New Delhi: Every year, on October 17, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed worldwide. We live in an age of unprecedented economic development and technological advancements, but millions of people still live in extreme poverty. According to the United Nations, poverty, apart from being a financial issue, is also a multidimensional phenomenon that includes an absence of income and the basic capabilities to live in dignity.
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty reminds us of the necessity to fight poverty which has grappled millions of people in the world. In this article, we will take a look at the theme of this important day this year.
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: What is the theme this year?
The theme this year is “Ending Social and Institutional Maltreatment Acting together for just, peaceful and inclusive societies”. There are many dimensions to poverty and all of them are linked to each other. The theme aims to highlight one of the hidden dimensions of poverty. It is the social and institutional maltreatment that people in poverty experience and the theme considers ways to act together on Sustainable Development Goal 16 for peaceful societies.
People in poverty are discriminated against and judged based on their appearance, accent, and address and are treated with disrespect. Social maltreatment leads to institutional maltreatment as it results in controlling discriminatory policies and practices and people are denied their fundamental rights like access to education, healthcare, and housing.
Social and institutional maltreatment are interconnected and increase the problems of people in poverty. Those who are victims of daily injustice and dehumanization because of poverty lack self-esteem and are denied their dignity and the chance to get out of poverty. Social and institutional maltreatment is a catastrophic loss of human potential to society.
