Global Health

Suande, whose uncle died the previous month, lays a cloth over his uncle's coffin on the eve of the funeral.

PHOTOS: The Dead Live With Their Loved Ones On This Indonesian Island

12:14pm September 29, 2019

The Toraja people of Indonesia keep the preserved bodies of their deceased relatives at home for years. They're saving up for a big funeral. But there's a deeper reason for the custom.

Botswana has the world's largest elephant population, with some 130,000 animals.

Why Botswana Is Lifting Its Ban On Elephant Trophy Hunting

2:28pm September 28, 2019

by Krista Mahr

The government is revoking a ban on elephant hunting. Some say that's good news for the tourist business and local farmers who say the animals trampled their crops. Others aren't so sure.

Orthopedic surgeon Kebba Marenah and his team get ready to perform knee surgery on a 14-year-old at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul, the capital of Gambia. The country struggles with a lack of access to sufficient pain medications.

Health & Safety

A Place Where The Opioid Problem Is Upside Down

10:36pm September 27, 2019

by Jason Beaubien

While the opioid problem in the U.S. is about too many opioids, in some countries there are few options for treating or controlling pain.

Queue Listen Now

Residents of Sydney attend a rally last month at Parliament House in support of decriminalizing abortion.

Australia's Largest State Lifts Abortion Restrictions

2:04pm September 26, 2019

by Paolo Zialcita

The Parliament of New South Wales, home to the nation's largest city, Sydney, has removed unlawful abortion from the state's criminal code and has eased access to abortion services.

Stacy Jupiter, a newly named MacArthur Fellow, poses with a puppet used in a show she staged for kids about how to protect fish. Jupiter is a marine scientist who works on ocean issues in Fiji.

'Genius' Grant Goes To Marine Scientist Who Embraces Flash Mobs And Comic Books

9:44am September 25, 2019

by Vicky Hallett

Stacy Jupiter works with the people of Fiji to protect the oceans. Two of her most important life lessons came from the Peace Corps: 1) listen and 2) nothing ever goes according to plan.

A man stands in his wrecked home in Macomia, Mozambique, after Cyclone Kenneth in April. It was the second intense cyclone to strike the country in six weeks.

U.N. Summit: Climate-Related Disasters Getting Worse, Funds To Help Falling Short

1:05pm September 24, 2019

by Tim McDonnell

Low- and middle-income nations are still tens of billions of dollars a year short for recovery from the increasing number of disasters, according to a new report.

A girl receives the Ebola vaccine in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Doctors Without Borders Calls For More Transparency In Distribution Of Ebola Vaccine

5:47pm September 23, 2019

by Paolo Zialcita

The international humanitarian group says the World Health Organization is restricting access to the vaccine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the current outbreak has killed more than 2,100.

Belinda Qaqamba Ka-Fassie poses at a community space where women cook and sell meat. She started drag as an escape from oppression she felt at Stellenbosch University for being "black, Xhosa, poor, queer and effeminate." "It is through pageantry and perfo

PHOTOS: Drag Queens In South Africa Embrace Queerness And Tradition

4:41pm September 20, 2019

Even though they face discrimination, they proudly embrace their heritage in the way they dress.

How To Design A Female-Friendly Toilet

4:30pm September 20, 2019

by Emily Vaughn

In developing countries, public toilets may be in short supply. And even when they are available, women and girls might not feel comfortable using them.

A computer illustration of the virus that causes smallpox. The virus was eradicated in 1980, but live samples are kept in two known labs for research.

Russian Lab Explosion Raises Question: Should Smallpox Virus Be Kept Or Destroyed?

9:39pm September 19, 2019

by Fran Kritz

The lab is one of two known places that store live samples of the virus that causes the disease. Scientists use them for research. But there is concern about accidental or intentional release.