Nurith Aizenman

What if you could never get a good night's rest? Researchers are investigating whether sleep deprivation can keep people trapped in poverty.

Blame it on France.

China is the most troubling example of a government using national policy to engineer the size of its population with its decades-long one-child policy.

But the idea has its roots in late 19th century France. And it was expanded on in the mid-20th century by scholars ...

Mahendra Sharma is director of an unusual charity: It's effectively a boarding school for child brides. It's called the Veerni Institute and it provides free room, board, health care and schooling to about 70 girls from villages surrounding the northern city of Jodhpur. Child marriage is a long-standing practice ...

Nimmu lives in northern India and was married at 10. But she's found a way to delay moving in with her husband.

But not for the same reasons as Western parents. In the developing world, moms and dads want to make sure their kids are immunized quickly enough.

If you fall seriously ill in Poland you can count on good care at a private hospital but should probably steer clear of the public ones.

In Botswana, an otherwise survivable road accident could prove deadly owing to lack of good care. But in some areas of neighboring Namibia there's ...

It's an open secret among journalists: When reporting a major news story in an unfamiliar country, it's great to have a "fixer."

That's the catch-all term we use for our local guides to language and logistics — the people who can translate documents, interpret during interviews and generally help you ...

It'll take trillions of dollars — not billions, but trillions. Leaders are meeting in Ethiopia this week to figure out how to raise the money. Spoiler alert: Most of it won't come from governments.

The Millennium Development Goals, set in 2000, revolutionized the fight against poverty. Now the world is setting Sustainable Development Goals. But critics say there may be too many priorities.

In 2000 the world's leaders agreed on an ambitious plan for attacking global poverty by 2015. Called the Millennium Development Goals, these time-bound targets spurred an unprecedente...

It's menstrual hygiene. The topic makes many folks uncomfortable. Yet in the developing world, it's a problem that keeps girls from going to school and playing sports. Now things are changing.

It seems like a no-brainer: Offer kids a reward for showing up at school, and their attendance will shoot up. But a recent study of third-graders in a slum in India suggests that incentive schemes can do more harm than good.

The study, a working paper released by the ...

Tanzanians were skeptical when they were invited for a free trip to the big city to discuss natural gas policy. But it's actually an innovative strategy to involve ordinary citizens in key decisions.

Travon Addison, who lives near the place where Freddie Gray was arrested, wishes people could understand what living in Baltimore is like, wishes they could see his Baltimore. So we let him show us.

Marilyn Mosby rose to the national spotlight Friday with her announcement of the swift charges brought against the six police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray.

In West Baltimore's Sandtown neighborhood, Asian immigrant shopkeepers cleaned up the damage caused by rioters. Also in need of repair: their relationship with their African-American customers.

West Africa is about to receive a hefty infusion of cash. This Friday the World Bank unveiled a major aid package for the three West African countries at the center of this past year's Ebola epidemic.

Over the next 18 months, the bank plans to provide Sierra Leone, Liberia and ...

Printers blew up. People took the photo stickers home. But in the end, art professor Mary Beth Heffernan succeeded in bringing a human face to the scary-looking protective gear.

The virus is largely contained in Liberia. But an already-fragile health care system has been devastated. Crucially important workers have died. Will the world pay attention — and pitch in?

Domestic violence is never OK. Yet in 29 countries around the world, one-third or more of men say it can be acceptable for a husband to "beat his wife." Perhaps more surprising: In 19 countries, one-third or more of women agree that a husband who beats his wife may ...