In November 2025, Kerala declared itself free from extreme poverty, becoming the first Indian state to make such a claim. Officials said the program had reached the most marginalized families through coordination among local bodies, government departments and volunteers.
A Local Approach to Extreme Poverty
Kerala, a state in southern India, has taken a household-level approach to reducing extreme poverty. Instead of relying only on broad welfare programs, the state created individual plans for families facing severe hardship. These plans, known as household microplans, focus on the specific needs of each family, including food, health care, income and housing.
This approach is important because poverty does not affect every household in the same way. Some families may need regular food support. Others may need medical care, identity documents, housing assistance or help finding stable work. Kerala’s model shows that anti-poverty programs can be more effective when they address the real problems each family faces.
Kerala’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Project
Kerala launched the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project in 2021. According to Kerala’s Local Self Government Department (LSGD), the project aimed to identify people experiencing extreme poverty who were outside existing support systems. The department states that the project used local governments, Kudumbashree networks, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, anganwadi workers, residential associations and civil society groups to find families facing the most severe deprivation. ASHA workers are community health workers who connect households with basic health services. Anganwadi workers support early childhood care, nutrition and welfare services at the local level. Their involvement helped the project reach vulnerable families who may not have been visible through official records alone.
The LSGD reported that more than 1.4 million people participated in the identification process. Through this effort, Kerala identified 103,099 people from 64,006 families across 1,032 local institutions. These families were identified based on four main areas of distress: food, health, income and housing.
What Are Household Microplans?
A household microplan is a personalized support plan created for one family. Instead of giving every family the same type of assistance, Kerala looked at what each household specifically needed. For example, one family might need a ration card to access food benefits. Another might need health insurance, disability documents or social security pensions. This is why household microplans in Kerala have drawn attention as a possible model for other regions working to reduce poverty.
According to Kerala’s LSGD, each family’s situation was studied before special microplans were created. The department also reported that documents and emergency services, including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, disability cards, health insurance and social security pensions, were made available to 21,263 families through the project.
Kerala carried out the project in three phases. According to the LSGD, the first phase focused on food and health care. The second phase focused on sustainable livelihoods and income. The third phase focused on safe and permanent housing.
This structure allowed the state to respond first to urgent needs, such as hunger and health problems, before moving toward longer-term goals like income security and housing. Kerala also used related campaigns to help families access land, housing, documents, educational support and travel benefits, according to the LSGD.
One of the strongest parts of Kerala’s model was local monitoring. According to the LSGD, household needs were recorded in a digital management information system. This allowed local governments and departments to track whether families were receiving the support promised to them.
Kudumbashree, Kerala’s women-led poverty eradication network, also worked as a community monitor and service provider, according to the department. This helped make the project more accountable and reduced the chance that families would be forgotten after being identified.
Kerala’s Poverty-Free Declaration
In November 2025, Kerala declared itself free from extreme poverty. The Times of India reported that Kerala’s Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh said the state had identified 64,006 extremely poor families through indicators such as food security, health, livelihood and housing. He also said each family received a microplan to help connect it with welfare schemes and essential services.
The LSGD also stated that the project was carried out through coordination among local bodies, government departments, missions, voluntary organizations and public participation.
Kerala’s declaration has also faced criticism. Some economists and activists argue that the state has reduced severe destitution rather than fully eliminated extreme poverty. In The Times of India, economist K.P. Kannan argued that Kerala’s list of around 64,000 households differs from other official poverty-related categories, including households covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana food security scheme. Antyodaya Anna Yojana is an Indian government scheme that provides highly subsidized food grains to the poorest households, making it an important measure of severe food insecurity and poverty. However, long-term monitoring remains necessary.
Why This Matters for Global Poverty
Household microplans in Kerala offer an important lesson for global poverty reduction. Many countries have welfare programs, but the poorest families may still be left out. Some households lack documents. Others live in remote areas, face disability or illness, or do not know how to access public services.
Household microplans in Kerala show that governments can improve poverty reduction by combining broad welfare programs with local, household-level planning. Community participation helped identify families who were hard to reach. Personalized plans helped match each family with the right kind of support. Digital tracking and local monitoring then helped ensure that support was delivered.
Even though Kerala’s claim to have eliminated extreme poverty remains debated, its method offers a practical model for other regions. By focusing on individual households, Kerala has shown how anti-poverty programs can become more targeted, accountable and human-centered.
– Nina Novillo Astrada
Nina is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Flickr
How edX is Breaking Educational Inequality in India
PARAKH 2024 data exposes widening learning gaps between “Others” and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students. The language score gap grows from five points in Grade 3 to 13 points in Grade 9. ST students average just 47 in language compared to 60 and 32 in mathematics compared to 40. These gaps solidify early and compound over time.
How Inequality Becomes Earnings Inequality
The urban-rural divide is the primary driver, with a rural education Gini of 0.448 compared to urban 0.292. This split alone accounts for 30.1% of total educational inequality in India. Unequal resources sustain this gap: rural schools battle crumbling infrastructure and teacher absenteeism. Digital exposure can add 4.5 years of schooling but remains out of reach for many. Education quality scales tightly with household wealth, while large family sizes reduce attainment. This traps most workers in low-productivity agriculture or informal services, a cycle that perpetuates low earnings across generations.
The six states with the highest educational inequality are also India’s poorest. NITI Aayog’s National Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023 reveals that Bihar has more than 33% multidimensional poverty. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh consistently rank near the bottom in per-capita income. In these regions, educational exclusion directly dictates economic survival. A rural child in these states faces cumulative disadvantage: poor foundational skills lead to low-skill labor. This locks families into subsistence-level incomes, passing poverty from one generation to the next. Early disadvantage compounds with caste and gender exclusions — college-level inequality remains frozen and Dalit business ownership remains negligible. Without intervention, education inequality transforms into entrenched poverty.
Educational Inequality in India
Traditional education fails due to stark rural-urban disparities: only 18.47% of rural schools have internet compared to 47.29% urban. Just 44.9% have computers compared to 68.7% urban. Only 38% of rural households have a secondary school within one kilometer. Consequently, 60% of undergraduates now choose online education based on affordability, but traditional institutions struggle to adapt. The system relies on rote memorization — 75% of what students learn is through repetition — failing to build critical thinking. ASER 2024 found 75% of Class 3 students cannot read Grade 2 text. One-size-fits-all pacing ignores individual differences, leaving about 40% of students disengaged or behind. Overcrowded classrooms (30:1 ratios) make interactive learning impossible. The half-life of skills has dropped from 26 years to just two to five years today, but semester-based systems cannot pivot. Though 98% of universities offer online classes, most use outdated pedagogy. The adaptive learning market is projected at $5.3 billion by 2025, signaling a deep misalignment with how people learn and work today.
edX: World-Class Education, Anywhere, for Less
Founded in 2012 by Harvard and MIT professors, edX offers individual courses, professional certificates and accredited degrees from more than 50 partner institutions. It remains governed by Harvard and MIT. Learners can audit courses at no cost to explore new areas risk-free, or pay for the verified track (starting at about $50) to earn official certificates recognized by employers worldwide. edX is not replacing schools but bypassing structural bottlenecks. It offers structured, university-level content that is affordable, globally relevant in technology and business and accessible via smartphones.
edX reaches 73 million learners globally, with more than 730,000 in India (11% of the total). Participation is growing rapidly in non-metro cities like Bareilly and Vijayawada. Through Emeritus partnerships with top Indian universities and Access Partnerships offering free and low-cost tech skills to marginalized communities — including women and rural youth — the platform directly tackles poverty. Career services are tied to labor market analytics, ensuring skills align with actual hiring demands. The financial impact is tangible: globally, 43% of certificate earners achieve new jobs, pay raises or promotions. Success stories — like Moses launching a cybersecurity career through free tuition and Colleen landing a full-time role post-graduation — demonstrate the model’s effectiveness.
In India, strategic partnerships scale this impact dramatically. With the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE), more than 590,000 students in Andhra Pradesh — one of the six high-inequality states — completed more than 318,000 credit-bearing courses in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science. For graduates, these credentials directly translate into entry-level IT roles offering salaries three to four times higher than agricultural wages. This pulls entire households out of poverty. With the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), programs from MIT and Berkeley meet the National Association of Software and Service Companies’ (NASSCOM) reskilling needs. Through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), vocational training reaches more than 10 million learners across the country.
Looking Ahead
The economics are striking: a subsidized course costing about ₹2,000 can yield a ₹25,000 monthly salary increment. A learner in Bareilly can now access the same MIT curriculum as a student in Mumbai, effectively flattening the geographic playing field. With 68,000 boot camp graduates, more than 40,000 employment referrals and 2.4 million career touchpoints, edX is systematically working to dismantle the barriers that convert education gaps into generational poverty. By transforming education into distributed, market-aligned infrastructure, edX ensures that where a child is born need not dictate their economic destiny.
– Malak Kamel
Photo: Flickr
Updates on SDG 5 in Haiti
In Haiti, the achievement of SDG 5 and other development goals has been hindered by decades of political instability, social unrest and natural disasters. Some of the main barriers to women’s equality in Haiti include widespread sexual violence and limited access to economic opportunities.
SDG 5 Indicators in Haiti
Despite progress in some areas, the Sustainable Development Report asserts that major challenges remain for Haiti’s achievement of SDG 5. This assessment is based largely on the following indicators:
Seven male members made up the Transitional Presidential Council, which originated in 2024 to reestablish democracy amidst the ongoing power vacuum and rise of armed gangs.
Haiti’s Current State: Displacement and Sexual Violence
Since the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, armed gangs have gained control more than 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince and major roads throughout the country. As of October 2025, gang violence had forcibly displaced 1.4 million people.
In this climate of violence and instability, women and girls are especially vulnerable. In makeshift camps, a lack of security puts women at risk of sexual violence. Armed gangs often use rape as a tactic of fear or coercion. Of the 5,857 reported cases of sexual assault in 2024, 64% were attributed to armed gangs and 61% of victims were internally displaced persons.
Survivors of sexual violence lack support and legal recourse, as systems for addressing sexual abuse in the camps are lacking or nonexistent. U.N. programs currently in place aim to train police officers to prevent sexual violence.
Moving Forward: UN Efforts and Haitian-Led Organizations
The United Nations currently has a number of programs in place to make progress towards SDG 5 in Haiti. Current UN Programmatic Interventions aim to address sexual and gender-based violence in Haiti, protect and empower displaced women, and enable women’s political participation.
Several Haitian-based organizations, many of them women-led, are working to address these issues on the ground.
Nègès Mawon, a female-founded organization, has been working since 2015 to provide support to survivors of sexual violence, including medical care, legal support, economic assistance and psychological services. The organization’s safe houses provide a refuge for women escaping domestic and gang violence. In reference to the ongoing state of violence and instability in Haiti, co-founder Pascale Solages stated, “Women and girls are the first victims of this crisis.” In 2024, Nègès Mawon provided support to 1,800 women and girls.
Another Haitian-based feminist organization is Marijàn, which originated in 2020 to promote gender equality and defend the rights of women and girls in Haiti. The organization’s program on gender-based violence provides psychological, legal and medical support to survivors. Marijàn uses education programs, community mobilization and political advocacy to further its mission of justice and dignity for women and girls in Haiti.
Although many challenges remain and Haiti is not on track to achieve SDG 5 by 2030, the efforts of United Nations agencies and Haitian-based NGOs have the potential to address the current humanitarian crisis in Haiti and its disproportionate effects on women.
– India Kaz
Photo: Unsplash
Multidimensional Disability and Poverty in Tonga
Poverty in Tonga
In Tonga, 75% of the population lives in Tongatapu, but the four other island groups, Vava’u, Ha’apai, Eua and Ongo Niua, face much higher levels of multidimensional poverty. Multidimensional poverty evaluates poverty along the lines of monetary poverty, education and basic infrastructure services. A 2018 report showed that, among adult poverty, there is a 25% difference between Tongatapu urban and the other islands. In children, there is a 19% difference.
Children in Tonga are also more likely to be in poverty. As of 2026, about a quarter of children in Tonga live in multidimensional poverty. Most of these children are in rural communities. More specifically, about 25.3% of children in Tonga don’t have sufficient access to nutrition, healthcare, education, clean water and adequate housing.
‘Eua has the highest childhood poverty with 48.9%, followed by Ha’Apai with 40.8% and Ongo Niea with 35%. Due to the size of the islands, reduced coastlines and violent storms impact them even more, causing their resources to be depleted and therefore their economy to suffer.
Disability in Tonga
Disability and multidimensional poverty in Tonga have very close ties. Based on a survey that the Tonga Statistics Department did in 2018, 2.8% of the population have disabilities in Tonga. The U.N. and WHO estimate the percentage to be much higher at about 10%. This is likely because the 2018 survey did not account for “mild impairments.” The results were also likely unreliable due to the social stigma against disabilities in Tonga, meaning several people likely did not take the survey. The most prevalent recorded cause for disability was illness, with about 30% of survey takers, in both urban and rural areas, reporting disability from illness.
People with disabilities often face additional challenges when preparing for emergencies and disasters. While about 81% of people with disabilities understand the need to evacuate, there are still issues for people with disability-inclusive disaster preparation, evacuation support and accessible shelters. Additionally, assistive devices that many people with disabilities rely on have to be abandoned during evacuation.
Progress Being Made
Government agencies and nonprofit organizations are working to reduce multidimensional poverty and support people with disabilities and Tonga. Within the Tonga government, The National Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (N-MODA), first conducted in 2019 and available on the UNICEF website, is a report that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and UNICEF Pacific made possible, as well as preparation support from the Social Policy Research Institute. The goal of this report is to provide a benchmark for evaluating progress along Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) guidelines. The country has dedicated itself to addressing multidimensional poverty, specifically among children.
Additionally, the Pacific Disability Forum, intended to advocate for equity and inclusion for people with disabilities, has made moves to place importance on people with disabilities, calling on stakeholders to work closely with organizations of persons with disabilities such as the Tonga National Visual Impairment Association (TNVIA), the Tongan National Disability Council (TNDC), Lavame’a Ta’e’iloa Disabled People’s Association (LATA) and Naunau ‘o e ‘Alamaite Tonga Association (NATA).
Outside of this forum, there are several nonprofits working to help multidimensional poverty and disability in Tonga. One of these groups is CARE International which has been in Tonga since 2019 in order to help communities to prepare for natural disasters. CARE has several programs around the world and encourages its involved members to focus on two main takeaways, being involved in short-term in activities and being involved in the long-term shift in people’s lives. In 2025, it reached 12,762 people struggling in Tonga. With organizations like CARE International, the damaging effects of multidimensional poverty and inequalities for people with disability are reducing.
Looking Ahead
Poverty informs disability in many ways. Access to appropriate care may not be possible due to multidimensional poverty factors. Accessible infrastructure makes living with disabilities much more difficult. Multidimensional poverty in Tonga, especially among children and in rural areas, persists due to the dependency on agriculture for the majority of the population. Severe storms and reduced coastlines due to the changing climate make an agricultural-based economy fragile and, therefore, more difficult to rise out of poverty. Recognition of the problem is the first step in improving the living conditions of impoverished people and people with disabilities.
– Arden Schultz
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Universal Health Care in Mexico: A Fresh Start for Mexican Citizens
The Current Situation
Mexico, the 13th largest country in the world, with a population of more than 100 million people, is a culturally, socially and economically diverse nation. Although it earns a medium-high income, it still has suffered from inequality, poverty, economic insecurity and mental health disorders.
The current health system in Mexico is divided into three types of services:
The current health care situation in Mexico is dire. Director of the Mexican Ministry of Health, Mariana Barraza-Lloréns explains that half of Mexico’s population is uninsured and incapable of accessing health care due to financial disparity. Barraza-Lloréns also focuses on the Indigenous communities that the current health care system impacts and marginalizes. These communities have infant mortality rates that are 58% higher and a life expectancy that is five years lower than national averages. Barraza-Lloréns argues that universal health care is a need.
What To Expect
This new health care system will be carried out in several phases, beginning with initial registration for this health care system starting with Mexicans aged 85 and older. Sign-ups will continue throughout the year, organized by age group and an official identification card will be given to each citizen to grant them access to services starting January 2027. By prioritizing emergency care, continuity of treatment across institutions and access to services regardless of insurance affiliation. In this first phase this universal health care in Mexico will mainly cover emergency services, high-risk pregnancies, heart attacks, strokes and cancer diagnosis. By the end of 2027 and starting 2028, Mexico plans to roll out its next phases and extend its promise for health care for all.
Why Is Universal Health Care in Mexico Important?
A WHO study in 2020 offered insights into Mexico’s overall health index. While life expectancy has increased from an initial 34 years in 1930 to 75 years in 2017, there has still been a significant delay with these improvements. With mortality rates in cases such as heart disease and diabetes ranging anywhere from 70-80 deaths per thousand, there is evidence to suggest lack of access to proper health services. Sheinbaum’s new health reform aims to provide care to all citizens regardless of insurance status. With 46% of its citizens under the poverty line, universal health care would provide life-changing services to many.
Countries such as Sweden, which access universal health care, offer some of the highest life expectancy rates in the world, averaging about 81 years. Sweden has seen drastic improvements in overall public health in the last several decades with these universal health reforms. With decreases in mortality, work-related injuries, and mental health, Sweden’s public access to health care has served many.
Universal health care is an object of political, economic and social discussion in many countries across the world. As seen in countries such as Sweden and many others, free public access to health care has proven to be a guarantee for life expectancy and quality of living. Time will tell how Mexico’s health reforms will positively impact the citizens of the country.
– Sadie Lopez
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Impact of USAID Cuts on an HIV-Prevention Program in Kenya
Vision
Initiated in October 2021, the project was one of many Hope Worldwide Kenya (HWWK) programs in Mukuru informal settlement in Nairobi funded by the U.S. dating back to 2003, with the aim of preventing HIV among thousands of vulnerable youth, particularly adolescent girls and young women, through a variety of care and support programs. In a documentary commissioned by PBS NewsHour in the U.S., journalists spoke to many young women who came through the program. They tell of being educated on simple but potentially life-saving interventions, such as how to use a condom, in addition to compassionate reminders that each of them has inherent value and worth.
USAID Closure
DREAMS, however, despite its proven successes, is facing an existential crisis due to the shuttering of USAID by the Trump administration in early 2025, which left staff suddenly unemployed and vital funding withdrawn, endangering not just DREAMS but thousands of humanitarian programs worldwide.
Both statistical evidence and personal accounts demonstrate the success of DREAMS’s endeavors. Almost all of the 66,000 women and girls who came through DREAMS remained HIV-free during the three-year program. Stacy Njeri, an 18-year-old woman from Mwiki, Kasarani Sub-county in Nairobi, describes how the program introduced her to a Youth Savings and Loans Association which allowed her to start her own nail salon, a decision she says “changed her life.”
With many women’s enrolment cut short due to foreign aid cuts, however, the concern now is that HIV cases among young women may begin to rise again, and that the cuts will discontinue the salutary work that the organization carries out, not only in preventing the deadly disease, but also in caring for young women and girls and equipping them with vitally important life skills and encouragement. PBS NewsHour’s documentary already reported that some women began to turn to prostitution as a means of supporting themselves following the end of DREAMS.
Future
Yet, the three-year stint of this HIV-prevention program in Kenya has shown that the methods used are highly successful and potentially far-reaching; it is only a matter of repairing the broken aid infrastructure. With the decline of USAID, it remains to be seen whether other countries will step in to fill the humanitarian void. Other wealthy nations like the U.K., France and Germany all responded to the U.S. change in policy by cutting back their own foreign aid expenditure, with the U.K. reducing its ODA (Official Development Assistance Budget) from 0.7% to 0.3% of Gross National Income in order to bolster defense spending.
It may take some time for a viable solution for DREAMS to materialize, but what the scaling back of U.S. foreign aid has shown is just what kind of valuable and quietly empowering programs in Kenya and around the world are being threatened by an increasingly volatile global humanitarian landscape.
– Tomás Quinn
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
What to Know About Food Systems in Fiji
According to the Food Systems Dashboard, Fiji is experiencing an increase in diet-related health issues, including obesity and diabetes, resulting from increased consumption of imported and processed foods. While traditional diets still feature local root crops, fruits, vegetables and seafood, imported food also plays a significant role in meeting consumer demand.
Challenges in Fiji’s Food Systems
The University of Southern Pacific reports that climate challenges, extreme weather events, natural disasters and shifting dietary habits are the leading challenges to domestic food production and nutrition. In 2023, Fiji imported $1.106 billion in crops and livestock from more than 70 countries, primarily Australia, New Zealand, China, Malaysia and Singapore.
This reliance on imported foods can leave Fiji vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and rising global food prices. According to the Food Systems Dashboard, the country also faces a dual burden of malnutrition, with 7% of the population experiencing undernourishment, while obesity and diet-related diseases continue to rise. These challenges place additional pressure on low-income families that already struggle to afford nutritious food, as 57% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet.
Poverty in Fiji
Agriculture remains an important part of Fiji’s economy and a major source of employment in rural communities. According to the World Bank, poverty affects more than 45,700 households in Fiji. Approximately 24.1% of the population lives below the national poverty line, while rates rise to 36.2% among households living in rural and maritime communities, which also experience higher transportation costs and greater exposure to climate-related disasters. When floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events damage crops and infrastructure, families often experience reduced incomes and limited access to affordable food.
Strengthening local food production can help communities increase household incomes while reducing dependence on costly imported goods. Investments in agriculture, fisheries and rural infrastructure also create opportunities for economic growth in areas where poverty rates remain highest.
Government Efforts to Strengthen Food Security
In October 2025, Fiji’s government launched its Food and Nutrition Security Policy, a consolidation of food, nutrition and climate initiatives to address the challenges of food insecurity and poverty.
Government leaders developed the framework through consultations with stakeholders to create a more coordinated approach to food production, distribution and consumption while helping communities adapt to climate-related risks.
According to the United Nations Food Systems Coordination Hub, the policy supports collaboration among government agencies, researchers, farmers and development partners to improve access to nutritious food, strengthen local food production and build resilience against climate-related disruptions. By connecting agricultural development with public health objectives, policymakers expect to improve long-term food access and nutrition outcomes throughout the country.
Additionally, the International Trade Administration found Fiji’s agricultural sector to be a crucial component of its economy. Providing jobs for 83% of its rural residents, 36% of the total employed population. Despite the high financial costs and deficient access to modern equipment and technology, the government is offering tax incentives to private investors for non-sugar agriculture with a desire to provide sustainable practices, improve infrastructure and foster resident communities.
A More Resilient Food System
Food systems in Fiji play a critical role in supporting public health, economic development and food security. While the country continues to face challenges from changing weather patterns, rising food imports and nutrition-related health concerns, government agencies and local stakeholders are taking steps to strengthen domestic food production and improve access to nutritious foods. Through initiatives such as the Food and Nutrition Security Policy and continued investment in agriculture, Fiji is progressing toward a more resilient food system that can support communities and reduce vulnerability to poverty in the years ahead.
– Ashley Belling
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
How Vocational Education in Argentina Helps Reduce Poverty
Poverty in Argentina
Although there are many factors that contribute to poverty in Argentina, two factors that seem to be related to the risk of poverty are education level and employment status. Among Argentines who are aged 16 and older, 19.6% of those living below the poverty line do not have an education and 18.3% only have a primary education.
Additionally, in early 2025, Argentina reported an unemployment rate of 7.9%, the highest level recorded since 2021. This decrease in official employment corresponds with many workers transitioning to unreliable sources of income such as self-employment and casual jobs.
What Vocational Education Offers
TVET offers students skills and experience working in specific career fields such as:
TVET consists of three levels of vocational education. Secondary Technical Education combines general high school education with training in specific technical industries and teaches students about professional practices to prepare them for entering the workplace. After completing secondary education (technical or general), students can move on to Higher Technical Education, allowing them to specialize their skill set within a certain industry. Finally, Professional Training is offered to people already in the workforce so that they can improve, renew and acquire professional skills.
The Impact of Vocational Education in Argentina
After the socio-economic crisis that occurred in Argentina in the early 2000s, the government passed two laws that reestablished the importance of vocational education. In 2005, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Law (LETP as the Spanish acronym) was passed. A year later, the National Education Law (LEN as the Spanish acronym) replaced the Federal Education Law. The main goals of these laws are to:
The LETP emphasizes increased funding and improving the quality of vocational education through updates in the curriculum, infrastructure and technology used to teach students.
These changes within the TVET system are important because higher education has been shown to reduce the risk of unemployment and increase average wages. Among unemployed Argentines, only 4.1% of them have a post-secondary education compared to 7.8% who do not have a secondary education and 7.2% who do. Additionally, people with a post-secondary education tend to earn 63% more in wages compared to people with just a secondary education.
In the early 1980s, the nonprofit organization Star of Hope established a small school in the remote region of Namqom that continues to help people develop practical skills to gain employment. Subjects taught at this school have included hairdressing, bricklaying, electrical engineering and cooking and baking. Selsa Diaz, a cooking and baking instructor, stated that the school’s primary objective was that “each student should be able to have some income” upon graduation. The 36 students at this school learn how to bake and cook various dishes. After completing their course work, students receive a diploma as proof of what they accomplished. Diaz remarked on the work ethic of her students stating that “everybody makes an effort to learn everyday.”
Looking Ahead
As the rates of poverty and employment have continued to rise in Argentina, the importance of learning practical skills and gaining job experience has become increasingly apparent. The TVET system seeks to empower students by giving them the knowledge, skills and confidence to obtain financial stability. By providing people with higher education and a chance to acquire skills that will benefit them in the workplace, vocational education in Argentina can also provide people with the opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty.
– Lily Alexander
Photo: Flickr
Innovation Sahara Supports Entrepreneurs in Southern Libya
Innovation Sahara focuses on communities in Libya’s southern region, where economic opportunities are often more limited than in larger coastal cities such as Tripoli and Benghazi. The program offers practical business training, including budgeting, marketing and business planning. According to UNDP, more than 110 participants took part in the initiative, including 53 women-led ventures. Of these participants, 60 startups received grants to help launch their businesses, including 23 women-led startups.
Entrepreneurs in Southern Libya
Entrepreneurship can offer an alternative path to employment in areas where formal jobs are scarce. Rather than relying only on public-sector work or outside investment, small businesses allow communities to respond to their own local needs. A successful startup can support one household by generating income. Over time, it can also provide useful services, create products and open new employment opportunities for others in the community. Innovation Sahara in southern Libya is particularly significant for women, as they often face additional barriers due to limited access to finance, fewer professional networks and social expectations that restrict participation in public economic life. By including women-led ventures in training and grant opportunities, the program supports women’s economic participation and helps challenge the idea that entrepreneurship is only accessible to men or to people in major cities.
Libya’s economy has generally depended heavily on oil and public-sector employment. Oil wealth has shaped the country’s economy. However, it has not always produced stable opportunities for young people, especially outside urban centers. Supporting small businesses can help diversify local economies and reduce dependence on a narrow range of income sources. In southern Libya, entrepreneurs are often far from major markets. This distance can make it harder to access investors, customers and business-support services.
The Importance of Skill Development
The project also demonstrates the importance of combining financial support with skills development. Grants alone may not be enough to help a business survive. Entrepreneurs also need to understand how to manage costs, reach customers and adapt their ideas to real market conditions. By offering training in budgeting, marketing and business planning, Innovation Sahara gives participants tools that can continue to benefit them after the initial grant period ends.
However, the long-term impact of the program will depend on whether these startups can survive and grow. Many early-stage businesses struggle after initial funding runs out. Entrepreneurs may still need mentoring, access to larger markets, legal support and continued financing. Infrastructure challenges, political instability and weak private-sector institutions also limit business growth.
From Training to Employment
One example is Hamed Mohamed from Gurda Al-Shati, who used support from Innovation Sahara to develop Akakus Restaurant. Hamed identified a clear local need: his community had few food-delivery options, leaving residents underserved. With the help of the program, he expanded the restaurant and hired 14 people, including chefs, cleaners and delivery riders. His story shows how a small business can respond to everyday community needs while also creating stable employment. In an area where formal job opportunities are limited, Akakus Restaurant demonstrates how entrepreneurship can strengthen local economies from within.
Another example from Gurda Al-Shati is Rahma El Farjani, an architect who previously worked from home. Before joining Innovation Sahara, her limited visibility made it difficult to reach clients and earn a stable income. Through the program’s training and grant support, she established Dalilak for Architectural Services, described by UNDP as the first architectural firm in the region. Her work expands professional services in southern Libya and challenges the idea that innovation belongs only in major urban centers.
Both Hamed and Rahma’s stories show how targeted support can help entrepreneurs turn local challenges into businesses that improve livelihoods and community development.
The program’s focus on youth and women makes it particularly relevant to poverty reduction. When young people are unable to find work, they may face financial insecurity, migration pressures or exclusion from community decision-making. When women lack access to income, households and communities lose an important source of economic potential.
Looking Ahead
Innovation Sahara in southern Libya shows how targeted entrepreneurship programs can help marginalized regions participate in economic recovery. By providing training, grants and visibility to entrepreneurs in southern Libya, the initiative supports people who are often excluded from national economic opportunities. Its success will depend on long-term follow-up, continued investment and the ability of new businesses to create lasting employment. Still, the program offers a hopeful example of how locally driven innovation can improve livelihoods in communities facing poverty, instability and limited opportunity.
– Nina Novillo Astrada
Photo: Flickr
Household Microplans in Kerala Addressing Extreme Poverty
A Local Approach to Extreme Poverty
Kerala, a state in southern India, has taken a household-level approach to reducing extreme poverty. Instead of relying only on broad welfare programs, the state created individual plans for families facing severe hardship. These plans, known as household microplans, focus on the specific needs of each family, including food, health care, income and housing.
This approach is important because poverty does not affect every household in the same way. Some families may need regular food support. Others may need medical care, identity documents, housing assistance or help finding stable work. Kerala’s model shows that anti-poverty programs can be more effective when they address the real problems each family faces.
Kerala’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Project
Kerala launched the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project in 2021. According to Kerala’s Local Self Government Department (LSGD), the project aimed to identify people experiencing extreme poverty who were outside existing support systems. The department states that the project used local governments, Kudumbashree networks, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, anganwadi workers, residential associations and civil society groups to find families facing the most severe deprivation. ASHA workers are community health workers who connect households with basic health services. Anganwadi workers support early childhood care, nutrition and welfare services at the local level. Their involvement helped the project reach vulnerable families who may not have been visible through official records alone.
The LSGD reported that more than 1.4 million people participated in the identification process. Through this effort, Kerala identified 103,099 people from 64,006 families across 1,032 local institutions. These families were identified based on four main areas of distress: food, health, income and housing.
What Are Household Microplans?
A household microplan is a personalized support plan created for one family. Instead of giving every family the same type of assistance, Kerala looked at what each household specifically needed. For example, one family might need a ration card to access food benefits. Another might need health insurance, disability documents or social security pensions. This is why household microplans in Kerala have drawn attention as a possible model for other regions working to reduce poverty.
According to Kerala’s LSGD, each family’s situation was studied before special microplans were created. The department also reported that documents and emergency services, including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, disability cards, health insurance and social security pensions, were made available to 21,263 families through the project.
Kerala carried out the project in three phases. According to the LSGD, the first phase focused on food and health care. The second phase focused on sustainable livelihoods and income. The third phase focused on safe and permanent housing.
This structure allowed the state to respond first to urgent needs, such as hunger and health problems, before moving toward longer-term goals like income security and housing. Kerala also used related campaigns to help families access land, housing, documents, educational support and travel benefits, according to the LSGD.
One of the strongest parts of Kerala’s model was local monitoring. According to the LSGD, household needs were recorded in a digital management information system. This allowed local governments and departments to track whether families were receiving the support promised to them.
Kudumbashree, Kerala’s women-led poverty eradication network, also worked as a community monitor and service provider, according to the department. This helped make the project more accountable and reduced the chance that families would be forgotten after being identified.
Kerala’s Poverty-Free Declaration
In November 2025, Kerala declared itself free from extreme poverty. The Times of India reported that Kerala’s Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh said the state had identified 64,006 extremely poor families through indicators such as food security, health, livelihood and housing. He also said each family received a microplan to help connect it with welfare schemes and essential services.
The LSGD also stated that the project was carried out through coordination among local bodies, government departments, missions, voluntary organizations and public participation.
Kerala’s declaration has also faced criticism. Some economists and activists argue that the state has reduced severe destitution rather than fully eliminated extreme poverty. In The Times of India, economist K.P. Kannan argued that Kerala’s list of around 64,000 households differs from other official poverty-related categories, including households covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana food security scheme. Antyodaya Anna Yojana is an Indian government scheme that provides highly subsidized food grains to the poorest households, making it an important measure of severe food insecurity and poverty. However, long-term monitoring remains necessary.
Why This Matters for Global Poverty
Household microplans in Kerala offer an important lesson for global poverty reduction. Many countries have welfare programs, but the poorest families may still be left out. Some households lack documents. Others live in remote areas, face disability or illness, or do not know how to access public services.
Household microplans in Kerala show that governments can improve poverty reduction by combining broad welfare programs with local, household-level planning. Community participation helped identify families who were hard to reach. Personalized plans helped match each family with the right kind of support. Digital tracking and local monitoring then helped ensure that support was delivered.
Even though Kerala’s claim to have eliminated extreme poverty remains debated, its method offers a practical model for other regions. By focusing on individual households, Kerala has shown how anti-poverty programs can become more targeted, accountable and human-centered.
– Nina Novillo Astrada
Photo: Flickr
How KOTO Trains At-Risk Youth in Vietnam
Jimmy Pham, a Vietnamese-Australian who grew up in Sydney, founded KOTO in 1999. Returning to Vietnam in his twenties, he met street children who told him they wanted skills to find stable jobs. He opened a small Hanoi sandwich shop and hired nine street kids as its first crew. The venture puzzled local officials, who had no category for a business built to serve the poor — KOTO later became the first legally recognized social enterprise in Vietnam. The shop drew global attention in 2000, when U.S. President Bill Clinton, the first American president to visit Vietnam after the war, made an unannounced stop. RMIT University awarded Pham an honorary doctorate in recognition of his work.
The Model: Skills, Stability and a Second Family
KOTO runs a 24-month hospitality program for young people 16 to 22 years old, training about 150 each year. Trainees choose front-of-house service or commercial cookery and earn an internationally recognized certificate through Australia’s Box Hill Institute. Crucially, the program is entirely free: KOTO covers food, health care and accommodation in a family environment, so trainees can focus on learning rather than survival. Alongside cooking and service, instructors teach English and life skills such as personal hygiene and money management. When trainees finish, KOTO places them in their first hospitality job.
The scale of need explains why the model matters. Vietnamese call children who live and work on the streets “bụi đời,” which means “the dust of life,” and in Hanoi alone an estimated 19,000 young people live on the streets. Many support themselves and their families through hard labor, with limited access to education and real exposure to exploitation and abuse. For at-risk youth in Vietnam, a steady wage often stands between them and those dangers — and the skills to earn one are exactly what KOTO provides.
Breaking the Cycle
The results suggest stable employment can break cycles of poverty within a single generation. KOTO reports that 100% of its trainees secure a job, 33% move into managerial roles and 78% contribute financially to their families. Graduates staff five-star hotels such as Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton and Sofitel, and alumni mentor newcomers so closely that the industry jokes about a “KOTO mafia.” Over 25 years, more than 1,700 graduates — including chefs, managers and entrepreneurs — have come through the program.
Nguyen Thi Thu’s story shows what that can look like. She met Pham at 16, while selling candy to support her mother and siblings, and joined KOTO’s second cohort. Today, she heads training at a multinational corporation, and her sister is a personal chef to an ambassador in Vietnam. Thu calls Pham her “moon” — a source of light and guidance. Pham frames the mission in larger terms, saying he wants to build the next generation of Vietnamese leaders in the industry.
KOTO is now expanding. The Kind Heart Foundation of the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup is helping fund a new training center in Bac Ninh Province that will double KOTO’s capacity to 300 trainees, up from 150. To stay sustainable, KOTO funds its work through restaurant revenue, grants, corporate sponsorship, fundraising and alumni-run services, which reduces its reliance on any single donor.
Looking Ahead
The self-renewing design is the point. For at-risk youth in Vietnam, KOTO offers more than a job — it offers a stable income, a marketable skill and a community that expects each graduate to lift up the next. In a country where tourism keeps growing and skilled hospitality workers stay in demand, that combination can turn a vulnerable childhood into a durable livelihood, and often pull an entire family out of poverty along with it.
– Jen Phan
Photo: Wikimedia Commons