From a recent posting in Tajikistan:

Our assessment of the quality of hospitals and their capacity to deliver care
On the importance of micronutrients on development

"One of the reasons corruption is so hard to eliminate, particularly in the developing world, is that honesty is seen as a kind of betrayal. Bribe-takers like bribes, to be sure, but they also hate those who won't take them-- not just because the refusers threaten their livelihoods, but because such refusals remind the corrupted that they had a choice." -- Jonah Goldberg

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Graffiti in Dushanbe Only 0.06% of Americans are named Jon so there can't be that many in Tajikistan, but a colleague spotted this on a Dushanbe street. I am going to believe that somebody likes the work we're doing.

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Over 500 million people have moved out of severe poverty in the past 20 years, and the gains are biggest among those earning less than $1.25 a day

This generation's biggest stories of progress against poverty, China and India, account for about one-fifth of the decline in world poverty shown here. And in the two decades prior to this data, another 300 million people in these countries had risen out of poverty. Astonishing proof that liberalization is the key to fighting poverty. Per capita GNP in these countries is $16.71 in China and $10.13 in India so there is lot of improvement yet to achieve, but personally I would like to see more attention on the poor and continuing progress. As it is "growing inequality" gets more headlines, many more, but here is a better perspective on the subject.

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