A diplomat’s tears, 200 snake bites, drone pix: Goats and Soda’s top stories in 2025

Marc Silver | December 23, 2025

Clockwise from top left: Michael Gonzales, U.S. ambassador to Zambia, at the May press conference when he announced a cut of $50 million in aid for medications and medical supplies to the country. After 29 minutes, he was wiping away tears: "I've cried over this because I know that it's not going to be senior officials or the senior people ... who are going to hurt. I know it's going to be the poor family in rural Zambia whose baby gets malaria and they won't have access to antimalarials." A prize-winning drone photo captures the Artemia pleasure boat, marooned in the dried bed of Lake Urmia, Iran. A dusty street scene in Kabwe, Zambia. The town's dust is still heavily contaminated with lead after nearly 100 years of lead mining and smelting that eventually ceased in 1994. Lead poisoning continues to affect thousands in the town. Florence Amungo, 34, a refugee from South Sudan, now lives at Palabek Refugee Settlement in Northern Uganda. Amungo was enrolled in a program to help people "graduate" from poverty — then found out the program was cut. She had hoped to raise pigs to support her household of 14 people — her husband, their five biological children and other children that she cares for.

There was a lot of news this year. A LOT. The Trump administration initiated seismic changes in world of foreign aid with dramatic impacts on health and poverty programs. Scary (and sometimes ancient) viruses circulated.

But there were moments of hope and beauty, too — like an award-winning collection of drone photos. That’s all evident in our selection of the stories that got the most page views in 2025. Here are the most popular stories from our global health and development coverage in Goats and Soda.

An ancient disease makes yet another comeback
Cholera is striking in Africa. It’s a disease that’s easy to control with proper treatment. But without medical care, patients can perish quickly.

This nation has the fastest rising rate of cancer cases — and deaths — in the world
According to a new report, cancer rates are skyrocketing in this tiny country. What’s causing this to happen? And what steps can be taken to turn the tide?

They were promised a lifeline to ‘graduate’ from poverty. Then it was taken away
Thousands of South Sudanese refugees and impoverished locals in Uganda saw a brighter future with a new USAID-funded project. They’d get $205 and coaching to build a business. Then came the cuts.

This may be the most lead polluted place on Earth. Is there any hope?
The U.N. has identified Kabwe, a city of almost 300,000 people in Zambia, as one of the most polluted places on the planet. Who is to blame? And can justice be done?

Neglected form of diabetes with unusual symptoms finally gets its own name
An unusual type of diabetes linked to malnutrition now has a name. Scientists are calling for wider recognition of the newly classified Type 5 diabetes to spur better treatments.

Drone photo winners will amaze your eyeballs: From a high-up horseman to a holy river
The dazzling aerial photos honored by the 2025 Siena awards offer “new ways of seeing familiar places,” as one judge puts it.

Why this U.S. ambassador cried at a press conference
Michael Gonzales, the ambassador to Zambia, announced at an emotional press conference that the U.S. would cut $50 million in aid due to theft of medications.

I wanted to know why my mom was so hard on us kids growing up. So I finally asked
When she was a kid growing up in Kenya, Esther Ngumbi was mad at her mom for being so tough on her. Now she’s grateful — but she wanted to know, did her mother realize how her kids felt at the time?

He let snakes bite him some 200 times to create a better snakebite antivenom
Scientists have created a broadly effective antivenom using the blood of a Wisconsin man who has spent years exposing himself to deadly snakebites.