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Explore good news from North, Central and South America: people helping others, scientific progress and environmental action, with local context.
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Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization issued updated guidance on April 10, 2026 recommending nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody, for infants at high risk of severe RSV disease, explicitly including infants in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. Infants in remote northern communities face a very high risk of hospitalization for RSV, according to the guidance.
The Immigrant Welcome Center in Indianapolis launched a free six-week citizenship preparation course running April 15 to May 20, 2026. Mirror Indy reported the course covers the US citizenship exam and interview process, connecting lawful permanent residents with volunteer attorneys and instructors.
Daily Bread Food Bank now distributes more than 35 million pounds of food a year from its Etobicoke hub across a network of 214 programs, as food bank visits across Toronto reached a record 4.1 million in the past year, CBC News reported. The food bank has already logged more than 920,000 visits since the start of 2026, ahead of last year's pace.
Girls Who Code, which made Canada its first international market in 2018, runs free after-school clubs in Toronto offering over 120 hours of self-guided coding tutorials. For 2026, the organisation's Pathways Summer Program offers a free seven-week virtual course in AI, data science, cybersecurity, and web development for high school girls and non-binary students.
Vancouver's Road to Recovery model, which launched in 2023, has cut wait times for urgent addiction treatment to one day and routine bed access to an average of eight days, the Province of British Columbia reported. The model is now expanding to all health regions across BC, alongside a Peer Navigator Program connecting people with lived experience of addiction to social and health services.
The Vancouver Park Board runs adapted and integrated recreation programs for children, youth, adults, and seniors with disabilities, including adaptive aquatics, day camps, and a Summer Sports Festival. Partner organisations extend the offering further: SportAbility runs Boccia, Power Soccer, and Para Ice Hockey, while Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports runs skiing and snowboarding at Grouse, Seymour, and Cypress Mountains.
The City of Toronto announced it is doubling its Building Skills Through Recreation program to support up to 2,000 youth in 2026, alongside more than 100 certification courses and 60 local hiring events. The city is also working toward a target of 10,000 additional summer jobs for young people by 2026, the City of Toronto reported.
Global Refuge's donor-funded Post-Arrival Stability and Empowerment (PASE) programme served 171 refugees in 2025 with rent assistance, employment support, and school enrollment help after federal resettlement funding was cut. Global Refuge reported the programme began at its Baltimore Welcome Center in April 2025 after stop-work orders froze other support services.
The University of North Texas announced on January 14, 2026 that it will cover full tuition and mandatory fees for incoming Texas freshmen from families earning $100,000 or less, starting fall 2026. The Texas Tribune reported university officials expect more than 3,500 incoming freshmen to qualify for the North Texas Promise programme in its first year.
Jamaica's Ministry of Health and Wellness launched a pilot Electronic Immunization Registry at 18 sites across the island, replacing paper vaccination records with real-time digital data for about 135,000 people. The Pan American Health Organization and Canada's CanGIVE initiative backed the December 2025 equipment handover, which followed widespread record losses during Hurricane Melissa.
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over Highway 101 in Agoura Hills, California, entered its final construction phase in June 2025 and is set to open to wildlife in fall 2026. The Governor's office reported the crossing will protect native species and more than 300,000 daily drivers by giving animals a safe route across the ten-lane highway.