Infrequent rains have dried out the soil in parts of Nepal's terai, a region of rolling plains on the Indian border where Sarada Chaudhary lives, and an expanding population has meant more trees felled for firewood. Yet Sarada sees great potential in the women in her group to improve their own lives, and also to help preserve the forest.

Felix, 25, has been a local health worker in Xachmochán Village, Guatemala, since 2007. He has served almost 100 families in and around his village in that time, treating sick children who otherwise would not have access to the medicines that could save their lives.

Every day in the Philippines, poor families search through garbage dumps looking for something worthwhile to resell. This is a dangerous way of life that presents many health risks. The World Health Organization, WHO, is visiting families and providing them with health kits and necessary vaccines to ward off illnesses.

Tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world mean tailoring responses to the specific needs of each country and of the groups most vulnerable to AIDS. In Zimbabwe, hairdressers are trained to give advice on safe sex and the benefits of using female condoms through a program funded by the UK's Department for International Development.

A medical team from the United States is training Rwandan doctors and nurses in a new program dubbed "See and Treat." A quick test using vinegar allows for an immediate diagnosis of cervical cancer, and low-cost treatment techniques are readily available.

Eighty percent of Dar es Salaam's population lives in unregulated settlements, forced to rely on smelly and hazardous pit latrines. "The Gulper" is transforming the way those latrines are emptied, improving the health of the whole community.

Laos National Radio and UNICEF support a weekly radio program ran by youngsters in Luang Prabang. The show, “Smile of Hope,” is part of a four-year-old initiative that is giving young people a chance to reach out to others like themselves, via the airwaves.

Nearly a quarter of all Palestinian refugee families in Syria live below the poverty line and genetic disorders caused by interfamily marriage are an enormous health issue. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and UNICEF are supporting health care centers to provide immunization, primary care and genetic counseling.

Some food-insecure Cambodian villagers survive on one meal a day for up to six months a year. HEKS, a Switzerland-based Protestant aid organization, is providing Cambodian farmers with low-interest seed loans, setting up seed banks, and creating nutrition programs. The farmers now pay only five to ten percent interest on their seeds, compared to over 240 percent before, and have diversified their crops.

Madalitso Masa is a health worker from Jonasi Village in the centre of Malawi. The area is rocky and mountainous, making home visits a challenge, but Madalitso has made it her mission to bring care closer to home.

Living with HIV presents daunting challenges to prospective parents. This intimate portrait of an expectant mother in Lesotho follows her brave journey as she carefully follows prevention protocols before, during, and after giving birth -- and goes on to teach others.

A new home-based HIV testing and counseling program in Kibera is neutralizing the social stigma of being seen going into a clinic to be tested. The program builds on the idea that people will be more comfortable getting tested and receiving information about HIV/AIDS in the privacy of their homes.

As part of a five month humanitarian trip, the USNS Comfort hospital ship is bringing medical relief and surgical care to local communities in Central America. Surgeries are performed on the ship, and primary care evaluations are carried out on shore.

It wasn't easy for Dr. Ayodyha Wataliyadda to leave her family in Sri Lanka. But thanks to an initiative of the British and Sri Lankan governments, she is able to gain valuable work experience in the UK while eventually returning to practice medicine in her home country.

Investments in new equipment and modern birthing techniques are helping Kyrgyzstan adopt more child-friendly standards in its hospitals and tackle the country’s high maternal mortality rate.

Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and a general lack of funding in Haiti's National Penitentiary have caused it to become one of the worst in the Western Hemisphere. Reporter Antigone Barton and videographer Stephen Sapienza take a first-hand look at these conditions and an American doctor working to correct them.