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I love reading about all the accomplishments, stunning achievements, heroic acts, and the little but not insignificant progress in countries around the world. It gives me the much-needed break from all the negativity.
Africa
Nigeria — Literacy program reaches 8,500 children
Nigeria’s solar-powered Project PAL literacy hubs have served 8,500 out-of-school children in the Niger Delta since 2023; UNESCO says 82% achieved functional literacy. The program received a 2026 UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize.
Asia
Bhutan — Dog-mediated human rabies eliminated
Bhutan has become the first country in WHO’s South-East Asia Region—and the second worldwide—to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies as a public-health problem. The program combined mass dog vaccination, population management, free post-exposure treatment and coordinated human-animal surveillance.
Timor-Leste and Thailand — Two diseases eliminated
WHO has validated Timor-Leste’s elimination of trachoma as a public-health problem, meaning every country in its South-East Asia Region has reached the trachoma-elimination target. Thailand has also received verification that it eliminated rubella.
India — Standardized care reaches 94 million people
More than 94 million people in India are receiving protocol-based management of hypertension or diabetes, exceeding the national target of 75 million. WHO formally recognized the achievement on September 8.
Pakistan — Girls dominate national examination honors
Girls secured 11 of the 15 highest positions across five Federal Board intermediate-examination groups. They took all three leading places in both pre-engineering and commerce.
China and Laos — Cross-border medical care expands
Public hospitals in China’s Xishuangbanna prefecture treated more than 30,000 foreign patients in 2025, most from neighboring Laos. Chinese specialists are also training Lao clinicians and extending services into Laos.
Hong Kong — Native wildlife returns to restored slopes
More than 50,000 native seedlings have been planted on previously degraded slopes at Tai Mo Shan since 2013. Monitoring now records almost all of Hong Kong’s native mammal species, more than 50 bird species and rare insects at the restoration site.
South Korea — Children pool their money to save a mouse
Three elementary-school pupils brought an overheated wild mouse to an animal clinic along with their pooled 20,000 won. The veterinarian treated it with fluids and glucose without charge, then instructed the children on its care and release.
South Korea — Whistleblowing teacher returns to her classroom
Teacher Ji Hye-bok returned to work after courts overturned her transfer and dismissal, ruling that her reports of sexual harassment involving female pupils constituted public-interest whistleblowing. Seoul’s education authority apologized and agreed to strengthen support for victims.
Australia & Pacific
Australia — Off-duty lifesaver conducts two rescues
Surf lifesaver Harry Cornell, 24, pulled an injured teenager from a dangerous current at The Entrance Channel. Minutes later, he coordinated with teenage jet-skiers to rescue a man in his sixties swept into the same water.
Australia — Midwives receive expanded clinical role
Six endorsed midwives at Canberra and North Canberra hospitals can now prescribe specified medicines and order tests during antenatal, delivery and postnatal care. The trial is intended to reduce separate appointments and provide greater continuity for patients.
Middle East
Lebanon — Accelerated school program receives UNESCO prize
Beirut’s Alsama Project has educated more than 2,500 displaced young people from refugee camps and low-income communities. Its accelerated program compresses 12 years of schooling into six and received a 2026 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy.
Europe
Scotland — Twelve kayakers brought to safety
Four kayakers were rescued after two boats capsized on Loch Ness; lifeboat volunteers subsequently found another eight people stranded on the southern shore. All 12 were brought to Fort Augustus during a four-hour operation.
Great Britain and Ireland — Lifeboat volunteers saved 389 lives
RNLI lifeboats launched 9,058 times and saved 389 lives during 2025. The organization said its volunteer crews will continue rescuing anyone in danger at sea.
Guernsey — Accessible learning village opens
Le Murier School has opened an accessible learning site for pupils with additional needs. Its cabins, commercial kitchen, campsite, farm and workroom provide practical training in independent living and employment skills.
Spain — Rural remedies preserved and scientifically examined
Eleven older residents from six communities worked with University of Lleida researchers to document inherited rural remedies and compare them with scientific literature. Their recorded knowledge is now part of a traveling exhibition accessible through written displays and QR codes.
Portugal and Macaronesia — Bird-safe lighting cuts energy use
A conservation project replaced 715 public lights in Madeira, the Azores and Canary Islands with fixtures designed to reduce seabird disorientation. Participating municipalities reported energy-use reductions of up to 60%.
Germany — Genetic study improves endangered-plant restoration
University of Regensburg researchers found no significant decline in genetic diversity or increase in inbreeding among nursery-grown populations of four endangered plants. The study identified genetic monitoring methods that can improve seed collection and reintroduction programs.
Italy — Pediatric epilepsy services open locally
Salerno’s health authority has established pediatric epilepsy clinics in Battipaglia and Agropoli. Children can receive diagnosis, individualized treatment and follow-up without traveling to distant specialist centres.
Netherlands — Multilingual school program reaches 32,000 pupils
The Netherlands-based Language Friendly School program helps schools use children’s home languages alongside their instructional language. It now operates in approximately 70 schools across 12 countries and has received a UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize.
Spain — COPD drug reduces serious flare-ups
Two late-stage trials involving 1,750 current or former smokers found that experimental drug tozorakimab reduced moderate-to-severe COPD flare-ups by 29% to 34% over one year. The findings were presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona.
South America
Brazil — Four Amazon reserves established
Brazil created four sustainable-development reserves covering approximately 669,000 hectares in southern Amazonas. The designation protects biodiversity and the land used by agro-extractive communities while allowing regulated sustainable use.
Colombia — Multilingual literacy program receives UNESCO prize
Bogotá’s Escuelas LEO program provides community-led literacy education for Indigenous people, Deaf residents, migrants and displaced communities. Enrollment increased from 320 learners in 2024 to 443 in 2025.
Canada
Ontario — Record year for endangered reptiles
The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority incubated a record 984 reptile nests this year, approximately 200 more than in 2025. It expects to release more than 16,000 hatchlings representing seven turtle species and one snake species.
Ontario — Defibrillators going onto every transit bus
Greater Sudbury plans to equip its entire public-transit fleet with automated external defibrillators. The city says it will be the first North American municipality to place the equipment on every transit bus.
Manitoba — Emergency department reopens
The Dauphin Regional Health Centre’s emergency department has reopened. The return restores 24-hour emergency care to the community.
United States
Michigan — Ranger and bystander save three girls
National Park Service ranger Luke Wassink and bystander Justin Van Skyhock used an inflatable boat to reach three girls swept 100–250 yards into Lake Michigan. They completed the rescue before an approaching storm and before a Coast Guard helicopter arrived.
California — Gray wolf reaches new territory
State wildlife officials verified a gray wolf in Mendocino National Forest from photographs and tracks. It is California’s first confirmed wolf west of the Sacramento Valley since the species began returning to the state in 2011.
Minnesota — Former cropland becomes native prairie
Restoration has begun on 225 acres of former cropland in the Cedar River watershed. Six native seed mixtures are being used to improve habitat, water quality and soil retention.
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