India’s extreme poverty down by 12% in last decade, according to World Bank
The global bank’s policy research team said the poverty headcount in the country has dropped from 22.5% in 2011 to 10.2% in 2019 with rural areas showing better results.
International organizations
World’s biggest tropical crop bank opens in Colombia
The Future Seeds facility will not only safeguard tropical crop biodiversity, but also serve as a living laboratory for some of the world’s most advanced agricultural technologies.
Nearly 200 countries pass historic resolutions linking animal welfare and the environmental crisis
The crucial resolution will help develop a better understanding of the relationship between improving animal welfare and tackling the drivers of wildlife loss, climate change, pollution and pandemic diseases.
Women-led, green businesses begin to sprout up in Ukraine
The U.N. migration agency IOM launched a pilot project called “Sustainably Made in Ukraine” in 2020, which led to the country’s first voluntary Corporate Sustainability Standard for small and medium-sized enterprises.
12 international donors pledge $1.5 billion to support protection of the Congo Basin forests
The 500 million acres of forests may be the last significant land-based tropical carbon sink in the world, making the forests vitally important in the global fight against climate change.
World Health Organization approves first-ever malaria vaccine
The vaccine – called RTS,S and developed by PATH and GlaxoSmithKline – was proven effective in 2015. Now, after the success of pilot immunization programs in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi, the World Health Organization says the vaccine should be rolled out across sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high malaria transmission. Having a safe, effective vaccine for one of the world’s deadly diseases – after more than a century of trying – is a historic milestone for medicine and public health.
India has restored nearly 50,000 acres of mangroves since 2010
India is now replanting its mangroves in one of the largest restoration programs in the world. Since 2010, the World Bank has supported the community-managed plantation of 20,000 hectares of mangroves in India.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala makes history as first woman and first African to lead the WTO
Okonjo-Iweala said she was “honoured” to be selected to lead the organization, and vowed to take on global economic and health challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
U.N. reclassifies cannabis as a less dangerous drug
Cannabis is no longer classified as a Schedule IV drug as per WHO’s recommendation. The declassification opens up the door for more research into its medicinal and therapeutic uses.
WHO rolls out plan to rid world of cervical cancer, saving millions of lives
The strategy involves vaccinating 90% of girls by the age of 15, screening 70% of women by the age of 35 and again by the age of 45, and treating 90% of women identified with cervical disease.