Hope Is A Verb - NewsFix - HPV Vaccines. Solar Power. EV Charging Breakthroughs.

Episode Date: March 16, 2026

This week’s headlines include – India launches the world’s largest HPV vaccination campaign; school meal programmes across Europe reach 25 million children; solar becomes the fastest-growing energy source in history; EV giant BYD unveils a nine-minute charging system; river otters make a comeback in the Great Lakes and southern Africa launches its first cross-border birding route.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]

Hi and welcome to NewsFix, your weekly antidote to doom scrolling, brought to you by Fix the News. I'm Anthony Badolato and here's what's making headlines. India joins the race against cervical cancer. Europe is dishing up school meals. EV giant BYD reps up its charge. And Africa's first cross-border birding route takes flight. Okay, let's get into it. Cervical cancer is a disease that's largely preventable.

But in India, around 80,000 women die from it every year. Until now, the country has just launched the world's largest HPV vaccination campaign, aiming to protect tens of millions of girls from the virus that causes the disease. Here's what Anupria Singh Patel from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had to say. This initiative will protect our girls because we are starting this vaccination for girls in the age group of 14 years. in the first phase and it will be an intensive campaign for three months. It's hard to grasp the scale of this effort. Imagine a national vaccination program in a country like Finland or New Zealand.

You might reach around 150,000 girls. In India, the plan is to vaccinate around 60 million girls over the next few years. That's roughly 15 to 20% of the global total in that bracket. Until now, access to the vaccine in India has been mostly available through private clinics at a cost many families couldn't afford. This campaign will make it available for free at government health facilities, a move that could save tens of thousands of lives every year in the decades ahead. In other health news, a new immunotherapy is showing rare promise against advanced prostate cancer and Lennikapova, the breakthrough twice-yearly injectable drug that has shown

100% efficacy in preventing HIV infections, will start its rollout in Kenynolds. and Zimbabwe. Over to Europe now, where 25 million children are now receiving meals through school food programs, and the momentum is growing. In the last five years, more than a third of EU countries have expanded or introduced school meals. These programs not only improve nutrition, school attendance and long-term health, the economic upside is pretty compelling, with returns of up to $34 for every dollar invested. It's not so much so much. surprising that one of the smartest investments a country can make is feeding its kids. A quick update on energy, solar now accounts for three quarters of all new global power capacity,

making it the fastest growing energy source in history. Not bad for something that's been shining for around 4.6 billion years. Buckle up, the electric vehicle revolution is speeding up too. Chinese EV giant, BYD, has just unveiled a new charging system that can take a car from 10% to 97% in just 9 minutes. Roughly the amount of time it takes to grab a coffee. Speaking of, I wouldn't mind one. And in the United Kingdom, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen to their lowest level in over

150 years, while coal use has dropped to levels not seen since the 1600s. A coincidence? I think not. There's also more good news for the planet this week, with river otters making a remarkable comeback across North America's Great Lakes. Croatia has also created its 13th nature park. And finally, one for all you bird lovers. Five southern African countries have launched Africa's first cross-border birding route, called the Rivers of Life. The route links 36 protected areas across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, a region larger than France and Germany combined.

As the name suggests, the route will track along major river systems in the region, protecting migratory corridors for more than 650 bird species, while boosting ecotourism across southern Africa. Get those binoculars ready. Okay, that's it from me this week. I've got to say I'm always blown away by how much good news there is out there. there and why it isn't making more headlines. Make sure you check out the full download of good news at fixthenews.com. Until next time, remember, it's not all bad.