Studies show that a single application of the antiseptic chlorhexidine, an affordable medicine, can reduce the risk of death among newborns by about 25 percent. In Nepal, where 20,000 newborns die every year, the medicine has revolutionary potential.

On average, black students in public schools receive fewer resources giving them a late start. A mostly black university in New Orleans has increased overall achievement by developing students’ shared responsibility for one another’s success.

Nail salons offer services that often are toxic to their workers, from manicures causing acrylic dust in the air to the chemicals that can permeate through skin. Salon workers complain of respiratory problems and sometimes cancer. The California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative offers certification in maintaining safe practices for their workers, offering an incentive for the use of ventilation equipment and gloves.

Latin American women in San Francisco have suffered from post-partum depression, social isolation, and chronic stress at the time of their pregnancies. Run by midwives, the Centering Pregnancy program at the San Francisco General Hospital provides patient-centered care, an environment to speak in Spanish, and a nurturing community for women’s group appointments. The results boast fewer c-sections and pre-term births, and an improvement in emotional support and overall prenatal health.

Therapeutic courts like the Anchorage Wellness Court were born out of a desire to reduce recidivism rates and deflate ballooning prison populations. For many, they have become the answer to breaking the cycle of criminal behavior while treating people with substance abuse issues.

California has long struggled with creative solutions to its lack of abundant water. Los Angeles offers its residents free recycled water as a solution to drought and water shortage issues.

Prospects in Camden, NJ, one of the most impoverished and murder-ridden cities in the U.S., are finally looking up, particularly for its younger residents. This is in part thanks to Hopeworks, a nonprofit that provides Camden’s youth with employable skills while addressing childhood trauma and socioeconomic stresses. Having served 3,500+ people in their 17 years of operation, Hopeworks is now expanding its success story to Philadelphia, where they will implement a pilot program later this year.