Mauritius has an Exclusive Economic Zone of approximately 2.3 million square kilometers, one of the largest maritime territories of any small island state on earth. According to the United Nations, that vast ocean space represents one of the country’s greatest untapped opportunities for food security and poverty reduction. And yet, as the U.N. Development Programme has documented, rising food prices and growing import dependence continue to place significant financial pressure on ordinary Mauritian households.
Updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius sit at the center of that contradiction. Sustainable Development Goal 14, Life Below Water, is not simply an environmental target for the island nation. The U.N. frames it as a direct pathway to economic resilience, local food production and poverty reduction for a country whose ocean territory dwarfs its landmass many times over.
Poverty and Food Insecurity
While extreme poverty remains low in Mauritius, vulnerability remains an important issue in the context of rising food prices and import dependence. According to the IMF, the national relative poverty rate fell to 7.3% in 2023, while the Sustainable Development Report 2025 places the poverty headcount ratio at 0.8% at $2.15 per day and 1.3% at $3.65 per day. At the same time, food insecurity indicators remain concerning: the prevalence of undernourishment was 5.9% in 2022, and other estimates place it as high as 8.7%. These figures are especially significant in a country where rising food prices and seafood affordability continue to place pressure on lower-income households.
Recent estimates indicate that roughly 8.7% of the Mauritian population is undernourished. For a middle-income island economy surrounded by one of the world’s most productive ocean territories, that figure reflects a structural gap rather than a resource one. The food is not absent. The systems to make it accessible and affordable are what need work.
An Island That Imports What Its Ocean Could Provide
As a Small Island Developing State, Mauritius depends heavily on external markets for food supply. The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) notes that this dependence makes the country particularly vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions, imported inflation and geopolitical instability, forces that Mauritian households have little power to control and even less capacity to absorb.
Fish illustrates the problem clearly. Once one of the most accessible protein sources for Mauritian households, seafood has become noticeably more expensive in recent years. Official food security data show that the price of frozen fish peaked at Rs 327 in February 2023 and remained high at Rs 321 in May 2024. For lower-income families, this price pressure has narrowed dietary choices and deepened food inequality, despite the island being surrounded by vast marine resources that remain underutilized.
The Delivery Gap
Mauritius has made genuine legislative progress aligned with SDG 14 objectives. Two pieces of that framework are worth examining in detail because they illustrate both how far the country has come and how much distance remains.
Mauritius’s environmental governance framework is primarily anchored in the Environment Protection Act 2002, later strengthened through amendments in 2008, which extends environmental stewardship and pollution-control standards across the island’s coastal and marine zones. According to the Nairobi Convention’s country profile on Mauritius, the Act establishes environmental impact assessment requirements for coastal development projects, a mechanism designed to reduce shoreline degradation and protect marine biodiversity and fishing stocks over time.
The Integrated Coastal Zone Management framework provides the institutional structure for coordinating the management of Mauritius’s lagoons, coral reefs and coastal ecosystems across multiple government agencies. According to the Nairobi Convention’s Mauritius country profile and related regional assessments, it has supported beach rehabilitation, habitat mapping, water-quality monitoring and coral reef restoration. While the policy framework is clearly in place, implementation and ecological outcomes continue to vary across coastal zones, reflecting the long-term nature of restoration and the uneven pressures faced by different parts of the island.
The Data Behind the Urgency
The Sustainable Development Report 2025 places Mauritius 76th out of 167 countries with an overall SDG score of 70.3, a performance that reflects moderate progress on some goals and persistent challenges on others. SDG 14 sits firmly in the second category.
According to the SDG Index Dashboard for Mauritius, only 11.1% of marine sites important to biodiversity were protected in 2023. The same dataset recorded an Ocean Health Index clean water score of 68.7 in 2024, pointing to ongoing environmental pressures on the island’s marine ecosystem. Most strikingly, 71.9% of fish caught came from overexploited or collapsed stocks, a figure that directly links marine degradation to food security, livelihoods and poverty reduction, rather than framing it solely as an environmental issue.
When nearly three-quarters of the national fish catch draws from stocks already under severe pressure, updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius become less about environmental reporting and more about understanding a food security risk that is actively developing.
An Organization Closing the Gap
The Indian Ocean Commission’s SmartFish Programme offers a concrete example of what meaningful SDG 14 implementation can look like in practice. Launched in 2011, the regional initiative operates across Indian Ocean island states, including Mauritius, with a focus on strengthening fisheries governance, improving market access for small-scale fishers and building the data systems needed to monitor fish stock health over time. In doing so, it connects marine sustainability directly to livelihoods, food security and poverty reduction.
According to regional fisheries governance sources, SmartFish supports fishermen, coastal communities and food security outcomes across the region. For Mauritius, this helps transform marine resources into systems that support local food production, employment and poverty reduction.
Beyond institutional programs, the blue economy offers significant potential through aquaculture, algae cultivation, oyster farming and marine-based small enterprises. World Bank assessments identify these sectors as drivers of employment, lower seafood import dependence and improved food affordability.
What the Numbers Mean for the People
Updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius ultimately tell a story about the distance between a country’s resources and its population’s access to them. According to the SDG Index Dashboard, 71.9% of fish catch is linked to overexploited or collapsed stocks. That figure is not an abstraction, it is a timeline. Every year, that number holds or worsens, the foundation for domestic food production, fishing livelihoods and food affordability erodes a little further.
The U.N. SDG framework, regional fisheries programs such as SmartFish and Mauritius’s own legislative infrastructure all point in the same direction. Deeper investment in sustainable fisheries, aquaculture and marine-based enterprise, combined with stronger implementation of existing policy, represents one of the most direct paths available to Mauritius for narrowing the gap between its ocean wealth and persistent food vulnerability among lower-income households. The challenge now is turning existing frameworks into measurable results.
– Aditya-R Nowbuth
Adutya-Raj is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Pexels
Poverty Reduction in China and Beyond
Domestic Poverty Reduction Success in China
China’s poverty reduction is generally regarded as the largest in human history. According to the World Bank, the country lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty over several decades, largely driven by economic growth and structural reforms. From 1978 to 2020, China reduced its rural poverty rate from 97.5% to nearly zero, successfully declaring the eradication of extreme nationwide rural poverty.
This success had several key strategies:
By 2020, China had completed a major national campaign to lift tens of millions out of poverty within only five years.
Meeting the UN 2030 Target Early
The U.N.’s first Sustainable Development Goal aims to end extreme poverty globally by 2030. China reached this benchmark around 2020, making it the first country to do so at such a scale.
U.N. officials have applauded China’s progress, noting that it demonstrates the ‘No Poverty’ goal is achievable, even in a country with a population exceeding 1 billion.
Because China accounted for a large population of the world’s poor population in earlier decades, its success crucially accelerated global poverty reduction overall.
China’s Contribution to Global Poverty Reduction
Beyond its domestic achievements, China has increasingly contributed to global poverty reduction. Through trade, investment and infrastructure development, China has supported growth in many developing economies.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been a notably successful example of China’s global poverty reduction. The BRI is a massive global infrastructure development strategy led by China aiming to connect other regions to China to enhance regional trade and economic integration. Research shows that Chinese-funded projects have helped reduce global poverty by creating jobs, improving connectivity and lowering trade costs. A 2023 study found that the BRI investments are associated with measurable declines in poverty levels in participating countries, especially lower income regions.
Similarly, cross-country analysis reveals that countries that are a part of the BRI tend to experience long-term reductions in poverty, largely due to infrastructure improvements and increased economic activity.
In locations such as Africa, Chinese investment in transport and energy has supported broader economic growth by improving access to markets and enabling industrial growth. While the impact varies depending on local conditions, evidence suggests that China’s growing role in global development has become a principal contributor to poverty reduction in many developing economies.
Other initiatives, such as infrastructure investment in South-South cooperation, have helped improve industrial capacity and employment opportunities in partner countries. China has also provided financial assistance and debt relief measures for developing nations during times of crisis.
Regions That Have Benefited Most
Sub-Saharan Africa has remained home to a large share of the world’s poor, and China has become a significant development partner in the region. According to the World Economic Forum, “China has become sub-Saharan Africa’s largest bilateral trading partner.”
Countries in Southeast Asia have benefited from increased trade and manufacturing investment linked to China’s economic expansion.
Chinese investments in Latin America’s natural resources have expanded its economic opportunities and strengthened trade ties across the region.
Lessons for Other Countries
China’s experience offers important lessons for global poverty reduction to countries striving to meet the U.N.’s goals:
China’s success in eliminating extreme poverty ahead of the UN’s 2030 target proves a landmark achievement. By combining strong economic growth with targeted policies, it has transformed the lives of millions and reshaped global poverty trends.
– Leah Denning
Photo: Flickr
Poverty in Mexico and SDG Progress
Despite this progress, structural and institutional inequality still threatens Mexico’s ability to meet the SDGs. This article will review Mexico’s evaluation based on the United Nations SDG objectives for the country.
Progress on Poverty
Poverty reduction has been significant nationwide. Over the past five years, the poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 per day has decreased from 5.06 in 2020 to 1.82 in 2025. In the same time frame, poverty rates after taxes and transfers have been reduced from 16.6% to 15%.
In the 2024 Voluntary National Review (VNR), Mexico emphasized the role of policy in these reductions. For example, from 2018 to 2024 minimum wage increased by 110% and the unemployment rate reduced to 2.6%. The main financiers for these poverty in Mexico reduction programs have been the federal government and foreign investors. Social spending increased by 38%, and by 2023, foreign direct investment increased by 27%.
Although inequality has been improving nationally, regional disparities persist. The 2024 VNR report states that between 2018 and 2022, the contrast between the richest and poorest decile earning ratios has declined from 22 times to 15 times.
Despite these improvements, inequality persists in rural regions of Mexico. As of 2025, 88% of the rural population lives below the $2.15 poverty threshold. This percentage has remained stagnant since 2018.
What’s Driving Change?
The Mexican government has been deliberate about addressing social injustices and structural inequality by means of redistribution programs. For example, from 2018 to 2022, 10 million additional Mexicans became food secure.
Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure per capita growth (annual %) increased from 0.5% in 2018 to 1.9% in 2024, with a volatile period in between, ranging from a minimum of -10.6% in 2020 and a maximum 7.7% in 2021.
In spite of efforts, issues in health care, social protection, gender inequality and structural informality persist. In the VNR report, the Mexican government claimed it had aimed to address some of these issues by focusing on SDGs which were interdependent on each other, such as how addressing SDG 1 (no poverty) invariably affects SGD 10 (reduced inequalities) as well.
Is Mexico on Track for 2030?
The United Nations uses the SDG index rank, SDG index score and spillover score to quantify a nation’s progress towards achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as to measure a nation’s ability to help other nations develop their own SDGs. Currently, Mexico ranks 72nd in the SDG index rank. Additionally, it has an index score of 70.80 and a spillover score of 90.23, ranking it at 85 out of the 167 UN member states that qualify for the index. These rankings demonstrate that, despite the progress on poverty in Mexico and inequality that has been made, there is room for improvement with regard to other SDGs.
In 2024, Mexico announced its policy initiative through the Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (PND). PND aims at stating the objectives and priorities of the government for the 2025 to 2030 period. PND contains four main areas of focus and three cross-cutting issues to direct public policy. Among the main areas of focus is “moral economy and work,” which states the priority of increasing minimum wages, expanding formal jobs and promoting social security. Among the cross-cutting issues, sometimes referred to as the transverse axis, the “substantive equality and women’s rights” objective aims at improving health policies and eliminating structural violence for women through reforms and the SEMUJERES agency.
The PND initiatives are part of the Movimiento Regeneracion Nacional (MORENA) attempt to consolidate the second stage of the transformation. The transformation is in reference to the general project of the party titled La Cuarta Transformacion, a political project which aims at transforming the political, economic and social structures of Mexico.
The Future of Mexico
The experience of Mexico shows that poverty reduction is possible, but sustaining it requires deeper structural reform. Issues related to health care, social protection, gender inequality, structural informality and regional inequality persist in the country. However, with the help of the PND strategic framework and policy initiatives, Mexico could be on track to achieve a majority of its SDGs by 2030.
– Arturo Gonzalez
Photo: Flickr
How High Living Costs in Bonaire Strain Working Families
Housing Costs Leave Little Room To Breathe
Housing has become one of the most obvious ways in which high living costs in Bonaire have affected daily life. A Dutch government advisory report from 2023 stated that the high cost of living on the island is partially due to the lack of substantial housing and that these costs particularly impact low-income people. The same report stated that Bonaire had 565 public-sector housing units available and around 1,000 families on the waiting list.
This leaves many lower-income residents dependent on an expensive private rental market or living in crowded multigenerational households. For working families, this can mean paying too much for rent while also giving up privacy, stability and peace of mind.
Food and Transport Turn Essentials Into Financial Stress
High living costs in Bonaire do not end with rent. The government’s advisory committee also found that almost all the food and drinks consumed in Bonaire are imported from other places, mainly the Netherlands, keeping their prices very high. Statistics Netherlands reported that the prices of goods in Bonaire were 36% higher in 2024 than in 2010, while food and non-alcoholic beverage prices were 51% higher than over a decade ago.
Transportation also adds another layer of pressure. The same government report stated that there is no public transportation on the island, meaning residents across income levels are often forced to rely on private options. For low-income families, this leads to consequences such as having to pay back costly loans, depending on rides from others and having fewer opportunities to work, receive education and run daily errands.
Work Does Not Always Protect Families From the Poverty Trap
High living costs in Bonaire are especially problematic, as many residents are employed in sectors that offer modest wages. CBS reported in late 2024 that average wages in Bonaire were lower than in neighboring islands such as Sint Eustatius and Saba during the 2011–2022 period. A large number of jobs in Bonaire pay close to or at the statutory minimum wage, especially in tourism-related, retail, construction and manufacturing industries.
Beginning in July 2024, the statutory minimum wage on these three Dutch Caribbean islands was $1,751 per month. Even with this increase, families facing high rents, transport costs and rising grocery bills find that full-time work leaves little money left for savings. Consumer goods and services in Bonaire were also 5.3% more expensive in the second quarter of 2025 compared with 2024, indicating that price pressure has not been fully resolved.
Dutch Measures and Local Housing Efforts Offer Some Relief
The responses that could help alleviate these severe pressures are still in development, but there are signs of improvement. CBS reported that minimum wages and social benefits in the Dutch Caribbean have been systematically increased at a rate exceeding inflation to help low-income families keep up with the rising cost of living. Housing is another area where officials are making progress, with the Executive Council of Bonaire and Hugo de Jonge, Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning, signing the housing deal for Bonaire in 2023.
The housing deal aims to deliver 2,124 affordable homes by 2030. About $11.7 million has been allocated for the first tranche (installment), which will fund the construction of the first 600 homes, including infrastructure, beginning in 2025. The 2023 advisory report also pointed out rental subsidy measures in Bonaire that have already reduced rent costs for some families.
These efforts will not solve the problem overnight. However, they show that Dutch and locally based institutions are under pressure to respond with more than just temporary promises.
Conclusion
High living costs in Bonaire are not an issue that will disappear quickly, especially on an island where factors such as imported goods, limited housing and car dependence shape everyday life. Still, recent wage increases, subsidy efforts and affordable housing plans suggest that relief is possible if these measures continue and expand. For working families on Bonaire, real progress depends on whether policy changes can make ordinary necessities feel manageable again rather than out of reach.
– Ashirah Newton
Photo: Flickr
Vocational Education Training Centers in Guatemala
General Educational Barriers in Guatemala
According to WorldData.Info, Guatemala has ranked 162nd out of 193 countries in the global education ranking. Only about half of students complete elementary school, and one-third finish secondary school. The issue of providing education to Guatemalan citizens stems from poverty across the country. Guatemala’s 36-year Civil War between 1960-1996 displaced hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people, which still negatively impacts their standard of living today. About 47.3% of Guatemalans live with a budget of around 64 quetzales, which in U.S. dollars, translates to about $8.30 a day.
As a result, many families in Guatemala are unable to afford sending their children to school. There is also a significant resource gap in classrooms; they are oftentimes overcrowded, or they lack teachers with the proper training necessary for instruction. These political and economic obstacles bleed into vocational schools, which prevent students from getting a good education.
Vocational Education Training Centers in Guatemala
Guatemalan technical institutions offer students high-demand skills learned in a wide range of subjects in culinary and pastry arts, agriculture, carpentry and computer science. The Ministry of Education stated many of them lacked proper equipment. Some schools, such as Junkabel and William Cornelius Training Center have excellent facilities. But the vast majority lack the budget, staff and infrastructure needed to run them.
Luckily, there have been several efforts aimed at improving the quality of education at Guatemalan trade schools. Foreign aid organizations, like the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), fundraised $20.6 million for Education toward the Guatemala Threshold Program, $4.2 million of which went to technical education alone. Also, the CEPA Foundation, a nonprofit organization, has partnered with another nonprofit, Fundación Corazones Libres, in order to provide vocational education to young children in Vuelta Grande. These funds are used to create new vocational high schools with modernized computers that increase accessibility.
Another nonprofit, Infinite Chance, has funded enough money to buy welding and industrial sewing machines necessary for instruction. Besides nonprofits, affluent vocational institutions in Guatemala like INTECAP have offered vocational certifications and training to secondary students to help them gain specialized skills.
The Future of Vocational Education Centers in Guatemala
Although there is much left to be done to improve vocational education training centers in Guatemala, such as updating curricula to fit the rapidly advancing job market, many charities and nonprofits have organized initiatives to help repair the education system. For instance, the Swisscontact Project teamed up with the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare in Guatemala in 2023 to provide students with technical courses relevant to the IT and food sectors.
The primary goals of these projects is to reduce the need for migration in the Guatemalan workforce. Guatemala wants to decrease the levels of unemployment among Guatemalan youth by providing sufficient Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to students who wish to pursue a career in the skilled trades.
More than 90% of Guatemala’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from industry, service and agriculture jobs. By promoting vocational education centers in Guatemala, future generations can hope to earn a living through these technical careers and boost their domestic economy.
– Stacie Hueter
Photo: Unsplash
Protecting Nutrition Security in Rwanda amid USAID crisis
In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 55 million people face severe food shortages, and more than 13 million children could suffer severe malnutrition. Across the region, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger are the most affected by the cancellation of nutrition programs, with malnutrition levels inching towards critical and mortality rates among children skyrocketing. Rwanda also faces similar challenges due to the cuts in USAID; however, they are positioned better than neighbouring countries. Proactive planning, policy implementation, health services and nutrition programs underlay the long-term efforts towards nutrition security in Rwanda, enabling them to withstand the shocking blow of aid cuts.
The Long-Term Plan to Establish Nutrition Security in Rwanda
Rwanda’s government has taken a proactive, autonomous approach to direct foreign aid into investing and developing its own aid programs. This ensured the maximum and most efficient use of the foreign aid provided, and Rwanda used this to build a long-term nutrition security plan that cushioned the country during the aid cuts.
Rwanda’s National Food and Nutrition Policy served as a basis for the strategic plan from 2013 to 2018, including a framework for fortified foods for mothers and children, school milk programs, and community awareness campaigns, including the following programs, which have delivered results amid the aid crisis.
Shisha Kibondo
This program saw the local production of a range of nutrient-dense fortified blended food (FBF) products under the brand Shisha Kibondo. These supplements are freely distributed among children younger than 2 years. Pregnant mothers also receive a locally produced maize-corn flour blend with a vitamin/mineral premix. The FBP distribution has contributed to the reduction in child stunting from 33% in 2020 to 27% in 2025, and an overall increase in food security among Rwanda’s households, enabling more than 80% of them to get three meals a day. This data has been uninterrupted by disruptions due to the global pandemic or the aid cuts.
Iron Beans
Iron deficiency is prevalent among Rwandans. Notably, 19% of pregnant women and 37% of the children under the age of 5 suffer from iron deficiency anaemia. To specifically combat these numbers, the Rwanda Agriculture Board and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, in partnership with HarvestPlus, introduced iron-fortified bean varieties to Rwandan farmers and provided them with training for suitable agricultural practices. They also worked with the private sector to scale up production and delivery of the iron beans. The ministries of Education and Agriculture have encouraged adding these iron beans to school feeding programs. These iron beans quickly reduce iron deficiency and anaemia among consumers, and enhance their cognitive and physical capabilities.
Feeding Programs
Among multiple school feeding programs, the National Early Childhood Development Programme funded the “One Cup of Milk per Child” program, ensuring pre-primary and primary students receive milk servings two times a week across 19 districts in Rwanda. The overall aim of the program was to improve the nutritional status of students and to encourage them to pursue their education. These feeding programs helped reduce dropout rates among the children, with dropout rates declining by half since 2021 and encouraged students who previously left school to return and pursue their education.
Nutrition and Hygiene Awareness Programs
Community Health Workers (CHW) are responsible for providing health care services within the community. CHWs also implement nutritional interventions, train and educate parents and caregivers in proper nutrition and hygiene practises, and regularly monitor and support households at risk. The CHW network helps contribute to the decline in stunting among children and the reduction of mortality rates among children and pregnant women. While families benefit from CHWs’ guidance, they are sometimes unable to implement the required recommendations and may need additional resources and support to protect their families from nutrition-related tragedies.
By investing in nutrition security in Rwanda, the government was able to maintain core services and protect its citizens, while its neighbours bore the brunt of aid cuts. As the effects of aid cuts continue to ripple across the region, Rwanda’s model of self-sufficiency offers a blueprint for cultivating permanent systems instead of fostering reliance and dependency.
– Nishtha Mahendra Kumar
Photo: Flickr
Bangladesh’s Textile Industry: Expanding Economic Opportunities
The Engine Behind Bangladesh’s Economic Rise
Bangladesh’s garment industry didn’t just grow over time—it essentially became the backbone of the country’s economy. After gaining independence in 1971, Bangladesh was one of the poorest countries in the world, with very limited industrial capacity. Over the years, the ready-made garment (RMG) sector stepped in to fill that gap, replacing traditional exports like jute and turning into the country’s main driver of growth. Today, the industry employs around 4.5 million people and plays a central role in both economic stability and job creation.
Since taking off in the 1980s, the sector has expanded rapidly through export-led growth and strong integration into global supply chains. This model has helped Bangladesh maintain steady economic progress while creating opportunities for millions of people, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. At the same time, as global markets shift and Bangladesh prepares to move beyond its least-developed country status, there are growing questions about how sustainable this growth model will be in the long run.
Women, Work and the Cost of Opportunity
One of the most visible impacts of Bangladesh’s garment industry is on women. For many, factory work offers a first chance to earn an income, especially for those from rural and low-income backgrounds. This has contributed to greater financial independence and more say in family decisions, while also helping delay early marriage. At the same time, these opportunities have also reshaped education choices. While more girls are encouraged to go to school, some leave earlier to work and support their families, showing how economic opportunity can come with trade-offs.
However, working conditions remain challenging, with long hours and relatively low wages still common. The Rana Plaza collapse exposed serious safety issues and led to reforms, but concerns continue. At the same time, the industry’s environmental impact—especially water pollution from textile production—remains significant. Much of this production is driven by global brands such as Primark and H&M, linking local conditions to a wider global system.
The Future of Bangladesh’s Textile Industry
Bangladesh’s textile industry has clearly driven strong economic growth, but this success also comes with risks. One of the biggest challenges is the country’s heavy reliance on a single sector. As highlighted in recent analysis, an economy built so strongly around garments remains vulnerable to global shifts in demand and competition.
Looking ahead, Bangladesh’s upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status could be a major turning point. While it reflects economic progress, it also means the country may lose key trade advantages such as duty-free access to major markets, potentially affecting its competitiveness in the global apparel industry . At the same time, new global regulations—such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism—could place additional pressure on exporters to meet stricter environmental standards.
These changes suggest that the current growth model may not be enough in the long term. To stay competitive, Bangladesh will likely need to move beyond low-cost production and focus more on innovation, technology and diversification. Strengthening productivity and expanding into higher-value sectors could be key to sustaining growth in the years ahead.
Conclusion
In many ways, the story of Bangladesh’s textile industry is not just about growth—it’s about people. It’s about millions of lives shaped by the chance to earn, to move, to imagine something beyond survival. For many women in particular, the industry has opened doors that did not exist before.
But behind this progress is a more complicated reality. The same system that creates opportunity also carries pressure on workers, on communities and on the environment. As Bangladesh moves forward, the question is no longer whether the industry can grow, but what kind of growth it chooses to pursue.
If that growth is shaped with greater care—for people, for working conditions and for the environment—then the textile sector can remain not just an economic success, but a more balanced and human one.
– Elif Oktar
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Poverty Reduction in Cuba
Since 1959, Cuba’s socialist program has addressed poverty by prioritizing food rations, healthcare, literacy and housing for all of its citizens. Despite hardships due to frequent natural disasters, a resource-poor environment and forced isolation from the world market; the Cuban people have remained both steadfast in their principles and adaptable in moments of crisis. As Cuba recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and fights against the United States’ oil blockade, unity and creativity are of the utmost importance when reducing poverty.
Healthcare
Cuba’s planned, state-controlled economy allows for much of the national budget to fund universal healthcare, education and food rations. During the Batista regime of the 1950s, nearly half of the country’s physicians were located in Havana. The centralization of healthcare in cities created severe disparities between quality of care for rural and urban citizens. At that time, Cuba had a single rural hospital, and the rural infant mortality rate was 100 deaths per 1,000 births.
In 1960, the government formed the Rural Medical Service, placing recent graduated physician volunteers in rural areas, and by 1970, there were 53 rural hospitals in Cuba. Through the Family Doctor and Nurse Program, every Cuban has had access to one of more than 13,000 teams of neighborhood doctors and nurses since 1999. These local doctors ensure that the Cuban Health System regularly engages with all of the country’s citizens.
It also gives the government access to aggregated community diagnoses that lead to greater analysis of risk factors and the nation’s most pressing needs. This has led to a reduction of the infant mortality rate from 38.7 per 1,000 live births in 1970 to 4.0 per 1,000 live births in 2018, and has strengthened women’s health services through the establishment and expansion of the National Maternal-Child Health Program. Furthermore, Cuba’s commitment to universal healthcare and public health exceeds its own borders. Since the end of 2018, approximately 400,000 Cuban health professionals have worked in more than 150 countries.
Food and Housing
Although to varying amounts, food rations have been a staple of poverty reduction in Cuba. Recently, limited access to foreign currency for imported food, natural disasters such as Hurricane Melissa and fuel shortages have led to increased food security issues for the island. As the government-issued food baskets are almost entirely imported, Cuba has partnered with the World Food Programme (WFP) for assistance in reducing imports and increasing food self-sufficiency.
This partnership seeks to improve assistance in maintaining food access amid natural disasters, and to strengthen nutrition systems for vulnerable groups, such as expanding school lunches for children. In 2025, 1,540,107 Cubans benefitted from the World Food Programme’s aid—particularly through food assistance and disaster relief from Hurricane Melissa.
Cuba’s 2019 Constitution reiterates these goals. It defines healthcare, education, food security and shelter as human rights, and upholds the state’s goal to achieve food security and housing for all of its citizens. The Cuban government plans to increase shelter construction programs and food rations to accomplish this. By deeming these basic necessities as natural rights, the Cuban government seeks to create both a baseline of security and a healthy, well-educated workforce.
Future Strategies
Due to the recent oil blockade, Cuba has turned to solar power. In 2025, Cuba, with financial help from China, installed around 1,000 megawatts of solar generation. As of February 2026, the Cuban government announced it would waive personal taxes for up to eight years for business people investing in renewable energy. Even local taxi drivers have installed solar panels on the roofs of their vehicles in response to the scarcity of oil. While the oil blockade presently harms Cubans, they are already preparing for an alternative future.
Leader Miguel Díaz-Canel has begun preparations for poverty reduction in Cuba amid increased sanctions and economic instability. Alongside investments in renewable energy, Díaz-Canel has prioritized a decentralization of authority—giving more power to local municipalities and state-owned enterprises—with the goal of expanding local production and reducing reliance on imports. Above all, Díaz-Canel cites “cooperation and collaboration…based on principles of solidarity, integration and complementarity,” as the core principles necessary for Cuban prosperity.
– Josh Megson
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
How Inclusive Employment in Ashgabat Is Providing Hope
In Ashgabat, the official poverty figures are difficult to verify due to the Turkman government’s restrictions, but independent reports suggest there is a dire reality. While the city is well known for its glowing white marble staircases and golden statues, many residents struggle to afford basic necessities. Reports compiled in 2024 indicate that 47% of Turkmenistan’s working population lives in near poverty,” earning between $3.65 and $6.85 per day. For the disabled, the situation is far more concerning as they often face social isolation and a lack of accessible infrastructure. This correlates directly with sky high poverty rates. It is necessary to ensure that the city’s modern landscape includes all resident, regardless of physical or cognitive ability is a significant hurdle. Here is information about the implementation of inclusive employment in Ashgabat.
Bridging the Employment Gap
As part of this expansive transformation, a key shift away from the cycle of isolation for people with disabilities occurred. This transition to a market economy exposed a significant employment gap, leaving many people with disabilities unable to reach their work goals. This resulted in the group remaining largely excluded from the workforce in many sectors. While the situation appears negative, the Turkman government has taken strides in establishing a place for people with disabilities to find work and escape poverty. In 2008, the government under the leadership of the late President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the government signed the United Nations Convention of People with Disabilities. This move signaled a commitment to inclusive employment across the nation.
The Necessary Legal Protections
For the disabled residents of the nation, this was not just a symbolic gesture, it served as a key starting point for legislative reform. The government later added legal protections, including updating its social protection code to redefine disability as a social limitation rather than a medical one. The government also aimed to provide spaces for people with disabilities in the workforce and carve out specific opportunities for disabled people to gain jobs. This foundation supports Turkmenistan’s quest to create inclusive employment in Ashgabat, fostering a culture of inclusive employment regardless of physical or mental disabilities.
Support From Beyond the Government
While the government itself has made strides in helping disabled people access the workplace, many non-governmental organizations have also helped residents break the cycle of poverty. One of the most notable has been Yenme. At the end of 2022, Yenme received a grant from the United Nations to fund a new social program, “A World Without Gender Inequality.” This program empowers women with disabilities through specialist training and vocational skills. To date, the program has directly impacted dozens of women, such as Gulnar a woman with dwarfism who gained financial independence through sewing training, contributing to a broader feeling of inclusive employment in Ashgabat. Currently, 75% of Yenme’s total beneficiaries are women and girls seeking to overcome societal barriers.
There have been significant strides to uplift the impacted people with disabilities in Turkmenistan aiming toward a goal of ultimate eradication in Ashgabat. The implementation of much-needed legal protections is paving the way for inclusive employment, offering significant hope that real change can be formulated in the country.
– Haydn Goodboy
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius
Updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius sit at the center of that contradiction. Sustainable Development Goal 14, Life Below Water, is not simply an environmental target for the island nation. The U.N. frames it as a direct pathway to economic resilience, local food production and poverty reduction for a country whose ocean territory dwarfs its landmass many times over.
Poverty and Food Insecurity
While extreme poverty remains low in Mauritius, vulnerability remains an important issue in the context of rising food prices and import dependence. According to the IMF, the national relative poverty rate fell to 7.3% in 2023, while the Sustainable Development Report 2025 places the poverty headcount ratio at 0.8% at $2.15 per day and 1.3% at $3.65 per day. At the same time, food insecurity indicators remain concerning: the prevalence of undernourishment was 5.9% in 2022, and other estimates place it as high as 8.7%. These figures are especially significant in a country where rising food prices and seafood affordability continue to place pressure on lower-income households.
Recent estimates indicate that roughly 8.7% of the Mauritian population is undernourished. For a middle-income island economy surrounded by one of the world’s most productive ocean territories, that figure reflects a structural gap rather than a resource one. The food is not absent. The systems to make it accessible and affordable are what need work.
An Island That Imports What Its Ocean Could Provide
As a Small Island Developing State, Mauritius depends heavily on external markets for food supply. The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) notes that this dependence makes the country particularly vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions, imported inflation and geopolitical instability, forces that Mauritian households have little power to control and even less capacity to absorb.
Fish illustrates the problem clearly. Once one of the most accessible protein sources for Mauritian households, seafood has become noticeably more expensive in recent years. Official food security data show that the price of frozen fish peaked at Rs 327 in February 2023 and remained high at Rs 321 in May 2024. For lower-income families, this price pressure has narrowed dietary choices and deepened food inequality, despite the island being surrounded by vast marine resources that remain underutilized.
The Delivery Gap
Mauritius has made genuine legislative progress aligned with SDG 14 objectives. Two pieces of that framework are worth examining in detail because they illustrate both how far the country has come and how much distance remains.
Mauritius’s environmental governance framework is primarily anchored in the Environment Protection Act 2002, later strengthened through amendments in 2008, which extends environmental stewardship and pollution-control standards across the island’s coastal and marine zones. According to the Nairobi Convention’s country profile on Mauritius, the Act establishes environmental impact assessment requirements for coastal development projects, a mechanism designed to reduce shoreline degradation and protect marine biodiversity and fishing stocks over time.
The Integrated Coastal Zone Management framework provides the institutional structure for coordinating the management of Mauritius’s lagoons, coral reefs and coastal ecosystems across multiple government agencies. According to the Nairobi Convention’s Mauritius country profile and related regional assessments, it has supported beach rehabilitation, habitat mapping, water-quality monitoring and coral reef restoration. While the policy framework is clearly in place, implementation and ecological outcomes continue to vary across coastal zones, reflecting the long-term nature of restoration and the uneven pressures faced by different parts of the island.
The Data Behind the Urgency
The Sustainable Development Report 2025 places Mauritius 76th out of 167 countries with an overall SDG score of 70.3, a performance that reflects moderate progress on some goals and persistent challenges on others. SDG 14 sits firmly in the second category.
According to the SDG Index Dashboard for Mauritius, only 11.1% of marine sites important to biodiversity were protected in 2023. The same dataset recorded an Ocean Health Index clean water score of 68.7 in 2024, pointing to ongoing environmental pressures on the island’s marine ecosystem. Most strikingly, 71.9% of fish caught came from overexploited or collapsed stocks, a figure that directly links marine degradation to food security, livelihoods and poverty reduction, rather than framing it solely as an environmental issue.
When nearly three-quarters of the national fish catch draws from stocks already under severe pressure, updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius become less about environmental reporting and more about understanding a food security risk that is actively developing.
An Organization Closing the Gap
The Indian Ocean Commission’s SmartFish Programme offers a concrete example of what meaningful SDG 14 implementation can look like in practice. Launched in 2011, the regional initiative operates across Indian Ocean island states, including Mauritius, with a focus on strengthening fisheries governance, improving market access for small-scale fishers and building the data systems needed to monitor fish stock health over time. In doing so, it connects marine sustainability directly to livelihoods, food security and poverty reduction.
According to regional fisheries governance sources, SmartFish supports fishermen, coastal communities and food security outcomes across the region. For Mauritius, this helps transform marine resources into systems that support local food production, employment and poverty reduction.
Beyond institutional programs, the blue economy offers significant potential through aquaculture, algae cultivation, oyster farming and marine-based small enterprises. World Bank assessments identify these sectors as drivers of employment, lower seafood import dependence and improved food affordability.
What the Numbers Mean for the People
Updates on SDG 14 in Mauritius ultimately tell a story about the distance between a country’s resources and its population’s access to them. According to the SDG Index Dashboard, 71.9% of fish catch is linked to overexploited or collapsed stocks. That figure is not an abstraction, it is a timeline. Every year, that number holds or worsens, the foundation for domestic food production, fishing livelihoods and food affordability erodes a little further.
The U.N. SDG framework, regional fisheries programs such as SmartFish and Mauritius’s own legislative infrastructure all point in the same direction. Deeper investment in sustainable fisheries, aquaculture and marine-based enterprise, combined with stronger implementation of existing policy, represents one of the most direct paths available to Mauritius for narrowing the gap between its ocean wealth and persistent food vulnerability among lower-income households. The challenge now is turning existing frameworks into measurable results.
– Aditya-R Nowbuth
Photo: Pexels
Disability and Poverty in Gabon
The Situation
Disability and poverty are almost inseparable. Because one feeds the other; people with disabilities have a lower chance of getting an education and a chance of work, which will lead to poverty in general. Also, people with disabilities often have higher costs due to their health-related needs.
Youth employment is also an issue in Gabon. This country is oil-rich and therefore needs skilled workers in construction, wood processing, renewable energy and communication technologies. However, these educations were limited until quite recently. Since the Gabonese government launched PROCEDE in 2016, their aim is to lower the gap in education in those skill training and job opportunities.
Political Conditions of the Country
The coup leader, Brice Oligui Nguema, won the 2025 election and ended a more than 50-year political dynasty without bloodshed. He secured more than 90% of the vote, an outcome many did not expect. His support stems from promises to advance development and combat corruption.
Poverty grew more quickly in the past years due to countries’ corrupt leaders, where the 2% of these people were the decision makers for the almost 80% people’s wages and rights. They diverted the funds for specific organizations, and the country had to borrow money to pay some of its debt.
Agriculture and Fishing
Basic agriculture and farming contributed only a little to the country’s food production. Still, sugar refining at Franceville and palm-oil processing at Lambarene have a huge impact on the country’s development. Gabon is also one of the world’s leading producers of timber and manganese.
The country recently launched a ranger’s battle for baby sea turtle survival against the odds, aiming to reach as many people and organizations as possible, despite financial cuts.
A 40-year-old Alain Banguiya continues to complete his duties even though he has not been paid for two months, but still says, “We have a duty to fight to the end, to keep our spirits up.” This shows the determination of the country’s citizens in many areas that need assistance.
Finance and Economics
The United States, Belgium and China are among Gabon’s main trading partners, providing substantial investment. The majority of imports are from South Korea, France and China, while exports are largely directed to China, France and the Netherlands.
Transportation remains a major challenge. The country has long lacked efficient transportation infrastructure and, for a long time, relied on light aircraft for air travel, but those were insufficient for exporting heavier materials like timber, which is a major issue in the country.
Gabon is also a major oil producer. BW Energy Gabon received a 25-year extension for the Dussafu Marin production license, extending it from 2028 to 2053. This long-term provides reserving investments, production and a higher chance of stability in oil production planning.
Gabon also launched the Emergency Community Development Programme (PUDC), and its aim is to reduce social inequalities by creating more economic opportunities, strengthening the governance and improving access to basic services.
The government is also working to expand its Fintech hub, enabling businesses to accept multiple payment methods and expanding broader financial access. This could open new entrepreneurial opportunities and expand services to rural areas, though progress depends on government incentives and digital infrastructure.
Education, Disability and Poverty in Gabon
Disability and poverty in Gabon affect younger people in education, too. In the urban areas, there is a lack of educational infrastructure and educators. Also, due to a lower level of focus on these areas, sexual harassment of children is higher.
The education system is similar to France’s and is officially mandatory for kids ages 6 to 16. Gabon, with the support of its government and UNICEF, collected data on people living with disabilities through the Census Campaign. This data shows that 15,967 people live with disabilities across nine regions, with 27.21% aged 0 to 18.
Disability rates are higher in rural areas, where access to education can be limited. Government efforts focus on improving access, supporting young mothers in education and ensuring that all children receive schooling.
In particular, the disability rate is higher in women, where in many rural areas, males are prioritized for making a living and their education comes as a priority. However, the help and support of the government and its legislation about making education mandatory are addressing those problems.
Positive Notes
Many know Gabon for its natural beauty, which its agricultural and trade deals complement. The country has significant potential for eco-tourism and several websites help decide which part to visit and provide entry information for the country. Gabon is one of the African countries with steadily growing potential, supported by education for everyone, especially for kids with disabilities.
– Sibel Yasharoglu
Photo: Unsplash