poverty

Physician examines x-ray of tuberculous patient at Curicica

Tuberculosis rates plunge when families living in poverty get a monthly cash payout

9:53am January 03, 2025

A program in Brazil that gives a monthly cash sum to families living in poverty has an unexpected — and welcome result. A new study shows that it is dramatically reducing tuberculosis rates.

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These teachers often live in poverty. A pay raise could help — but there's a cost

5:00am October 23, 2024

A new Biden administration effort to raise Head Start teacher wages could force the federally funded preschool program to serve fewer children.

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Christopher Santiago, 38, hangs out at home in Alsip, Ill., with one of his three children, 9-year-old Calliope. He says Cook County's basic income program has let him provide more for his kids.

Places across the U.S. are testing no-strings cash as part of the social safety net

9:40am March 05, 2024

by Jennifer Ludden

The idea got a boost from the pandemic, when an array of cash relief helped cut child poverty and keep people housed. Researchers are studying how much money, for how long, may have lasting impact.

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A demonstration at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2023. A perennial Davos topic is how to improve the lives of the world's poor.

Health & Safety

So far it's a grand decade for billionaires, says new report. As for the masses ...

7:01pm January 14, 2024

by Ari Daniel

As the World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, the charity Oxfam has issued its annual report on wealth, poverty and inequality. It makes some bold assertions. But there are skeptics.

Health & Safety

NPR quiz goes global: Test your knowledge of milestones and millstones in 2023

8:03am January 14, 2024

by Marc Silver

Test your knowledge of global health and development with 12 questions about landmark events of 2023.

'Poverty, By America' shows how the rest of us benefit by keeping others poor

9:51am March 17, 2023

by Jennifer Ludden

Pulitzer winner for Evicted Matthew Desmond examines why the U.S. has more poverty than other rich nations. He finds it spends big on social programs, but gives the most to those who need it least.

A Freddie Gray protest in downtown Baltimore, Md., in 2015.

National

How one photographer is using his camera as a weapon against poverty and racism

5:57am January 16, 2023

by Seyma Bayram

In his recently published photobook, "No Justice, No Peace," Devin Allen confronts readers with the reality of how little has changed since the civil rights movement.

Carla Claure's daughters prefer eating homemade meals at home than the "nasty" food served at school.

The hidden faces of hunger in America

12:22pm October 02, 2022

by Olivia Hampton

More than 1.2 million people struggled to put food on the table at some point last year in the Washington, D.C. region. Tens of millions more are struggling across the country.

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A women holds a child in the alley of a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest countries; nearly 40% of the population survive on less than a dollar a day.

Health & Safety

The clock is ticking for U.N. goals to end poverty — and it doesn't look promising

1:51pm September 19, 2022

by Nurith Aizenman

Can we end poverty, provide food for all and otherwise make Earth a better place by 2030? By all accounts, the answer is no. So then what's the point of the Sustainable Development Goals?

Guilford County looks for ways to address homeless housing needs

5:07pm February 24, 2022

by Keri Brown

Guilford County Commissioners are considering a proposal to help address homelessness in the community. That includes efforts to find additional temporary shelter opportunities at local hotels.