• A program launched in the 1990s has eliminated river blindness completely in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Guatemala. WHO (PDF link)
• In the United States, the age-adjusted overall cancer death rate has been steadily declining since the 1990s, with the reductions between 1991 and 2019 translating into nearly 3.5 million cancer deaths avoided. AACR.
• Breast cancer death rates in the United States dropped by 43% between 1989 and 2020. American Cancer Society (PDF link).
• Malawi has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. WHO. Vanuatu has also eliminated trachoma. WHO.
• Nigeria has recorded a significant decrease in child marriage, with the proportion of girls married before their 18th birthday falling from 44% in 2016 to 30% in 2021. There has also been considerable progress in child mortality, which has decreased from one in eight children dying before their fifth birthday in 2016, to one in ten in 2021. UNICEF (PDF link).
• Between 2012 and 2021, the rate of violent crime in the United States declined from 26.1 to 16.5 incidents per 1,000 people. Department of Justice (PDF link).
• Major milestone for Greek energy as renewables power 100% of electricity demand. Euronews.
• Social Security boost will help millions of kids, too. AP.

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

• Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge of 2014? It helped fund a new ALS drug that was approved by the FDA this week. NPR.
• This 100% solar community endured Hurricane Ian with no loss of power and minimal damage. CNN.
• In 2021, 40% of the electricity produced in the United States was derived from non-fossil fuel sources. US Department of Energy.
• Guaranteed income programs have been a lifeline across the US, new research shows — especially for parents of color. Bloomberg.
• Australia’s most-polluting coal plant to shut decade earlier than planned. BBC.
• California allows affordable housing on some commercial properties. Los Angeles Times.
• More than twice as many Americans support than oppose the #MeToo movement. Pew Research Center.
• U.S. jobless claims hit lowest level in five months. The Wall Street Journal.

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• AIDS-related deaths have decreased. In 2021, around 650,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide, compared to 2 million people in 2004 and 1.4 million people in 2010. UNAIDS (PDF link).
• Leprosy has decreased from over five million cases a year in the 1980s to just 133,802 in 2021. WHO (PDF link).
• Since 2008, the UNFPA Supplies Partnership, which supplies reproductive health services, has prevented 254,000 maternal deaths and saved 1.6 million children.
• In Tanzania, deaths due to malaria have decreased by 71% from 6,311 in 2015 to 1,811 in 2021. For children under 5, malaria-related mortalities declined by approximately 50% between 1999 and 2016. Global Citizen.
• By 2020, the number of violent crime arrests involving youth reached a new low, 78% below the 1994 peak, and half the number 10 years earlier. US Department of Justice (PDF link).
• A series of bipartisan bills has led to a 21% decline in prison populations in Oklahoma in the past five years. The Crime Report.
• Texas bail reform reduced jail time and crime, new study says. Bloomberg.
• Seven years ago, the homicide rate in El Salvador was 103 homicides per 100,000 people – the highest in the world. In 2021, that had dropped to 18 per 100,000, and the downward trend has continued into 2022. El Salvador Info.
• Aggregate global wealth grew by 12.7% in 2021, which is the fastest annual rate ever recorded. It’s not just the rich getting richer. Global wealth inequality has fallen this century because emerging economies are growing faster. Global median wealth has risen approximately twice as fast as global wealth per adult. Credit Suisse.
• All fifty states greenlit to move EV charging networks forward, covering 75,000 miles of highway. US Department of Transportation.
• In a bipartisan vote, US Senate ratifies pact to curb potent greenhouse gases. New York Times.
• Phoenix plans to build affordable housing on vacant city land. Axios.

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• Ozone-killing materials in Earth’s stratosphere fell over 50% to levels seen before the ozone hole became a problem. DW.
• Tiny new tree frog species found in rewilded Costa Rican nature reserve. Mongabay.
• Dutch students have invented a zero-emissions car that captures carbon as it drives. Euronews.
• Scientists hail autoimmune disease therapy breakthrough. The Guardian.
• The Nigerian project helping babies to be born free of HIV. The Guardian.

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

• Measles cases in southeast Asia declined by 92% between 2002 and 2020, and the death rate decreased by 97% – saving an estimated 9.3 million lives. WHO (PDF link).
• Maternal mortality rates in Zimbabwe declined from 657 deaths per 100,000 births in 2007, to 217 per 100,000 births in 2019. Significant improvements in maternal, neonatal and child health as well as interventions to reduce HIV, malaria and TB are working. BMJ (PDF link).
• Trials showed new malaria vaccine provides up to 80% protection against the deadly disease. BBC.
• Iran close to eradicating illiteracy. Tehran Times.
• The average life expectancy in India in 1947 was around 32 years and now it has increased to 70 years. Times Now.
• More people now work in clean energy than in fossil fuels. Quartz.
• In the US, child poverty fell by 59 percent from 1993 to 2019. The New York Times.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released its Goalkeepers Report on global progress. Since 1990, poverty and hunger have declined dramatically while life spans have increased on every continent. The share of global smokers has declined by about 20 percent; children are roughly 30 percent less likely to be malnourished or stunted; rates of tuberculosis have declined by about one-third; maternal deaths per live births have declined by 40 percent; the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases such as dengue and leprosy has declined by roughly 70 percent; and the share of the global population with access to toilets and safe plumbing has increased by 100 percent. The Atlantic.

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