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Analysis: A Nigerian Teen Is Turning Agricultural Waste Into Biodegradable Sanitary Pads
Auwal-Panti’s project was selected in a shortlist of 35 global teams for the 2026 Earth Prize, organized by the Earth Foundation, a Switzerland-based nonprofit that empowers, educates and inspires young people to tackle environmental challenges.
- Categories
- Agriculture, WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Keys to Successful Blue Bonds: How Peru’s Strong Local Lending Systems Are Expanding Water and Sanitation Access
For millions of Peruvian families, one barrier stands between them and safe water and sanitation at home: access to affordable financing. Yet as Rocio Cavazos at Water.org explains, the financial institutions serving these communities face their own barrier: limited access to lower-cost capital. She discusses Water.org's efforts to support Peru’s two successful blue bond issuances, exploring how these bonds can allow lenders to offer more affordable loans for water and sanitation solutions — and sharing lessons from Peru's experience that can be applied by blue bonds in other markets.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Investing, WASH
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Europe’s Textile Future at a Turning Point: New 2030 Circularity Blueprint Aims to Scale Recycling and Unlock Investment Opportunities
This ambitious initiative is designed to support the transformation of the EU textile ecosystem to advance textile-to-textile recycling and drive the transition to a circular economy.
- Categories
- WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Poor Battery Recycling Drives Lead Poisoning Risks in Africa’s Solar Energy Boom
Lead-acid batteries are widely used in many low-income markets because they are cheaper than alternatives like lithium-ion batteries, but safely recycling them requires costly infrastructure that is often lacking.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africa’s Firms are Not Growing—New Data Reveal a Jobs Challenge
Across 48 Sub-Saharan African economies, a firm that has operated for nearly three decades employs barely twice the workers it had at birth. The gap relative to high-income economies is large, structural, and costly.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Finance, Health Care, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation, WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: Pope Leo XIV Makes $100,000 Donation to CRS Safe Water Project in El Salvador
The project, promoted by the Apostolic Nunciature in El Salvador and His Excellency, Apostolic Nuncio Luigi Roberto Cona, addresses the crisis of diseases transmitted by contaminated water in rural communities across the country.
- Categories
- Health Care, WASH
- Region
- Latin America
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World Bank Group Launches Initiative to Improve Water Security for 1 Billion People
The platform will align policy reforms, financing, and partnerships to expand reliable water services and strengthen systems against droughts and floods—essential conditions for job creation.
- Categories
- WASH
- Region
- Global
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Three Questions for Five African Businesses: Insights from Sankalp Africa Summit’s ‘Enterprise Showcase’
The recent Sankalp Africa Summit featured an “Enterprise Showcase” where up-and-coming African businesses shared information about their work and missions. NextBillion interviewed five of these entrepreneurs and company representatives, asking each of them three questions: What are the main challenges you’re facing in running your business? What kind of support would help you overcome these challenges? And what’s one thing you wish funders understood about your business needs? Their responses reveal some of the innovative approaches and key issues that are emerging in Africa’s vibrant ecosystem of small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise, Transportation, WASH
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