. Construction Property.
• Texas sees steady decline in child abuse deaths after legislative changes. KSAT.
• India’s tiger population doubles in a decade. BBC.
• In 1987 there were only 22 remaining California condors, North America’s largest bird. There are 561 today, with 344 flying free. Knowable Magazine.
• Wind and solar power overtake coal in US for first time. The Times.
• UK emissions fall 3.6% in 2024 as coal use drops to lowest level since 1666. Carbon Brief.
• How Bangladesh rolled out the world’s largest off-grid solar program. The Progress Playbook.
• Scientists have developed a new rice strain that emits 70% less methane. Sci Tech Daily.
• Chilean scientists develop rice that uses half as much water. El Pais.
• Almost 100 million people in Africa have gained access to electricity in the past five years. Global Energy.
• In 2024, women in the US 16 and older earned an average of 85% of what men earned, up from 81% in 2003. Women between 25 to 34 years old earned 95% of what men earned, up from 88% in 2003. Pew Research Center.

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• Nearly 24% decline in U.S. drug overdose deaths. CDC.
• By 2023, Denmark had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared 1990, and will likely cut its emissions by 50% this year. Reuters.
• Fetus receives life-saving medication before birth in medical first. Science Alert.
• New sickle cell treatment cures disease at lower cost than gene therapies. Axios.

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