Spotlight on Real-World Impact: Our Q3 Report

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Explore Our Highlights from Q3

“The 'caste' column and any references to caste in undertrial and/or convicts’ prisoners’ registers inside the prisons shall be deleted.”

On October 3, 2024, with those 21 words, India’s Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, ended a centuries-old system of caste-based work in prisons throughout the country. It was a system that assigned the most inhumane jobs, such as cleaning latrines, to those in the lower castes, while allowing prisoners in the higher castes to do administrative work, or no work. The landmark ruling obliterates an entrenched injustice and, just like that, changes the lives of millions of imprisoned individuals. 

Meanwhile in Brazil, the Ministry of Health announced a new program to reduce Black maternal mortality after a spike in deaths by preventable causes, such as high blood pressure and infections—a regression to levels not seen in 25 years. 

These impactful policy decisions followed the groundbreaking work of journalists supported by the Pulitzer Center, as well as intentional engagement programs that amplified the reach of their reporting, taking the stories where audiences are. 

In the case of India’s Supreme Court ruling, the chief justice acknowledged that he was following the lead of journalists. For two years, Pulitzer Center grantees Sukanya Shantha and Jahnavi Sen, of the independent outlet The Wire, investigated and exposed how caste-based work, among other forms of discrimination, was sanctioned in prison manuals across India. The chief justice congratulated the journalists and said that had it not been for their reporting, the injustice may have never come to light. The stories received significant attention, won awards, became part of lesson plans in the U.S., and were also featured in a Pulitzer Center global online event about mass incarceration and the challenges of prison reporting. 

In Brazil, it was meticulous reporting by journalist Cláudia Collucci of Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil’s largest newspaper, that revealed the unjustifiable health breach in maternal deaths. After the stories came out, the Pulitzer Center provided additional funds to reporters so they could organize a public conversation about disparities in maternal mortality. The event was attended by health care professionals, researchers, and a representative of Brazil’s federal government. Just a few weeks after the event, Brazil’s Ministry of Health announced the new program to reduce Black maternal mortality. The initiative is called Rede Alyne, in honor of Alyne Pimentel, a pregnant Brazilian woman whose 2002 death was blamed on a lack of care.

These two examples of policy changes—the result of deep journalism combined with creative and impactful activities to reach audiences beyond the original publication—give us hope. They also encapsulate many aspects of the Pulitzer Center’s mission: engaging communities worldwide on issues that are relevant to them, increasing the quality of discussion, and cultivating a more active and informed civil society. At the heart of it all are journalists, educators, and communities who dig deeply and persist in the pursuit of truth. 

Thank you for your support, 

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Impact

The Democratic Republic of Congo has canceled a major auction for oil and gas drilling rights across the country, including in the Congo Basin, which is the world’s last rainforest that stores more carbon than it emits. The decision follows a Pulitzer Center-supported project by Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN) Fellow Josephine Moulds, which revealed preferential treatment and backroom deals in the auction process.

DRC Minister of Hydrocarbons Aimé Sakombi Molendo said an evaluation of the auction process had found “a lack of applications, inadmissible bids, late submissions, and inappropriate or irregular bids.” He announced that these findings meant the auction could not continue.

Last year, Moulds’ project found that at least 13 blocks of land to be auctioned off overlapped with protected areas, and two encroached on the world’s largest tropical peatlands. The land could release large amounts of carbon if disturbed, contributing to global warming.

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This message first appeared in the October 18, 2024, edition of the Pulitzer Center's weekly newsletter. Subscribe today.

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