Lebanon has been drowning in a series of crises since 2019. The economic, banking and political systems are in tailspin and the national currency has lost 98 percent of its value.

Protesters smashed windows of banks in the Lebanese capital Beirut this past week as the currency hit a new low against the dollar. The Lebanese lira has lost about 97 percent of its value, and more than 80 percent of the population live below the poverty line. Millions of people are struggling to make ends meet amid the financial turmoil.

Cancer diagnoses are on the rise in Kenya, but with less than a fifth of people enrolled in a national insurance scheme, getting a diagnosis can force families to make huge financial sacrifices. Stigma only makes things worse.

The Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have reversed three decades of progress in reducing poverty, according to the World Bank, which is warning that the global goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 is now out of reach.

It is unlikely the world can meet the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030, a World Bank report found. Experts have said COVID-19 ended years of progress while war and higher prices are now making things worse.

Three years into Lebanon's devastating financial collapse, some 80 percent of the population is now living below the poverty line. The situation is driving more and more people to risk their lives on the open seas.

Migration has become the major option of survival for many Nigerian youths. Many reasons have been argued to be the cause for youth migration abroad. One of such reasons is the extreme rate of poverty. And as poverty keeps biting hard on the population, Nigerians especially the youths tend to seek various creative means to go in search of greener pastures abroad. Guardian TV was out to speak with young Nigerians on why migration is an option.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan last year, international aid for the country has dried up. The pandemic and the ongoing food crisis have complicated an already dire economic situation. Unicef says that as more families are pushed deeper into poverty, they are forced to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age. Our France 2 colleagues report.

A student who set up a not-for-profit project in lockdown has helped 3,000 refugees out of period poverty. Ella Lambert, 21, who studies at the University of Bristol, launched the Pachamama Project last year. The initiative which has 1,000 volunteers globally, makes and distributes reusable sanitary pads to refugees.

The Turkish lira has been hitting all-time lows against the US dollar and the euro in recent months and inflation is soaring, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is unfazed.

Pope Francis said that those who are indifferent to the poor "offend God." In a Christmas season overshadowed by coronavirus worries, he also urged followers to value the "little things in life."

With prices soaring in crisis-hit Lebanon, many women can no longer afford sanitary pads. Packs of sanitary towels now cost between 13,000 and 35,000 Lebanese pounds -- between $8.60 and $23 at the official exchange rate -- up from just 3,000 pounds ($2) before the economic crisis. With more than half the population living in poverty, tens of thousands of women are now on a desperate hunt for affordable alternatives. Some women are making their own, using baby nappies or even rags.