The current global shortage of organs from human donors has resulted in long wait lists and increasing mortality among patients with end-stage organ failure. Pig-to-human xenotransplantation has been touted as a solution to this problem. However, significant infectious diseases and public health considerations exist with such a technological advancement. Infectious diseases hazards with public health implications of pig-to-human xenotransplantation may be categorized taxonomically, according to temporality of potential exposure and/or reactivation, or according to anthroponotic versus zoonotic transmission. Additionally, the potential for escalating proportions of immunosuppression-at-scale in the context of the theoretically less-constrained resource of xenografts warrants particular consideration given that impacts will be differentially borne by those most affected by reactivating infections including but not limited to tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis B (HBV), and strongyloidiasis. TB, HBV, and strongyloidiasis all represent chronic infections with potential for reactivation under circumstances of immunosuppression - owing to either allograft or xenograft transplantation - that differentially impact those living in rural poverty globally, and those with risk factors for acquisition related to crowding, poor sanitation, undernutrition, and economic disenfranchisement. Chagas disease and leishmaniasis portend similar possibility of reactivation and differentially affect those residing in the global South. We herein situate the public health implications of xenotransplantation at scale within the broader landscape of infectious diseases hazards related to the technology, and propose a health equity and human rights based framework for global risk assessment.

State-led digital governance, digital inclusive finance, and rural poverty

Mapping rural food poverty: The impact of rurality on consumers' access to food using an ‘at risk of food poverty index’

Is rural pension insurance the effective way to reduce rural relative poverty

Poverty and housing precariousness in rural areas under the lens of social resilience. Revealing societal implications of lived experiences of rural poverty

This study examines the empowerment pathways generated by RISE UP WOMEN (2019–2024), a rural enterprise development initiative in Rajasthan, India—a north-western state characterised by arid conditions, entrenched rural poverty, and gender disparities. Implemented by the non-profit organisation Hand in Hand India, the programme mobilised more than 10,000 women in 60 economically marginalised villages into grassroots savings-and-credit groups, later federated into cluster- and block-level networks to strengthen collective agency and support women-led enterprises. Interventions combined business training, digital literacy, market access, and rights-based education to promote both economic and social empowerment. Guided by the Gendered Capability Approach and Social Capital Theory, the evaluation applies the OECD-DAC framework to assess programme relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, and equity. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design—drawing on 720 household surveys, nine focus group discussions, and six key informant interviews—captures both measurable outcomes and women’s lived experiences. Results show a 31% average increase in household income, a 56% rate of first-time enterprise creation, and a threefold rise in women’s participation in local governance. Gains in mobility, financial inclusion, and intergenerational investment in girls’ education further demonstrate the multidimensional benefits of women’s collectivisation. At the same time, persistent challenges remain in reaching ultra-marginalised groups and ensuring the long-term sustainability of federated structures. The analysis highlights how federated women’s collectives, when combined with enterprise scaffolding and institutional linkages, can act as powerful vehicles for inclusive rural business growth and gender equality. Beyond India, the findings provide transferable lessons for scaling women’s enterprise development in other low- and middle-income country contexts, contributing directly to global development agendas on SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Rural collective entrepreneurship poverty alleviation within the university participation context is regarded as a “socio-technical-economic” hybrid system, which aims to generate long-term economic benefits and social well-being for rural collectives through the knowledge of universities and realize the effect of poverty alleviation. However, the existing research has largely overlooked the dynamic mechanisms involved, especially how rural collectives transition from a passive response to a proactive creation in the context of university participation. Thus, we employ Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory’s “detectors-IF/THEN rules-effectors” framework through a longitudinal case study. These findings demonstrate that (1) detectors have transitioned from “specialized knowledge embedding” to “diverse knowledge embedding,” which enables broader information scanning; (2) IF/THEN rules undergo cognitive destructuring to cognitive restructuring, fostering adaptive knowledge orchestration strategies; and (3) effectors shift from exploiting vertically related opportunities to horizontally related opportunities. (4) Cross-phase evolution: The knowledge flow mechanism of “knowledge spillover-organizational learning-knowledge absorption” propels “detectors, IF/THEN rules, and effectors” from the passive response phase to the proactive creation phase. This study advances theoretical understanding of CAS and research on entrepreneurship for poverty alleviation.

This research provides the first comprehensive analysis of the rural–urban wage gap in Colombia, with a focus on the coffee and cocoa sectors, over the past two decades. Using household survey microdata from 2001 to 2023 and international sources, we estimate wage differentials and apply econometric models—including Mincerian wage regressions and Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions. Results reveal a persistent and substantial wage gap: on average, rural coffee and cocoa workers earn roughly half as much as urban manufacturing workers. Even after controlling for education, experience, and other characteristics, a substantial share of the gap remains unexplained, indicating structural issues such as lower productivity, elevated levels of informality, and labor market segmentation in rural areas. Moreover, time-series evidence from the past two decades shows no significant convergence between rural and urban wages. Comparative analysis with Brazil, Mexico, and other Latin American countries highlights how policy interventions, such as rural social protection programs, labor formalization, and support for agricultural cooperatives, have helped narrow rural–urban wage disparities elsewhere. Drawing on these lessons, we discuss policy implications for Colombia and recommend measures to boost rural human capital, strengthen labor institutions, expand social safety nets, and promote rural economic development. These recommendations aim to gradually close the rural–urban wage divide, reduce rural poverty, and foster inclusive growth.

BackgroundAlthough absolute poverty in rural China has been systematically eradicated, rural residents continue to suffer deprivation in terms of education, healthcare and living conditions, which has become an urgent obstacle to China’s goal of rural revitalisation and common prosperity. In addition, the impact of health on multidimensional poverty remains unclear.MethodsThis study constructs four periods of balanced panel data on the basis of baseline survey data from 2012 and follow-up survey data from 2015, 2019 and 2022 to conduct a longitudinal study of multidimensional poverty among rural residents. The Alkire-Foster method was used to measure the multidimensional poverty of the rural population. A fixed-effects logit model with panel data and health ecology theory is used to analyse the impact of health-related factors on multidimensional poverty.ResultsFrom 2012 to 2022, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (M₀) of rural residents decreased from 0.288 to 0.093, and the multidimensional poverty incidence (H) decreased from 58.0% to 20.2%. Among them, the contribution rate of the education dimension to multidimensional poverty always ranked first. The contribution rate of the health dimension increased significantly from 14.7% to 32.9%. The results of the fixed effects model show that increasing age (OR 2.123/4.350, 95% CI 1.802 to 2.501/3.411 to 5.547), chronic diseases (OR 1.969, 95% CI 1.757 to 2.206), catastrophic health expenditure (OR 1.446, 95% CI 1.262 to 1.658) could significantly increase the risk of multidimensional poverty in rural residents. Using outpatient health services (OR 0.632, 95% CI 0.542 to 0.738), using inpatient health services (OR 0.599, 95% CI 0.525 to 0.684), being married (OR 0.553, 95% CI 0.418 to 0.732) could significantly reduce the risk of multidimensional poverty.ConclusionIn the past decade, the multidimensional poverty of rural residents in Western China has been significantly improved, but the impact of the health dimension continues to expand. Increasing investment in medical infrastructure in rural areas and improving residents’ utilisation of health services are important ways to reduce multidimensional poverty in rural areas. Meanwhile, attention should be paid to the vulnerable position of patients with chronic diseases and families incurring catastrophic health expenditures in multidimensional poverty.

ABSTRACT This study explores the complex relationship between environmental degradation and rural poverty through the perspective of environmental justice in the Indian Sundarbans. This region is recognized for its ecological richness but faces significant socio-economic vulnerabilities. Despite the area’s abundant natural resources and biodiversity, rural poverty persists, shaping resource use patterns and environmental outcomes. The main objective is to examine how rural poverty affects the environment and to identify key socio-economic factors influencing ecosystem services in the region. A stratified sampling technique was used to select households and data were collected through structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. Household-level CO₂ emissions were estimated from domestic fuel and energy consumption. Results show nearly half of the household emissions come from burning firewood for cooking and heating. These practices not only release stored carbon but also reduce the region’s carbon removal capacity, directly contributing to environmental degradation. The people of the Sundarbans pollute far less than the national average, but they face the harshest impacts of climate change: rising sea levels, salinity intrusion and ecosystem decline that highlighting a profound environmental injustice. Among rural households, the extremely poor emit more CO₂ than the less poor because they depend on cutting trees to survive, further weakening the region’s natural carbon sink. A log-linear regression model identifies education, dependency ratio, livelihood diversification and access to transport as major factors influencing natural resource-based income. The findings suggest that poverty, isolation and low education reinforce ecological stress, forming a poverty – environment trap. This study argues that protecting the Sundarbans’ environmental integrity and enhancing its carbon sequestration potential are inseparable from improving human well-being. Achieving India’s net-zero target by 2070 requires policies that expand clean energy access, build human capabilities and ensure justice for communities who contribute least to emissions but suffer the most from climate disruption.

The European Union described poverty as exclusion from social, material and cultural activities, while the United Nations added that poverty implies lack of participation in decision making, social and cultural discrimination. In Nigeria, poverty is a notorious phenomenon which worsens on a daily basis and affects the welfare of most households negatively. The study examined the impact of the agricultural sector on rural household poverty reduction in Nigeria between 1981 to 2023. Time series data were collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the National Bureau of Statistics Bulletins. The Household Consumption Expenditure (LHCEX), which was employed to measure poverty, was specified as a function of Government Agricultural Expenditure (GAEX), Agricultural output (LAGOP), Government Agricultural Credit (LGACR), Green Alternative policy (AGPY) and Inflation Rate (INF). The estimation techniques are the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and the Granger causality test. The results show that LGAEX and AGPY had a positive but insignificant impact on LHCEX, LAGOP and INF had a negative but significant impact on LHCEX, while LGACR had a positive and significant impact on LHCEX.A unidirectional causality ran from LHCEX and GAEX to LAGOP, while a unidirectional causality ran from LAGOP to INF. The study concludes that all the variables have a strong relationship with poverty reduction and recommends increased budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector, effective monitoring of the disbursement of the funds, easy access to credit and effective strategising of agricultural policy to benefit more farmers so as to enable an increase in agricultural output and to achieve poverty reduction in Nigeria.

Diversifying sources of livelihood is a crucial strategy for rural households to manage environmental and economic shocks effectively and to reduce rural poverty. This review paper presents a comprehensive two-part literature review on the determinants and contributions of livelihood diversification strategies to sustainable development goals (SDGs). The first part of the study examines the factors that drive the adoption of these strategies. The second part evaluates how livelihood diversification contributes to achieving the SDGs, including poverty alleviation, ensuring food security, reducing inequalities by increasing income levels, improving health and well-being, promoting gender equality, and mitigating climatic vulnerability. The review indicates that education, income, market access, livestock, credit availability, technology, and electrification are the major factors influencing the adoption of livelihood diversification strategies. However, livelihood diversification strategies, such as non-farm and off-farm activities, are currently the most essential means of improving living standards in rural areas. According to the review, 20-50% of the rural population derives employment from nonfarm activities. Thus, this review provides planners, policymakers, and other relevant entities with enough information to pay greater attention to nonagricultural livelihood approaches in achieving various sustainable development goals. These strategies are instrumental in combating poverty, strengthening food security, increasing income levels, enhancing health and wellness, promoting gender parity, and reducing susceptibility to climate-related challenges in rural areas. Therefore, the country's future policies, plans, initiatives, and activities should focus on achieving sustainable development goals by encouraging off-farm and non-farm rural livelihood diversification strategies. This review also identified a scarcity of studies that explore the impact of livelihood diversification strategies on gender and health outcomes.

ABSTRACT Objective To examine whether family change in rural America is widening the rural–urban child poverty gap and increasing inequalities between children raised in married parent families and those raised in other family types. Background Mounting evidence of falling marriage rates across rural areas has led to concerns that child poverty rates have increased. However, new methods of measuring poverty and recent increases in Child Tax Credits challenge these assumptions about rural child poverty trends and the poverty penalties associated with nonmarital families. Methods Current Population Survey data are used to estimate rural and urban trends in family structures and child poverty, using the Supplemental Poverty Measure, from 2000 to 2023. Logistic regressions test whether the poverty penalties associated with living in four kinds of nonmarital families (cohabiting, formerly married, never married, and kinship care) have changed for rural and urban children over this period. Results By 2023, significantly more rural (37.9%) than urban (32.5%) children lived in nonmarital families; simultaneously, rural poverty rates declined significantly. Further, although rural children living in nonmarital families faced greater poverty penalties than urban children in 2000–2003, by 2020–2023 these penalties had diminished substantially for both rural and urban children, and the elevated poverty penalties for rural children had disappeared. Conclusions Despite a sizable increase in rural children living with nonmarried parents, rural child poverty rates sharply declined.

ABSTRACT Climate change adaptation has become a topical issue in global discourse in recent times due to its potential impact on food and water security. Mitigating the impact of climate change and building resilience of vulnerable farmers to adapt effectively have drawn the attention of international, regional, and national policy‐making. This study investigates climate change adaptation in the Upper East Region, assessing government policies in water conservation and dry season irrigation to promote food security. The study adopted a case study design from which eight communities were selected from four administrative districts in the Sudan agro‐ecological zone. Both primary and secondary data were collected. The instruments used for the primary data collection included focus group discussions and Key Informant Interviews, while the secondary data was obtained from key government institutions such as the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The data was analyzed using content analysis. The findings of the study indicate that several policies exist in the country to deal with the impact of climate change. However, the implementation of these policies at the local levels was marred by challenges such as credit, sociocultural practices, and inadequate dissemination of climate information. The study recommends that in order to adapt to climate change, reduce rural poverty, and promote food security, investments should be geared towards promoting water conservation for dry‐season irrigation farming. This would bring about diversification of the rural economy and sustain livelihoods.

ABSTRACT This study addresses rural energy poverty by designing a decentralized biogas-based system for off-grid communities. Using field data and HOMER Pro simulations, an optimal system comprising a 15 kW biogas generator, 15 batteries for energy storage, and a 10 kW inverter was developed. Co-digestion of livestock manure, maize residues, and food waste generated enough energy to meet residential, institutional, and productive scaled annual average electricity demands of 165.44 kWh/day. The system achieved a levelized cost of $0.1053/kWh, which is cheaper than typical rural grid extension. With a 1.1-year payback and 67% ROI, it offers a scalable, sustainable solution for biomass-rich off-grid regions.

Food subsidy has been a foundation of India’s social welfare and food security strategy for decades. It bridges the gap between the economic cost of foodgrains and the highly subsidized issue price under the Public Distribution System (PDS), thus enabling the poor and vulnerable sections of society to access food at affordable rates. In the context of India’s large population and persistent rural poverty, food subsidy plays a dual role- supporting farmers’ incomes through assured procurement at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and providing purchasing power to the poor through subsidized foodgrains distribution. This paper examines the long-term trends in food subsidy in India, with special focus on its annual growth rate and share as a percentage of GDP, to understand its fiscal significance. The study further explores the determinants of the economic cost of foodgrains, which directly influences the subsidy burden. Key components such as MSP/procurement price, procurement incidentals, and distribution costs for wheat and rice are analyzed in terms of their annual growth rates and their impact on the overall economic cost, using regression analysis. The findings aim to provide insights into which cost components contribute the most to the rise in food subsidy. The study relies on secondary data compiled from various government sources to highlight the changing dynamics of food subsidy in India.

Rural areas as well as their interlinkages with urban agglomerations have gained increasing attention as the main sites where the current energy transformation toward the use of renewable energy is taking place. Due to this, contestations over transitions and emancipatory efforts to transform energy infrastructures cannot be detached from the structural conditions of rural areas and their entanglements with other spatial scales. In this sense, sustainable energy transitions reflect various differences between as well as within rural areas. Consequently, rural energy transitions are embedded in broader processes of rural change. This contribution to the Focus section illustrates interconnections between energy transitions and rural change as they relate to issues of land-use change in rural areas, rural poverty, and marginalization, along with rural populism. In doing so, we argue that energy transition plays an important role for all these issues of rural development and advocate for a systematic integration of the transformation of energy systems and rural change. We, thereby, believe that contextualizing rural energy transitions can contribute to the realization of a “right to the countryside” and of just and sustainable rural futures within the energy sector and beyond.

Preventing Rural Inequities through Support of Early Relational Health in Pediatric Primary Care: A Narrative Review.

Preferences for clinical trial participation among people who use drugs in rural Oregon and Appalachian Ohio.

ABSTRACT This article underscores the crucial role of tenancy practices in shaping agricultural production dynamics and accumulation/livelihood strategies across different peasant classes in India. By examining tenancy dynamics in Haryana, a key region in India's Green Revolution and forefront of neoliberal reforms, the paper makes two contributions to the literature: First, it contributes to tenancy literature by reinstating Marxist class analysis and second, by employing a novel economic class‐based classification of households rather than traditional size‐based classification. The findings of the study reveal significant variations in objectives and extent of tenancy among economic classes: poor and small peasants engage in hunger (subsistence) leasing due to economic distress, while rich peasants lease for accumulation, leveraging their resources and hired labour. The escalating significance of tenancy amidst agrarian distress in rural India emphasizes that tenancy exploitation persists despite neoliberal reforms. This supports the advocacy of left‐wing parties in India for comprehensive land reforms aimed at redistributing land to actual cultivators, thereby addressing inequities in land ownership and tenancy systems to promote equitable distribution of agricultural resources and alleviate rural poverty.