Hope Is A Verb - NewsFix - Global Health Wins. Overfishing. Stair-Climbing Wheelchairs.

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

This week's headlines include: big news for HIV, tuberculosis and Leishmaniasis; China continues emissions decline; surprising drop in youth crime; long-awaited victory for Indigenous communities in Bolivia; more fish in the US and a stair-climbing wheelchair. NewsFix is brought to you by Fix The News. Hosted by Anthony Badolato, Hear That! If you want to get in touch with the team, email [e-mail]

Welcome to NewsFix. I'm Anthony Badolato, and here is a round-up of stories that are making better news this week. Three big developments in global health. China's emissions are trending down, why things are getting more fishy in America, and a stair-climbing wheelchair steals the show in Tokyo. Okay, let's dig in. It's been a pretty massive week in our reporting of global health. Firstly, South Africa has become the first African country to register for the revolutionary twice-yearly anti-HIV injection, Lennikapova. And they have done it in record time, with close to half a million doses to be distributed in early 2026. This drug provides almost full-proof protection against HIV, making it the biggest breakthrough in HIV prevention

ever. Meanwhile, if you've never heard of Leishmaniasis before, count yourself lucky. It's a tropical parasitic disease that in its deadliest form is known as black fever, because it turns the skin grey and black, like something out of Game of Thrones. However, thanks to early detection and treatments, the disease is officially in retreat, with 98% of treated patients now cured, and cases of its deadliest form, visceral leishmaniasis, falling by nearly 60% in the past decade. There's also good news for tuberculosis, the world's deadliest infectious disease. AI has joined the fight across more than 80 low and middle income countries, as trained health workers are using mobile X-ray units that sends images to an AI program,

which instantly analyzes them and highlights possible signs of TB. filling a life-saving gap and catching cases that would otherwise go unseen. And here's another reason to look at the trend lines, not the headlines. Did you know that youth crime in developed nations has plummeted since the 1990s, with theft and vandalism plunging most steeply? Researchers say young people today drink less, spend less unsupervised time with peers, and are under closer parental watch.

Let's switch gears and talk energy. China is now the main engine of the global clean energy transition and is reported to file three times more clean tech patents than the rest of the world combined. For the past 18 months, the country's CO2 emissions have either remained flat or fallen thanks to a 46% jump in solar generation and 11% in wind. There's some good news for nature as well this week. After a 20-year campaign, Bolivia has granted indigenous communities of the Madre de Dios River collective title to almost 3,000 kilometres squared of Amazon Forest, an area around the third of the size of Yellowstone National Park, and for the first time in over a century, salmon have returned to the Claymouth River,

which runs from southern Oregon down to northern California. This is proof that the world's largest dam removal that finished last year will continue to flow with benefits. Speaking of America, thanks to an unlikely alliance between fishermen and environmentalists, overfishing has been almost entirely stopped in the country's waters. Since the year 2000, 50 fish stocks have been rebuilt and today, 94% of assessed stocks are no longer subject to overfishing. Now, if that story didn't reel you in, I highly recommend listening to the team's chat this week on Hope is a Verb with marine conservationist, Enron.

And finally, for too long, stairs have been the nemesis of wheelchair users, turning simple errands into logistical nightmares. However, that could all change with Walk Me, a four-legged autonomous chair with robotic legs that can climb stairs, cross-gravel and manoeuvre on rough ground. It was unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show, and while it's only a prototype, it's a signal of hope for many, many people around the world. Okay, that's it from me, a slightly longer one today, but really, I've just scratched the surface. Remember to check out fixthenews.com if you want the full download. And tune in to Hope is a verb next week when the team catch up

with Brian Walsh from Future Perfect.