The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) is a global awareness event celebrated every year on 17 October. It is an opportunity for reflection, advocacy and action to end child poverty and all other forms of poverty. This year’s IDEP theme is: “Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and inclusive societies”. It explores how the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be useful to end child poverty. Together with you, we can take action to end child poverty worldwide and build better world for all children.
End Child Poverty which is part of the Moral Imperative initiative, an advocacy group to end child poverty issued this statement;
We believe that now is the time to end the scourge of extreme poverty—by restoring right relationships among people, affirming human dignity, and opening the door to Ending Extreme Poverty: A Moral and Spiritual Imperative the holistic development of all people. If we were more committed to living these common values there would be less poverty in the world. Our shared convictions call us to empower and uplift— not denigrate—those living in poverty, so that they can become agents of their own transformation. We must abandon a politics that too often marginalizes their voices, blames them for their condition, and exacerbates extremes of inequality. Now is the time to turn fatigue into renewed commitment, indifference into compassion, cynicism into hope, and impotence into a greater sense of agency that we can and will end extreme poverty by 2030.
We commit to working together to end the scandal of extreme poverty. We will act, advocate, educate, and collaborate, both among ourselves and with broader initiatives. We commit to holding all levels of leadership accountable—public and private, domestic and international. Our approach to this staggering need must be holistic, rooted in the spiritual visions of our respective faiths, and built on a shared recognition of the intrinsic dignity and value of every life on Earth. Realizing this shared goal will require a revolution in social and political will, as well as innovations and greater collaboration across sectors. We call on international organizations, governments, corporations, civil society, and religious communities, to play their essential parts and join with us in this critical cause.
Poverty’s imprisonment of more than a billion men, women and children must end. Now is the time to boldly act to free the next generation from extreme poverty’s grip.
Take Action:
How can you take part in the upcoming International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) on the 17 October? Here are 10 simple ideas from our toolkit to help you and your faith community take part in this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP).