​SDG 12: What does it mean?
Sustainable consumption and production is about “the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations”.

Why is SDG 7 important to the world?
Did you know?

• Each year, an estimated one third of all food produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes worth around $1 trillion – ends up rotting in the bins of consumers and retailers, or spoiling due to poor transportation and harvesting practices
• When it comes to consumers, households consume 29 per cent of global energy and contribute to 21 per cent of resultant CO2 emissions. If people worldwide switched to energy efficient lightbulbs the world would save US$120 billion annually

• Should the global population reach 9.6 billion by 2050, the equivalent of almost three planets could be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles
• Water pollution is also a pressing issue that needs a sustainable solution. We are polluting water faster than nature can recycle and purify water in rivers and lakes.

More people globally are expected to join the middle class over the next two decades. This is good for individual prosperity but it will increase demand for already constrained natural resources. If we don’t act to change our consumption and production patterns, we will cause irreversible damage to our environment.

Why is SDG7 important to Seychelles?
Seychelles in general faces enormous challenges in managing their wastes and waste treatment remains in general very capital intensive. The Seychelles developed a sewerage system for Victoria and its suburbs in the early 90’s and associated wastewater treatment works. 97% of all households use flush toilet and sewage is treated to a high level. However not all the people are connected and the sewer network is out-dated requiring major renovation. Consequently, most of the rivers and water bodies are receiving greater pollution loads and advancement in water treatment technologies combined with sewer upgrading works is urgently required.
 
In parallel, the country is implementing through the energy commission projects that consider deriving energy from waste. Advanced waste treatments are however costly and reliant on a trained workforce both of which are limiting in SIDS. The need for landfill will remain for waste that cannot be recycled or processed and remnants of treatment processes such as incinerator ash. With limited land available for landfilling, lack of investments and technical capacity compounded by yearly increase in waste production, Seychelles needs to be innovative to contain the waste problem and develop sound strategies including construction and operation of long term disposal facilities.

What actions are being taken in Seychelles towards this SDG?
Important progress has been made in the management of waste through partnership with the European Union and the country boasts a new and modern sanitary landfill and leachate plant. There is a very high rate of waste collection and cleanliness in the country. Several initiatives has been developed in line with international policies and best practice including implementation of a user pay policy, ban on non re-useable plastic bags increased waste recycling and waste diversion from landfill. Despite these advances, the sector is seriously constrained by poor long-term planning, deficiency in contracting and lack of technical capacity. There are currently no graduates specialised in this sector to support the activities of the waste agency. Despite ratification of the Basel Convention, the country does not have a comprehensive programme including specialised staff, equipment and facility for the safe management of hazardous waste.
The need for improved technical capacity reverberates strongly across all sectors and in particular for energy, which would also benefit from more technology transfer. A new Energy Act has been approved and updated legislation pertaining to the Energy Commission. These instruments allow independent power producers to produce and sell renewable energy to the national grid. Important on-going programmes are installation of eight wind turbines (under commissioning) and a project on Photovoltaic cells.
"The situation the Earth is in today has been created by unmindful production and unmindful consumption. We consume to forget our worries and our anxieties. Tranquilising ourselves with over-consumption is not the way"  -Thich Nhat Hanh

What can you do to help?
There are two main ways to help:

1. Reducing your waste - By ensuring you don’t throw away food to reducing your consumption of plastic (one of the main pollutants of the ocean). Carrying a reusable bag, refusing to use plastic straws, and recycling plastic bottles are good ways to do your part every day.
2. Being thoughtful about what you buy and choosing a sustainable option whenever possible- Making informed purchases about what we’re buying also helps. For example, the textile industry today is the second largest polluter of clean water after agriculture, and many fashion companies exploit textile workers in the developing world. If you can buy from sustainable and local sources you can make a difference as well as exercising pressure on businesses to adopt sustainable practices.

What can a business do to help?
Help find new solutions that enable sustainable consumption and production patterns. This can be done by:

1. A better understanding of environmental and social impacts of products and services, both of product life cycles and how these are affected by use within lifestyles.
2. Identifying “hot spots” within the value chain where interventions have the greatest potential to improve the environmental and social impact of the system as a whole is a crucial first step.
3. Businesses can also use their innovative power to design solutions that can both enable and inspire individuals to lead more sustainable lifestyles, reducing impacts and improving well-being.

(Contributed by Kelly Mothe)

​What is sustainable development goal 11?
Sustainable Development Goal 11 recognises the importance of cities in addressing and focusing challenges with the need to make cities and human settlement inclusive, resilient, safe and sustainable.
 
What does it means?
In a nutshell SDG 11’s associated targets cover the provision of housing and upgrading slums; access to transportation and improvements in road safety; enhancing capacities for human settlements planning and management; protection of cultural and natural heritage; reduction in the economic and human loss caused by disasters; mitigation of the adverse environmental impact of cities, particularly through waste management; and access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces.
In addition, it also highlights the importance of adopting and implementing integrated policies towards mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and support to urban resilience.
 
Why is SDG 11 important to the world?
SDG11 is important as it is the URBAN SDG that the world needs in order to make a change for urbanization.
The world is becoming increasingly urban,it will need to build new urban area for the rising population every day, to keep up and manage the growth.'
The SDG11 targets are also an important aspect to achieve the global goals in 2030:
11.1. By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade
Slums
11.2. By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all,
Improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those
In vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
 
Why is SDG 11 important to Seychelles?
Well, Right now Seychelles is facing a developing transition, which would be advantageous for us, if  we take consideration of the global goals and its target. So as a country we can also accomplish and contribute to the SGDs global agenda by 2030.
It is also a sustainable way for us as a nation to clearly make good decision on how to master plan our land and how to preserve our heritage site and making modern structure with natural reasons we have in place and taking issue into consideration between urban and city areas on how to merge it together.

Is traffic a concern for you?
Do we ever wonder how many hours we spend in traffic getting from home to work and vice versa? Well let me tell you, it’s basically a quarter of your life time trying to cross urban to city areas on a daily basis. This has a sociological impact on our behavior as a society as it develop certain frustration and lack of patient within people while driving.

Thus, this is just one example of a thousand impact that we can face as a small society daily if we don’t consider having a sustainable city and communities, these things will keep on happening. Which is why SDG 11 is relevant to Seychelles.
On the other hand, Extreme poverty is often concentrated in urban spaces and cities.  The governments struggle to accommodate the rising population in these areas.
Making cities safe and sustainable means ensuring access to safe and affordable housing, and also upgrading slum settlements. It also involves investment in public transportation, creating green public spaces, and improving urban planning and management in a way that is inclusive.

What actions are being taken in Seychelles towards this SDG?

• Recent master planning of Mahe.
• Affordable housing estate at Perseverance Island.
• New road Constructions.
• Proposer guideline for approval of buildings in general.

What can we do?

• Provide the right incentive for the economic sector to strive.
• Provide enough land for public space that encourage social exchange and citizen interaction.
• Promote and create awareness about this SDG
• Guide your community on what to do in case of a natural disaster
• Have regular maintenance on your cars and other machine so that it emits fewer fumes.
• Have all housing estates with basic services
• Have a clear sustainable master plan and timeframe.

So, we need to make changes. The solution to achieving SDG 11 will be found in understanding the links between all of these aspects and managing their convergence. Businesses across a wide range of sectors will have a pivotal role to play in creating truly systemic approaches to the issues.
Also engaging our youth and our citizens to know better how to understand these situations and how to act upon it. Nothing comes for free, we need to engage for a better and sustainable earth. Well for sure some of us might not be directly involved with SDG 11 in our daily work and lifestyle. But, what we can do, is reflect about it, as we are part of the society, share the awareness, have an ambition, start putting it down in writing and lets ACT on it.
 
(Contributed by Raymus Laurence)

Why Should we care?
As a member of UN youth Seychelles, I stand as a proud champion of this campaign. However, this campaign calls for company, the company of men and women of all works of life to do their part to complete everyone’s project. In today’s world, we are all interconnected. Problems and challenges, be it poverty, climate change, migration or economic crises are never just confined to one country or group. Even the richest countries still have communities living in abject poverty. The oldest democracies still wrestle with racism, homophobia and transphobia, and religious intolerance. Furthermore, a recent UNICEF report noted growing inequality among children in several high-income countries. Global inequality affects us all, no matter who we are or where we are from.  

Inequalities based on income, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, class, ethnicity, religion and opportunity continue to persist across the world, within and among countries. Income inequality cannot be effectively tackled unless the underlying inequality of opportunities is addressed. In a global survey conducted by UN Development Programme, policy makers from around the world acknowledged that inequality in their countries is generally high and potentially a threat to long-term social and economic development.

Evidence shows that, beyond a certain threshold, inequality harms growth and poverty reduction, the quality of relations in the public and political spheres and individuals’ sense of fulfillment and self-worth. This, in turn, can breed crime, disease and environmental degradation. To reduce inequality, policies should be universal in principle paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations.

Goal 10. REDUCED INEQUALITITES: Task in relation to Seychelles

• By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average. This policy is in line with Seychelles policy targeting the poverty line and improvement in income inequalities, as such a commitment to both should foster an environment conducive to the UN target.

• By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status. Seychelles have benefited from a contemporary constitution and a multiculturally diverse society, resulting in limited cases of inequalities based in age, gender, race or religious status. However, more needs to be done regarding the inclusion of the disable portion of the population. Whilst, government program(s) exist for the inclusion of those with disability into the workforce and the society, these programs could benefit from a review based on the latest innovations brought forth by more advanced countries and assessing the feasibility in Seychelles.

• Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard. In general, the government, employers and all individuals in Seychelles should strive towards the successful completion of this task. The most urgent tasks, would be to revise the discriminatory law whereby having a different sexual orientation from that of heterosexuality is a criminal offense. A person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted should not restrict them from equal opportunity nor outcome.

• Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality. This task is achievable in Seychelles, if a strong commitment to policies that target a reduction in poverty line, improving the minimum wage and unemployment benefit without overheating the economy.

• Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations. Seychelles authorities must continue commitment to international best practice and foster innovation with adequate regulation.

• Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions. Many NGOs and State institutions are striving to achieve this target, as Seychelles become a more prominent voice on the international stage.

• Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies. A vital task that the Seychelles authorities must consider.

• Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements.

• Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes.

• By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent

What you can do to help?
The first is to educate yourself and others about the problem and it what form they take. We can ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of income, if we support the elimination of discriminatory laws, policies and practices. The most important step is to be willing to recognise inequalities and do our best to include all members of society. We do this together or not at all.

(Contributed by Mr Craig Joseph) ​

​SDG 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Have you used the internet today? Logged on to Facebook? Watched a YouTube video? Googled a word you didn’t know and instantly found its definition? If so, then you are part of the 3.4 billion out of a 7.4 billion world population that has access to the internet. It may even surprise you to know that 4 billion people still do not have access to the internet, with 90% of this number of people being from developing countries.
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​With more than 50% of the World’s population now residing in urban areas, and ever growing strains that mass movement has brought, it is imperative that sustainable solutions are employed so economic growth and development thrives in these areas. By employing solutions riding on technological advances in high population density areas, economic and environmental challenges such as new employment opportunities and the promotion of energy efficiency appliances, long-lasting solutions are found. It is important to employ this Sustainable Development Goal into action so better planning, adapting, and mitigation efforts to reduce risks, hazards, and disasters can be undertaken to keep the effects Climate Change from severely affecting our lives.

A good example of this SDG in practice is in early warning systems through the use of technology which saved many lives in the Japan tsunami in early 2011. By investing in infrastructure improvements in river basins for flood protection as is the case in Bosnia’s and Herzegovina’s Vrbas river basin; lives, material goods and livelihoods can be spared from impending disaster as the effects of Climate Change are felt around the world stronger than ever before since concentrated populations of people are living in urban areas. By employing innovative climate modelling techniques, we have become better prepared to plan for the future, as we can now predict with precision, which areas are most likely to be affected by the effects of Climate Change. With this information we can then apply suitable mitigation and adaptation efforts which will protect livelihoods, property, and life. An example relating to industry within this Sustainable Development Goal can be found in the remote, mountainous communities in Laos, where 63% of the population reside, and where basic education has yet to reach many communities. Through a community radio broadcasting service, education programs are aired, reaching more than 45,000 people who would otherwise not receive any education, which would exacerbate poverty in the region. Such a programme has resulted in vast changes of increased rates of vaccination against diseases, increased use of health facilities by women, and improved disaster readiness and recovery.

The Seychelles has made commitments to the international community to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into its government to better the lives of its people. In the context of the industry, innovation, and infrastructure goal, a good example is the establishment of the ‘Disaster, Risk, and Management Division’ to help manage and coordinate support, relief and warning systems for the country in innovative technological ways. Another example is the use of tried and tested adaptation techniques around areas of high risk from the effects of Climate Change, such as along coastal regions to protect people’s property and livelihoods. A third example of innovative infrastructure is the building of desalination plants on Mahe to ensure the population has a supply of potable water in periods of severe drought. Not only has the Seychelles invested in infrastructure technologies, but also in the industry present in Seychelles; promoting sustainable fishing practices amongst fishermen, sustainable farming practices amongst the farmers on the island, and having tax-free renewable energy products, encouraging the renewable energy industry to grow in the Seychelles.

As a young member of society, I am grateful to be living in a country that has pledged its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, bettering the lives of its citizens, and feel privileged to be able to help contribute to the development of these goals as a member of society.  
​
You can make a difference and contribute to this Sustainable Development Goal by abandoning unsustainable practices and striving towards sustainable ones. This requires a change in the way we think about the world today. The world will not last forever, and neither will you, or me. But everyone makes an effort to keep on living and to stay healthy so we can live for a longer amount of time, right? This is the same principle we need to adopt to look after our planet. In Seychelles we are fortunate enough to have access to free education for all. We are only hurting ourselves when we let the opportunities around us slip away. By educating ourselves today, we will become the innovators and industry revolutionists of tomorrow. Make a stand and help yourself today for the future of the world tomorrow.

​(Contributed by Sophie Morgan)

​Goals of SDG 8
The overarching objective of SDG 8 is to encourage inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for everyone. These can be fulfilled by achieving the following goals:
Sustain per capita economic growth based on the national economic environment. Attain higher economic productivity via diversification, technological advancements and innovation
Encourage development policies geared towards encouraging productive tasks, sufficient job creation and entrepreneurial skills
Promote the creation and longevity of small and medium sized enterprises
By 2030, full and productive employment comprising of decent work and fair pay should be available for men and women including the young and disabled
By 2020, reduce the share of youth not engaged in education, training and employment
Abolish forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking.
Eliminate worst forms of child labour such as child soldiers
Safeguard labour rights and encourage a safe and secure working environment for all workers
Fortify the ability of domestic financial institutions to facilitate access to banking, insurance and other financial services for all
 
Significance of SDG 8 for the progress of the world
Presently, 2.2 billion people survive on less than US$2 (SCR25.99) a day. As time progresses, the need for sufficient job creation becomes more urgent. Approximately 470 million jobs are required for new entrants to the labour market between 2016 and 2030 to match the growth in the global working age population. Having a job does not always guarantee the individual will escape poverty. Often, these individuals are engaged in informal employment which does not offer a steady source of income.
 
Decent work will ensure equal opportunities for everyone to avail productive work encompassing fair income, job security, self-actualisation and social amalgamation. Individuals can improve their prospects and productively contribute to economic growth. This is a self-fulfilling cycle which is identified as a crucial factor in alleviating global poverty and fostering global economic growth. Even in this modern era of advanced technologies, human capital is fundamental in augmenting global prosperity.
 
Importance of SDG 8 for Seychelles
The latest unemployment figure and labour force participation rate stood at 4.2% and 68.7%, respectively. Total unemployed youth as a proportion of the youth labour force has been falling since 2015 to stand at 10%. Nonetheless, youth unemployment is 2.4 times higher than the national unemployment rate. In order to augment national economic growth, investment in human capital such as vocational training and tertiary education is essential. Seychelles is what is today because of the people that have graced its shores. By nurturing the available talent, Seychelles can become self-reliant, highly productive and perform at its best capacity.
 
Seychelles has tremendous potential to utilise its vast EEZ which spans over 1 million km2 of ocean and a territory of 99% of marine environment. Benefits include revenue creation which can be reinvested into future projects and employment opportunities. Two of the economic pillars, tourism and fisheries are heavily reliant on the oceans and account for 20% and 15% of the GDP, respectively. The tourism sector has established backward and forward linkages with various sectors such as car rentals, tour companies, water sports and farmers. Nonetheless, diversification of the economy is essential to mitigate risks stemming from domestic and global shocks.  Local businesses can be supported by inculcating innovation, improving access to finance and conducting skills based workshops. As other pillars of economic growth become prominent, more backward and forward linkages with various economic sectors can be established.
 
Actions taken in Seychelles to achieve SDG 8
The following represents selected actions undertaken in Seychelles towards achieving this goal.
UniSey is the principle tertiary education provider which offers numerous courses where students are given global exposure to supplement their knowledge. Its motto highlights the importance of one’s potential with respect to their future.
National Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation (NISTI) works towards the transferability of science, technology and innovations across all economic sectors in Seychelles. Existing processes can be augmented in addition to encouraging new approaches which is line with the unique biodiversity of the nation. 
Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (SEnPA) aspires to support small enterprises such that they become a significant contributor of economic activity. One of their objectives is delivering training and business advisory assistance for small enterprises.
 
Ways you could help
If all stakeholders perform their duties, this goal can be achieved sooner than later. Try to be conscious of your actions and its transmission to others which could ultimately bolster economic growth.
Support local businesses
Encourage and consider innovation in as many instances as possible
Aim to work or study efficiently to acquire new skills and improve personal productivity
Do not discriminate against anyone
Provide a safe and appropriate working or learning conditions

(Contributed by Raghavi Naidu)

GLOBAL PROGRESS SO FAR
 
Gender equality and women’s empowerment have advanced in recent years. Girls’ access to education has improved, the rate of child marriage has declined and progress has been made in sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.

• About 2/3 of countries in developing regions have gender parity in primary education
• Globally, women’s participation in parliament rose to 23% in 2016, representing an increase of 6% over a decade
• In 1990 in Southern Asia, 74 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys. In 2012 the enrolment rations were almost equal for girls as for boys.
• The proportion of women in paid employment outside the agricultural sector in Northern Africa has increased from 35% in 1990 to 41% in 2015

 
BUT THERE IS MORE TO BE DONE

• Violence against women and girls still occurs, violating their human rights and hindering development.
  • In 52 countries, 21% of women aged between 15 and 49 experienced physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of an intimate partner in a year
  • 70% of victims of human trafficking detected worldwide are females
• Salaries are still not equal
  • On average women in the labour market still earn 24% less than men globally
• Men and women still do not share the burden of domestic work.
  • In every region, women and girls do the bulk of unpaid work, including caregiving and such household tasks as cooking and cleaning
  • On average, women report that they spend 19% of their time each day in unpaid activities, versus 8% for men
  • The responsibilities of unpaid care and domestic work, combined with paid work, means greater total work burdens for women and girls and less time for rest, self-care, learning and other activities
• Not all girls have access to education.
  • In sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and Western Asia, girls still face barriers to entering both primary and secondary school
• Gender equality before the law does not necessarily mean women have equal opportunities in practice. However, assuring women’s rights through legal frameworks is a first step in addressing discrimination against them.
  • As of 2014, 52 countries have yet to guarantee equality between women and men

 
MEN – I would like to take this opportunity to extend to you a formal invitation – gender equality is your issue too.
 
Discrimination against women persists, directly and indirectly, through laws and policies, social norms and practices, and gender-based stereotypes.
 
Imagine how terrifying it is for your self-worth to be entangled with what others think of you. Let’s change that.
 
WHAT SDG 5 MEANS FOR SEYCHELLES
 
The high level of social development and the absence of blatant discrimination against women here in Seychelles lead to the assumption that gender equality has been achieved. However, challenges still exist. These include:

• Gender Based Violence (GBV)
• High rates of teenage pregnancy
• Higher levels of poverty amongst single parent households that are predominantly female
• The increasing incidence of sex work
• The gender dimensions of illicit drug abuse and HIV and AIDS.

 
There is also a perception that boys and men are being marginalised in the provision of services. This needs to be rectified through reinforcing the role of men and boys as partners in promoting gender equality.
 
Violent crime, family disintegration, child abuse, poverty, domestic violence – all of the issues that affect our society have profound gender dimensions.
 
WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT IT?

• Seychelles follows the targets set out by the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development that represents commitments made in all sub-regional, continental and global instruments for achieving gender equality
• Seychelles takes cognisance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• Gender equality forms part of the broader commitment by the Government of Seychelles to human rights and social justice as set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
• In 2015 the Ministry of Social Affairs, Community Development and Sports introduced the National Gender Policy that provides national guidelines for institutionalising and operationalising gender as an integral component of local sustainable development

 
These measures signal the Government’s continued commitment to the attainment of Constitutional rights and gender equality as a cornerstone for ending poverty and achieving long-term sustainable social change by meeting the aspirations of all Seychellois.
 
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
 

 
For starters, don’t be like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast (pictured above).
 
For the goals to work, people need to know about them.
 
We need you to help us tell everyone about #SDG5, the #GlobalGoals, and advocate #Sey4SDG.
 
Our country will only meet these SDGs if we fight for them, so SHARE all the knowledge you got today. Tell your friends, your local community. Allow the information shared today to give you a new perspective. Perhaps now you are more aware of how the stereotypes of women we often use are damaging.
 
Join the global conversation. Use the hashtags, download the SDG app, visit globalgoals.org – help make the SDGs famous and tell the leaders of the world that this is what we want.
 
You can also visit http://www.globalgoals.org/take-action/ and choose an NGO to get involved with: Global Citizen, Save The Children, UNICEF, UNDP – the choice is yours.
 
Every voice should be heard – make yours count.
 
Contributed by Nandita Nair
 ​

​SDG 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING 
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a new, universal set of goals, targets and indicators that UN member states will be expected to use to frame their agendas and political policies until 2030. Amongst the seventeen goals, goal number three is specifically related to health. Health, however, is also related to most of the remaining sixteen goals, such as reducing poverty (Goal one), improving education (Goal 4), and providing access to clean water and sanitation (Goal six).

​SDG NO.1 – NO POVERTY
You walk into a gallery and see two pictures on the wall. The first one depicts wealth and a world of plenty. A world where billions of people are living longer thanks to modern healthcare, and where education institutions are brimming with eager students. The caption reads that the world economy is estimated to produce an outstanding $90 trillion worth of output per year. An unprecedented figure.

The second picture is the mirror opposite of the first. It is one of extreme poverty where people are still living in slums, children can't go to school and people are dying because they don't have enough to eat. Its caption is a gloomy one: Nearly one billion of the world's seven billion population is living in such extreme poverty they are struggling to survive. As hard as it is to believe, both pictures are of the very same world.
In September 2000 the largest gathering of world leaders in human history convened for the Millennium Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The outcome was a list of eight goals and eighteen targets to be achieved by 2015. Recognising that poverty was a pressing issue that needed addressing, it was firmly put at number one. Last year, the MDGs expired and the question on everyone's mind was- Did the last fifteen years amount to anything? Extreme poverty was not completely eradicated, but that does not mean that there wasn't a measure of success. Statistics show that in 1990 there were 1.9 billion people living in extreme poverty and this was reduced to an estimated 836 million by 2015. An encouraging figure, true, but not one that should inspire slackness. The fight continues with a new set of seventeen “Global goals” for the next 15 years with poverty still at the very top of the list. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Fund supports initiatives that tackle poverty from a multisectoral perspective and addresses the dimensions such as promoting better government policies. This fund has been as far reaching as Honduras, Côte D’Ivoire, Bangladesh to name but a few countries, and empowering women, backing training and ensuring food security as best as it can.
 
But what is it about poverty that makes it such a pressing issue? Simply put, from the existence of poverty stems all manners of problems. Where there is extreme poverty there is more likely than not a low literacy rate (education). Where there is extreme poverty you’ll find inequalities between men and women. Where there is extreme poverty you'll find poor healthcare and sanitation. Therefore, with poverty running rampant in countries, how can economic growth be achieved, sustainable cities be built, climate change be kept in check and inequalities be reduced? All the other sixteen Sustainable Development Goals depend on the success of the first one.

Seychelles is blessed enough to have made such great strides economic wise. Although there is an open discussion on what the degree of poverty that still needs to be tackled in Seychelles is, there is no denying that free education means that the majority of children are in schools, public healthcare is provided for all and the issue of inequality in any form is constantly on the agenda. The World Bank depicts Seychelles as having Poverty rates that  “are expected to remain among the lowest in the world outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).” Using the International poverty line which was at $1.90 in 2011 (SCR 25.70 as of 18/11/16), extreme poverty in Seychelles stood at 1.1% of its population in 2013. This means that as of 2013, 1.1% of our population lived on less than SCR 25.70 a day (World bank figures). If we remain committed, we are definitely on track to eradicating poverty in Seychelles by 2030.
 
Seychelles also participates actively in regional and international discussions regarding such issues to create sound policy frameworks that can be implemented to better the lives of our citizens. In recent years, we have been among the few countries to bring the blue economy to the forefront of international discussions,  an initiative which former president James Michel has implemented nationally. Since the Seychelles territory (including its land area and EEZ) is 99% ocean, the sustainable development of our blue economy plays a vital role to further improve the economic situation of our country. Sustainable development is the key phrase here, as it is the only way to ensure that we do not deplete our resources, leaving future generations lacking and struggling with poverty due to our actions.
 
We need to be clear on this- the eradication of poverty is not a load that falls solely on the shoulders of the government. The effort to lift ourselves out of poverty, like everything else, requires first a renewal of mind. Students must seize the opportunity that free education provides. What projects we feel society could benefit from, let’s lead. Community development, tackled by each and every member of our neighbourhood. Clean streets, rivers and beaches, the responsibility of every citizen of Seychelles. Educate yourself on the importance of education that goes beyond school textbooks. In the end, our progress and actions will speak much louder than words, and other countries will come to us for words of wisdom. As former President James Michel once said at the opening of the AOSIS Ministerial meeting on Climate change (November 2014) “Too often we are treated as bystanders. And more often than not, we allow ourselves to be treated as bystanders.” No, we cannot afford to let ourselves be bystanders any longer.
 
Join the global conversation. Use the hashtags #sey4sdg , download the SDG Action app, visit globalgoals.org – help make the SDGs famous and tell the leaders of the world that this is what we want.
 
You can also visit http://www.globalgoals.org/take-action/ and choose an NGO to get involved with: Global Citizen, Save The Children, UNICEF, UNDP – the choice is yours.
 
Contributed by Lisa Bastienne
 
 
 
 
 
 
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