What went right this week: beacons of social progress, plus more

Poverty rates in Latin America and the Caribbean fell to the lowest level on record in 2023, a new report from the United Nations shows. However, there’s much work to be done: figures show that some 172 million people in the region still live in poverty, most of them women.

According to the report, published this week, the regional poverty rate fell by 1.5% in 2023 compared to the year before. The decline was led by improvements to living standards in Brazil (pictured), Latin America’s most populous country. 

While inequality persists in the region, the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said that improvements to social security schemes, including pensions, had helped improve living standards. In two decades, the number of pensioners living in poverty in Latin America fell by 14.3%, it added.

Image: Poswiecie

Fathers in Finland are taking almost twice as long off work to be with their newborn children than they were two years ago, new figures show. 

It’s thanks to an overhaul of the country’s paternity leave rules: since 2022, both parents have been eligible to take 160 days paid leave each before the child turns two.

According to the country’s social benefits agency, Kela, fathers are now taking 78 days leave on average, compared to 44 days before the reforms came in, when paid paternity for fathers was capped at 54 days.

“I believe it will create a different bond between the child and the father,” Kimi Lilja, a new father who is taking advantage of the changes, told the AFP news agency. 

Johanna Aholainen, benefits manager at Kela, said: “The new rules emphasise values in [Finnish] society by aiming to even out the days of parental leave between the parents.” 

Same-sex couples are entitled to the same paternity leave as hetrosexual couples. While Finland is generous with its paternity allowance, neighbouring Sweden is even more so. It offers both parents 240 days each after a baby’s birth. 

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Doing at least 80 minutes of moderate exercise per week can almost half the risk of new mothers developing postpartum depression, a major analysis of existing research has found.

Studies have shown that exercise helps to reduce anxiety and depression in the general population. Now, Canadian researchers have shown that the benefits extend to new mothers, who were found to have a 45% lower chance of developing postpartum depression if they did at least 80 minutes of moderate exercise weekly. 

The new research – led by academics at the University of Alberta, Canada, and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine – examined dozens of existing studies involving 4,000 new mothers. It found that starting exercise within 12 weeks of giving birth was linked to a greater reduction in depressive symptoms, but researchers acknowledging that this can be difficult for new mums.

“Once [the mother] has recovered from labour and delivery, going for short gentle walks is encouraged,” lead author Prof Margie Davenport told the PA news agency. “As she is ready to begin more vigorous exercise, we recommend a gradual but progressive fashion.” 

Image: Venus Major

A community school in Sydney has fought off competition from skyscrapers to be crowned World Building of the Year. 

The newly completed Darlington public school in the inner-city suburb Chippendale (main picture) was described by judges as “poetic”. Incorporating Indigenous designs, the school is adorned with Aboriginal art and has a community garden which pupils can tend while learning about native produce. 

“The result of the project is poetic, a building in which topography and landscape, inside and outside, form and materials, flow seamlessly in an unexpectedly delightful way,” said Paul Finch, programme director of the World Architecture Festival, which runs the annual award. “It is also an inspirational proposition about the acknowledgement and reconciliation of historic difference – a pointer to brighter, better futures for all.”

The school was designed by FJC Studio. Alessandro Rossi, associate at the firm, said: “The real winners are the children who will spend time in the building – a place of enrichment for many years to come.” 

Image: Brett Boardman

Providing more green space in the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods could significantly reduce the number of preventable deaths, new research shows. 

A study led by Queen’s University Belfast found that the most deprived urban areas in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland have the lowest provision of green space. Only in Wales was green space distributed equitably across neighbourhoods

In England, with every 1% increase of green space, the annual count of preventable deaths in the most deprived neighbourhoods was lower by 37%, the study found. In Northern Ireland and Scotland, the figures were 37% and 41% respectively, but over five years. 

“We believe these findings emphasise the importance of prioritising investment in urban green space within the most deprived areas, which can help address two issues – inequality in distribution of green space and preventable deaths,” said lead author, Dr Ngan Tran.

The study was limited because it assumed social and financial homogeny among people living in those areas. Nonetheless, it echoes existing research linking green space with improved health outcomes. In July, a study by the UK’s Health Foundation found that life expectancy was higher for people with good access to green space, compared to those with poor access.  

Image: Gary Butterfield

A therapy currently used against cancer has the potential to “revolutionise” treatment for lupus, a condition caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking its own tissues and organs. 

That’s according to scientists behind a new trial that will test the effectiveness of CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy on lupus patients. 

CAR-T therapy involves removing a patient’s white T blood cells and genetically modifying them to recognise and attack problem-causing cells, in particular B cells. Because B cells are also a major factor in lupus, scientists believe that CAR-T could treat this condition, too. 

Researchers hope that one-off CAR-T therapy will reduce, or even remove, the need for life-long medication for patients with lupus. Lupus symptoms include joint and muscle pain, tiredness and rashes. Around 70,000 people in the UK alone have the condition, 90% of them women.

The trial is being run by University College London. “Lupus is a disease that requires life-long medication, but this therapy has the potential to change that, which is incredibly exciting,” said Prof Ben Parker, consultant rheumatologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, which is taking part in the trial.

Image: Sasun Bughdaryan

A long-running row over a four-day week at an English council has resulted in a victory for supporters of a shorter working week. 

South Cambridgeshire district council launched a 15-month trial of a four-day week in January 2023, amid opposition from the then-Conservative government. It argued that the Liberal Democrat-controlled council was not complying with its legal duty to provide an improving service for taxpayers.

However, the results of the trial showed that worker performance mostly improved or remained the same, while staff turnover fell by 39%. The council reports saving more than £370,000 per year during the trial, partly because it spent less money recruiting for vacant positions. Staff were paid no less for working fewer hours.  

The new Labour government dropped the Conservative’s objections to councils running four-day week trials this week. 

The results of the Cambridgeshire trial, which saw employee wellbeing soar, chime with those of other four-day pilots. Critics question whether such gains can be maintained long term. A separate pilot of a shorter working week launched last week in England.

Read more: The results of the world’s largest four-day week trial are in – and it’s good news

Image: Mimi Thian

Tweaking flight routes could significantly reduce the warming effect of plane contrails, research from the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) shows. 

The organisation estimates that contrails – the white lines in the sky created by planes – have a warming effect on the planet almost as significant as aviation’s CO2 emissions. Other research has reached similar conclusions.

However, according to T&E, only 3% of flights are responsible for 80% of contrail warming. Rerouting them could reduce global contrail warming by more than half by 2040, without adding significantly to fuel burn. 

Contrails form when a plane passes through cold humid air. Most dissipate but some persist, spread out, and become artificial clouds that trap heat in the atmosphere. 

“By identifying the very few flights which cause warming contrails and tweaking their flight paths, we can have an immediate effect on contrails warming,” said Carlos Lopez de la Osa, T&E’s aviation technical manager. 

“There are very few climate solutions that can be implemented so quickly. But this can only happen if we include contrail mitigation in our climate targets and adopt groundbreaking policies to monitor, avoid contrails and mandate solutions.”

The research comes amid growing calls to cut air travel to reduce emissions. 

Image: William Hook

Oysters are thriving again in the Firth of Forth after going extinct in the Scottish estuary more than a century ago because of overfishing.

Around 30,000 European flat oysters were reintroduced to the estuary last September, with marine experts reporting an 85% survival rate this week. 

The return of oysters to the estuary is part of Restoration Forth, a project aiming to create an oyster reef in the estuary. It’s hoped that the molluscs will provide a habitat for other species such as fish, crabs, sea snails and sponges.

“Alongside seagrass meadows they will play a crucial role in bringing the estuary back to life and transforming the future of this coastal environment for people and nature,” said Caitlin Godfrey of the Marine Conservation Society.

Image: Maverick Photo Agency

Instead of trying to keep people off their land, a new generation of UK farmers are actively encouraging them to come on to it. 

This week, Positive News reported on a growing movement among farmers to get people to engage with nature, culture and spirituality on their patches. 

Doing so brings benefits to farmers, while improving access to green space in a land that is mostly off limits to the public. 

Read more here.

Image: Will Elsom
Main image: RichVintage