Commentary | Sarah Robinson: Medical debt relief will help survivors achieve economic security | Opinion

At the Vermont Network, we support survivors of domestic and sexual violence, amplify their voices and build safer communities. We collectively represent 15 independent nonprofits that provide direct services to survivors and prevention programming in their communities. S.27, a proposal to eliminate up to $100 million in medical debt for low-income Vermonters and exclude medical…

Debt relief and shared development: a collaborative pathway for global progress

Dear Editor Abbasi’s article presents a clear and morally compelling argument: both low-income countries trapped in debt crises and medical graduates burdened by substantial loans face inequitable financial obligations that hinder development, exacerbate inequalities, and harm health and well-being. The concept of “extraction deficits” introduced in the article underscores the historical and climate-related reparations owed…

EU suspends debt aid to Zimbabwe over ‘draconian’ new law

The European Union (EU) has frozen debt relief aid to Zimbabwe after President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed a controversial law targeting civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Mnangagwa, on Friday, signed the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill into law, ignoring the advice of four United Nations human rights rapporteurs who described it as an assault…

Small businesses bear brunt of UI crisis in Mass.

The Massachusetts unemployment rate crept up to 4.3% in February, once again trending in the wrong direction. That seems hard to believe when the most recent National Federation of Independent Business Jobs Report shows 40% of small businesses have open positions they cannot fill. Of course, Massachusetts consumers notice longer lines at store checkouts with…