A woman walks between tents that house the hospital wards at a camp for displaced persons in South Sudan. The photo was taken in February. David P. Gilkey/NPR hide caption
Goats and Soda We're all neighbors on our tiny globe. The poor and the rich and everyone in between. We'll explore the downs and ups of life in this global village.
Goats and Soda
STORIES OF LIFE IN A CHANGING WORLD
A scene from the popular Ethiopian soap opera Yegna, which sends messages about health and well-being to its teen viewers. Topics range from child marriage to menstrual pads. @yegnaplayer via YouTube/ Screengrab by NPR hide caption
The reporter's kids, Sasha and Noa, both love falling asleep to lullabies. This is a sleeping self-portrait by Sasha, age 4. With great attention to detail, she has drawn the unicorns on her comforter. Sasha Ladly hide caption
A lullaby really can work magic. Science tells us why and how
Samira Muhammadi, the owner of Banowan-e-Afghan restaurant, prepares food for a birthday party. Nava Jamshidi hide caption
Brisket is a classic cut of meat for the low and slow cook. Joel Villanueva/Getty Images hide caption
A worker at the Wupperthal Original Rooibos Co-operative's processing facility carries a bag of freshly harvested rooibos to the processing area. The country's rooibos tea exports have skyrocketed from barely 500 tons in 1996 to nearly 9,000 tons today — enough to fill 3.6 billion teabags. But Indigenous farmers were long cut out of the revenues, until a ground-breaking agreement was forged. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption
A face mask languishes in the grass in Krakow, Poland. With the state of emergency over, some people are relishing freedom from masks while others believe masking up is still a wise preventive measure. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption
Ophelia Dahl, cofounder of the global group Partners in Health, is the recipient of the 2023 Radcliffe Medal from Harvard University, awarded each year to "an individual who has had a transformative impact on society." Partners in Health builds local partnerships to address health issues. Dahl was hailed for her "unfailing optimism, clarity of vision and unsurpassed ability to get the work done." Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Greenwich International Film Festival hide caption
Study participants in The Gambia received a measles vaccine through a virtually pain-free sticker. Early data on adults and children as young as nine months suggest the syringe-free skin patch is safe and effective. Micron Biomedical hide caption
A picture from May 1 shows an abandoned hospital in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, a state in Sudan. Weeks of fierce fighting in the country have had a devastating impact on health care. AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A vendor in a market in Nigeria counts local bills. The country is one of dozens whose devalued currency is fueling a debt crisis. Pius Utomi Ekpei /AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A dilemma for dozens of countries: Fund your schools and hospitals or pay your debt
This choir from South Africa spent two years singing in Britain, and even performed for Queen Victoria in 1891. But their journey did not end well. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption
Death cap (Amanita phalloides), Amanitaceae. De Agostini Picture Library via Getty Images hide caption
They're hip-hop artists who weave public-health messages into their rhymes: From left: Sister Fa, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Ali A.K.A. Mind perform at the Skoll World Forum 2023. During this rap, McDaniels called out: "I'm not afraid of the dark anymore/because I am the light./I'll be there at the start of the war/Because I am the fight." Skoll Foundation hide caption
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame of Ghana is the new chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities — the first African woman in that post. Asked to define disability, she says: "It is not the presence of the impairment, but it is the social and attitudinal barriers that are hindering our performance." Ernest Ankomah for NPR hide caption
A poster in Kolkata, India, from peak pandemic days sends a message to mask up. Now that the official COVID-19 global emergency is no longer in effect, some folks are thrilled to stop masking — but others wonder if it's a good idea to keep up certain precautions. NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption
Pregnant women at Sierra Leone's Gondama Referral Center. Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. A new study looks at an intervention to prevent death from postpartum hemorrhage. Lynsey Addario/Getty Images hide caption
Journalist Thomas Bwire asked these Kenyans how the pandemic has changed their lives. Top row from left: Abdala Hamadi, Judith Shitabule and Innocent Agwenyi. Bottow row from left: Phillister Atieno, Father Ignacio Flores Garcia and Valary Judith Atieno. Thomas Bwire for NPR hide caption
Visitors to "Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined" at the New Museum are greeted by "In Two Canoe" (foreground) and "For Whom the Bell Tolls," two sculptures by the Kenyan-born artist that feature fantastical hybrid creatures set against a landscape that uses gray emergency relief blankets to depict the silhouette of Mount Kenya. Courtesy New Museum. Photo: Dario Lasagni hide caption
Thangamma, about 80 years old, dives in to gather seaweed. Anushree Bhatter for NPR hide caption
While ailing, African elephant Noor Jehan rested on a sand pile at a zoo in Karachi, Pakistan. The photo was taken on April 14. The elephant died 8 days later. Akhtar Soomro /Reuters hide caption
On Friday, World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: "With great hope, I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency." Fabrice Coffrini /AFP via Getty Images hide caption