International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2025 Theme
Why in the news
The world marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty today, 17 October 2025, with a theme focused on respectful and effective support for families living in poverty.
Key facts
- The day is observed every year on 17 October.
- Its roots lie in 17 October 1987, when more than 100,000 people gathered in Paris to honour victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger.
- The gathering took place at the Trocadero, the same place where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948.
- The 2025 theme is ending social and institutional maltreatment by ensuring respect and effective support for families.
About the 2025 theme
The theme points to three shifts: from control to care, with services that families can trust; from surveillance to support, with investment in strengthening families; and from top-down to co-created solutions that involve families in decisions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said poverty is a systemic failure and a denial of dignity and human rights, not a personal failure. The day is linked with the UN’s Third Decade for the Eradication of Poverty.
Exam angle
- Date to remember: 17 October; origin year 1987; place Paris (Trocadero).
- Theme-based questions are common, so note the 2025 theme.
- Keep the three-part reading of the theme (care, support, co-creation) handy for descriptive questions.