Hope Is A Verb - NewsFix - 2025 Roundup

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

Welcome to our final NewsFix for 2025 - we're sneaking it in just before the finish line! In this edition we roundup the stories that changed the world this year. From the historic change in global health to an international maritime treaty, great news for green sea turtles and the climate story of the year - this is the hidden progress that unfolded behind the headlines. You can read the full download in our newsletter here.NewsFix is brought to you by ⁠Fix TheNews⁠. Hosted by AnthonyBadolato, ⁠Hear That! ⁠ If you want to get in touch with the team, email [e-mail]

Welcome to our final newsfix of 2025. I'm Anthony Badolato, and over the past year, the team published 38 editions of the newsletter, covering nearly 2,000 stories of progress from 170 countries. That's a lot of good news. So, before we turn the page to 2026, let's take a few minutes to round up the stories that genuinely moved the needle this year. Here are five solid reasons why 2025 was probably better than you think. Top of the list is global healthcare and the statistic that completely blew our minds. Since 2010, the world's total burden of illness and early death

has fallen by 12.6%. That's millions of people who are now living longer, healthier lives. Deaths from major infectious diseases like tuberculosis, respiratory infections, diarrhea and HIV AIDS have all declined. For the first time in history, infectious diseases are no longer the world's biggest killers, and the risk of dying from them before age 80 has fallen in four out of five countries. In 2025 alone, a record 17 countries eradicated a disease. More than 10 million children were vaccinated against malaria, and Pakistan launched its first vaccination drive

against cervical cancer. Thanks to scientific advances and the tireless efforts, of healthcare workers, this was a year that truly changed the odds. Coming in second is education, the quiet engine of progress. This year, youth literacy hit a record high, with 93% of 15 to 24-year-olds now able to read and write. But what happened outside the classroom also earned top marks. More than half a billion kids were fed at school in 2025. That's 100 million more than in 2020.

One guaranteed at least one nutritious meal a day, and that plate of food changes everything. It means kids show up to class more regularly with better concentration and education outcomes. This year, school meals literally fed a much brighter future. Thirdly, in 2025, billions of people experienced measurable improvements in their daily lives. The headlines sparked economic panic, but behind the scenes, global unemployment dropped to its lowest level since 1991 and extreme poverty fell across numerous countries including Indonesia and Mexico. Over the past decade, nearly a billion people gained access to safe drinking water and more than a billion to sanitation. Over 80% of the world's adults now have access to bank accounts

and we've seen the fastest expansion of electricity access in history. This means tonight more households will turn on a light, flush a toilet, wash with clean water, and maybe for the first time, head into a new year a little less worried about how to survive the next 12 months. Which brings me to number 4. 2025 marked the biggest turning point in the history of energy. Renewables overtook coal as the largest source of global electricity for the first time ever, and the shift was driven mainly by China. For over a decade, almost all growth in global emissions came from China's expanding energy demand. But over the past 18 months, that pattern has flipped. Emissions have levelled off, even fallen, with new demand now being

met by solar panels, wind turbines and batteries instead of coal. If you're looking for the climate story of the year, this is it. And finally, the planet. This year, environmental protection delivered real results. Deforestation in the Amazon fell to its lowest level. level in 11 years. Colombia closed its rainforest to new large-scale extraction, while Mexico, Guatemala and Belize created a vast tri-nation reserve protecting 57,000 square kilometers of Maya forest, rewilding accelerated across Europe, Northern America, Australia and Central Asia. Green turtles were taken off the endangered list, black rhino numbers edged up, humpback whales in eastern Australia surpassed pre-whaling levels, and species feared lost for good, like the

long-beaked echidna, reappeared. The ocean also notched up some big winds, with Morocco becoming the 60th country to ratify the UN High Seas Treaty, unlocking ocean protection at a global scale. And Pacific leaders backed a proposal for the world's largest marine reserve, an area the size of the Amazon rainforest. So there you have it. 2025 all wrapped up with some of the stories that were missing from the headlines. And I've only just scratched the surface. Make sure you go to fix the news.com to get the full download on the incredible feats that Team Human pulled off this year. From all of us here, wishing you a safe and happy new year. And I'll be back with our first news fix for 2026 in mid-January.