Developing countries

Digitizing supply chains to lift farmers out of poverty

SourceTrace offers a suite of software tools to improve the profitability, sustainability, and transparency of agricultural supply chains around the world.

September 10, 2020

Over the next decade, the King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI) intends to help improve the lives of at least 25 million people hard hit by poverty and climate change.

$25 million gift launches ambitious new effort tackling poverty and climate change

The King Climate Action Initiative at J-PAL will develop large-scale climate-response programs for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

July 29, 2020

In a step toward small-scale production of ammonia fertilizer, MIT chemical engineers have devised a way to combine hydrogen and nitrogen using an electric current that generates a lithium catalyst.

Technique could enable cheaper fertilizer production

Chemical engineers take a step toward generating ammonia with small-scale, electrochemical reactors.

May 4, 2020

A microinjection device (red) is attached to a citrus tree, providing a way of injecting pesticide or other materials directly into the plant's circulatory system.

Engineers develop precision injection system for plants

Microneedles made of silk-based material can target plant tissues for delivery of micronutrients, hormones, or genes.

April 26, 2020

“I’ve been drawn to [international] experiences mainly because I love school, and I love the classroom experience, but it just can’t compare to living with people and understanding their way of life and the issues they face every day," says senior Kendyll Hicks.

A force for health equity

Through on-site projects in developing countries and internships in the business world, Kendyll Hicks explores the political and economic drivers of global health.

February 29, 2020

A billboard in Liberia urges people to help stop the spread of Ebola, which was widespread in 2014-2015. A new study shows how a public awareness campaign helped people understand and cooperate with government efforts to control the disease.

How door-to-door canvassing slowed an epidemic

Study finds that in Liberia, volunteers limited damage from Ebola by distributing information within their own communities.

February 26, 2020

A woman carrying a Khethworks solar panel. The efficiency of Khethworks' groundwater pump enables it to be powered by smaller panels, making the system portable.

A new way to irrigate crops year-round

Startup Khethworks is deploying solar-powered pumps to help poor farmers in India irrigate crops all year long.

January 10, 2020

Illustration of patch with microneedles being applied to skin

Storing medical information below the skin’s surface

Specialized invisible dye, delivered along with a vaccine, could enable “on-patient” storage of vaccination history to save lives in regions where paper or digital records aren’t available.

December 18, 2019

Jose Gomez-Marquez holding an open glucometer prototype at MIT Little Devices Lab

A closer look at the diabetes disaster

In a new book, Amy Moran-Thomas examines how diabetes is reaching epidemic levels in countries across the world.

December 17, 2019

MIT engineers have designed a capsule that unfolds in the stomach after being swallowed, and can gradually deliver one month’s worth of a contraceptive drug. Pictured here is the preclinical version tested in a new MIT study.

Monthly birth control pill could replace daily doses

Long-lasting capsule can remain in the stomach and release contraceptive drugs over several weeks.

December 4, 2019

Researchers have used silk derived from ordinary silkworm cocoons, like those seen here, mixed with bacteria and nutrients, to make a coating for seeds that can help them germinate and grow even in salty soil.

Coated seeds may enable agriculture on marginal lands

A specialized silk covering could protect seeds from salinity while also providing fertilizer-generating microbes.

November 25, 2019

The fourth annual Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC) featured four grand prize winners. Here members of all the winning organizations pose with IIC organizers.

Inclusive Innovation Challenge recognizes startups improving the future of work

Competition awards entrepreneurs from around the world working to ensure technological progress brings greater prosperity.

November 22, 2019

“A lot of what has defined my time at MIT has been the different things that I’ve been able to get involved in,” says senior Adedoyin Olateru-Olagbegi.

Exploring the human side of health care

Senior and “people person” Adedoyin Olateru-Olagbegi brings a human touch to caring for people dealing with medical crises.

November 20, 2019

Left to right: chief innovation officer for the newly created Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation in Sierra Leone and alumnus David Sengeh PhD '15, EECS student Michal Reda, Minister of Tertiary and Higher Education of Sierra Leone Aiah Gbakima, and MISTI-Africa participant and physics and mechanical engineering alumnus Mgcini "Keith" Phuthi ’19.

Expanding education: From Africa to Cambridge and back again

Mgcini "Keith" Phuthi ’19, a native Zimbabwean, uses his experiences at MIT to develop improvements in education policy in Sierra Leone through MISTI-Africa.

November 18, 2019

MIT engineers have developed a way to encapsulate nutrients in a biocompatible polymer, making it easier to use them to fortify foods.

Microparticles could help fight malnutrition

New strategy for encapsulating nutrients makes it easier to fortify foods with iron and vitamin A.

November 13, 2019

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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