Between the social, political, and economic upheavals affecting our lives, and the violence and forced displacement making headlines, you’d be forgiven for feeling gloomy about 2016. A look at the…
Imagine you fall ill or have a serious accident. You survive, but to recover you need extensive medical care. The problem? You don’t have insurance and have to pay out of pocket. Your life savings…
In 2015, over half a million students—representing 28 million 15-year-olds in 72 countries and economies—took the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test. The Former…
Mr. Kannan, a differently abled social entrepreneur. (Photo: Varalakshmi Vemuru) During my recent mission visit to Sivagangai District in Tamil Nadu, India, I met with Mr. Kannan, a social…
I usually don’t wake up to hate mail in my inbox. What prompted this deluge is a recent paper that evaluates the impact of a training program for informal health care providers (providers without…
Devotees at the Erwadi Dargah in Tamil Nadu, India. (Photo: DMPH Erwadi) Last month I blogged about how mental illness is curable, treatable, and preventable. Today, let me take you to a town in…
Access to education is improving but so must the quality of learning. (Arne Hoel/World Bank) See if you can spot the pattern: “Although the quantity of schooling has expanded rapidly, quality is…
October 17 is the international day to end poverty. There has been much progress toward this important milestone: the World Bank Group’s latest numbers show that since 1990 nearly 1.1 billion…
India’s rivers are heavily polluted. According to official estimates, 302 of 445 river stretches fail to meet even bathing criteria (Central Pollution Control Board [CPCB], 2014). This is known to…