Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate trachoma. In 2000, it threatened 2.8 million people (15% of the population) with blindness
Rwanda became the first low-income country to provide universal eye care to all of its citizens, by training 3,000 nurses in over 500 health clinics
Since 2010, global HIV/AIDS infection rates have fallen by 16% in adults and by 35% for children
The WHO revealed that teenage drinking has declined across Europe, the continent with the highest rates of drinking in the world. The country with the largest decline? Britain
India registered a 22% decline in maternal deaths since 2013. That means on average, 30 more new mothers are now being saved every day compared to five years ago
Canada signed another conservation deal with its First Nations people, creating the largest protected boreal forest (an area twice the size of Belgium) on the planet
Harvey Weinstein finally got arrested for his crimes
Ireland ended it’s abortion ban
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights rules that Latin American governments have to allow same-sex marriages in their countries. The court decision sets a binding precedent in Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Suriname.
France revealed a sharp fall in daily smokers, with one million fewer lighting up in the past year, and cigarette use among Americans dropped to its lowest level since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started collecting data in 1965
In the forests of central Africa, the population of mountain gorillas, one of the world’s most endangered species, was reported to have increased by 25% since 2010, to over 1,000 individuals
Scientists in Rome unveiled the first bionic hand with a sense of touch that can be worn outside a laboratory
Scientists report, for the first time, the discovery of a new form of light, which may involve polaritons, that could be useful in the development of quantum computers
Morocco passed a landmark law that criminalizes violence against women, and imposes harsh penalties on perpetrators
South Africa, home to the world’s largest population of people living with HIV, shocked health officials by revealing a 44% decline in new infections since 2012
The Kofan people of Sinangoe, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, won a landmark legal battle to protect the headwaters of the Aguarico River, nullifying 52 mining concessions and freeing up more than 32,000 hectares of primary rainforest
A new assessment of the ozone hole, published by the UN, shows it to be recovering faster than previously thought
The Indian Supreme Court decriminalizes homosexuality
Scientists report the discovery, based on MARSIS radar studies, of a subglacial lake on Mars, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) below the southern polar ice cap, and extending sideways about 20 km (12 mi), the first known stable body of water on the planet
Deforestation in Indonesia fell by 60%, as a result of a ban on clearing peatlands, new educational campaigns, and better law enforcement
In a major milestone for human rights in the Middle East, a Lebanese court issued a new judgement holding that homosexuality is not a crime
Scientists discovered a whole new branch of the tree of life, distinct from animals, plants, bacteria and fungi
New research revealed that in the last two decades, female genital mutilation has fallen from 57.7% to 14.1% in north Africa, from 73.6% to 25.4% in west Africa, and from 71.4% to 8% in east Africa
In California, the world’s smallest fox was removed from the Endangered Species List, the fastest recovery of any mammal under the Endangered Species Act
According to new data from the Department of Justice, the proportion of people being sent to prison in the United States has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years
The WHO certified Paraguay as having eliminated malaria, the first country in the Americas to be granted this status since Cuba in 1973
Niger revealed that it has planted 200 million new trees in three decades, the largest positive transformation of the environment in African history
Scotland became the first country in the world to include teaching of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights into its state school curriculum
Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace treaty, signaling the end of a 20-year war, and reuniting thousands of families
After a decade long effort, Herat, Afghanistan’s deadliest province for landmines, was declared free of explosive devices
For the first time since agriculture-based civilization began 10,000 years ago, the majority of humankind is no longer poor or vulnerable to falling into poverty
Chile said it had managed to quadruple its clean energy sources since 2013, resulting in a 75% drop in the average cost of electricity
Pakistan’s parliament passed a landmark law guaranteeing basic rights for transgender citizens and outlawing all forms of discrimination by employers
120 million people gained access to electricity. That means that for the first time since electrical service was started (1882), less than a billion of the world’s population are left in darkness
Bangladesh revealed this year that it had reduced its child mortality rate by 78% since 1990, the largest reduction by any country in the world
