UNIS/SGSM/1448
14 October 2024
Poverty is a global plague, affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world.
But poverty is not inevitable. It is the direct result of the choices that societies and governments make — or fail to make.
This year’s theme reminds us that people mired in poverty contend with societal discrimination and systemic barriers that make it more difficult to access vital services and support.
Ending global poverty — and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals — requires governments shaping institutions and systems that put people first.
It demands that we prioritize investments in decent work, learning opportunities and social protection that offer ladders out of poverty.
And it calls on us to fully implement the new Pact for the Future by supporting an SDG Stimulus and reforming the global financial architecture to help developing countries invest in their people.
Eradicating poverty is an essential foundation for humane, dignified societies that leave no one behind.
On this important day, let’s re-commit to making poverty history.
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"The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was a crime against humanity that resonates through history and continues to scar societies." — António Guterres
"United Nations personnel serve some of the world's most vulnerable people while aspiring to our highest ideals: peace, dignity, equality and justice." — António Guterres
The retreat of glaciers in the Upper Danube River Basin is one of the most alarming consequences of climate change, says the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) as it joins the global community in commemorating World Water Day 2025.
"The theme of this year's World Meteorological Day – Closing the Early Warning Gap Together – reminds us that, in this new climate reality, early warning systems are not luxuries." — António Guterres
