On 17 October 2025, the world marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a moment to reaffirm a global commitment to end deprivation in all its forms and ensure that no family is left behind.

This year’s theme “Ending social and institutional maltreatment by ensuring respect and effective support for families” places dignity, inclusion, and justice at the heart of the anti-poverty agenda.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) used the occasion to spotlight a critical truth: poverty is not merely about low income but about a denial of opportunity, protection, and respect. As climate pressures intensify and inequalities deepen, families worldwide are not only struggling to survive but also to be seen, heard, and supported by systems meant to serve them.

Climate and Poverty: The Converging Crises

The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), a joint report by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) paints a stark picture of interconnected vulnerability. Nearly 80% of the world’s multidimensionally poor, or about 887 million people, now live in areas exposed to at least one major climate hazard whether extreme heat, floods, drought, or chronic air pollution. Even more alarming, 650 million of them face two or more overlapping hazards simultaneously.,These findings underscore how climate risk compounds poverty, trapping households in cycles of crisis. A poor farmer who loses crops to drought or a family displaced by floods faces not only economic hardship but also the loss of education, healthcare, and social stability dimensions that deepen inequality and erode resilience.

“Poverty is not just about income; it’s about choices, security, and dignity,” said a UNDP spokesperson. “When climate hazards multiply, the poorest bear the greatest costs often without the safety nets or institutional support to recover.”

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Reimagining Poverty Through a Human Lens

Unlike traditional income-based measures, the Multidimensional Poverty Index captures the many ways deprivation manifests in people’s lives: lack of education, healthcare, sanitation, housing, or access to clean energy. By linking these dimensions with environmental vulnerability, the 2025 MPI reframes poverty as both a human development challenge and a climate resilience imperative.,UNDP emphasizes that building resilience requires trustworthy, responsive institutions that deliver for families. When people can rely on public services from social protection to healthcare and education, they gain the security needed to plan their futures and lift themselves out of poverty sustainably.

“We cannot end poverty without ending neglect,” the statement added. “Families must be supported not only by income assistance but by systems that respect their dignity and empower them to thrive.”

A Call to Build Trust, Equity, and Protection

The UNDP’s strategy focuses on three interlinked pillars:

Social Protection and Inclusion – Ensuring all families have access to safety nets and essential services, especially in climate-vulnerable regions.
Institutional Integrity – Strengthening governance systems that are transparent, fair, and responsive to citizens’ needs.
Climate Action for Equity – Integrating resilience measures into poverty reduction efforts, from early warning systems to sustainable livelihoods.

These priorities are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly Goal 1: No Poverty and Goal 13: Climate Action recognizing that progress on one depends on progress in the other.

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A Renewed Global Promise

As the world nears the halfway point to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the message from UNDP is clear: the fight against poverty must evolve. Eradicating poverty today means confronting social maltreatment, institutional failure, and climate injustice, the hidden dimensions that perpetuate suffering even when economies grow.

“Ending poverty in all its forms remains a defining promise of our time,” the UNDP statement concluded. “We can fulfill that promise only when every family can live with dignity, security, and the power to shape its own future.”

The 2025 observance serves not just as a commemoration but as a call to action, reminding the world that poverty is solvable when humanity chooses compassion, justice, and resilience as its shared foundation.

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