Takakudjyti Kayapó, better known as Takakre, holds up a matrinxã fish. A community fishing monitor, he will measure and weigh the fish before recording its details in a spreadsheet to be sent to other members of the team studying how the mercury used in illegal mining is affecting fish populations in the Pixaxá River. Alany Gonçalves hide caption
Joyce Cohen Lashof was the first female dean of UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and a lifelong fighter for social justice. UC Berkeley School of Public Health hide caption
An older adult receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a temporary vaccination site on Dec. 7 in Chongqing, China. Concerns about effectiveness and safety have led to uncertainty about the COVID vaccine, notably among older citizens, whose vaccination rate is relatively low. He Penglei/China News Service via Getty Images hide caption
New father Yappe Pako gets help with his kangaroo care carrier from a midwife. His newborn son is named Ambo Crisostome. They're in the kangaroo care ward at the University Hospital Medical Center at Treichville in the Ivory Coast. A new program teaches the technique to moms and dads. It's especially beneficial for preterm and low birthweight babies. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR hide caption
Gerhardt Boukes, chief scientist at Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, formulates mRNA for use in a new vaccine against COVID-19. The company — based in Cape Town, South Africa — is the linchpin of a global project to enable low- and middle-income countries to make mRNA vaccines against all manner of diseases. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption
Boys play in a stairwell in Cissie Gool House, an abandoned hospital now home to over 1,000 people. By painting, decorating and maintaining the building, its new residents have managed to turn it into a decent home for themselves and their families within striking distance of central Cape Town. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption
Two of our favorite hidden gems feature goats who take no guff and an ice sculptor from Kenya who defied skeptics. Forest P. Hayes; Michael Kaloki hide caption
In some hospitals, like this one in Chongqing, one of China's largest cities, patients are lying on gurneys in the lobby because beds have run out. Noel CELIS/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A girl poses for a portrait in a camp for internally displaced people on the outskirts of Baidoa, Somalia, on Dec. 14. As people flee their homes because of drought, famine and fighting, camps have sprung up this year around the Somali capital and other cities. Luke Dray for NPR hide caption
Afghan women protest a new Taliban ban to keep women from studying in university. This demonstration took place on Dec. 22 in Kabul. Now there is added concern about the future of education for girls of all ages, with reports that the Taliban has sent home women who teach in primary schools. Stringer/Getty Images hide caption
Medical workers in protective gear escort an elderly patient on a wheelchair followed by family members as they leave a fever clinic at a hospital in Beijing on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Andy Wong/AP hide caption
2022 年 12 月 1 日，星期四，北京某小区的主要入口，居民从一名身穿防护服的保安身旁走过，他正在浏览手机。 Andy Wang/AP hide caption
On Tuesday, the Taliban banned women in Afghanistan from attending university. The ban came as students were taking final exams. This photo from 2013 shows a sophomore at Kardan University in Kabul. Ahmad Jamshid/AP hide caption
Print a poster version of this comic to hang up on your fridge or give away to friends. Download the poster here. Malaka Gharib/ NPR hide caption