Eradication of Poverty.Day-October 17. No, 542.

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, 17 October 2008: "Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty"
According to the World Bank, 1.4 billion people in developing countries were living in extreme poverty (on less than US$1.25 per day) in 2005. In these same countries, the following year, more than 140 million children were underweight. The current economic difficulties are likely to aggravate the situation.

In a message for the International Day, Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, states “Fighting against poverty…entails proposing new ways of disseminating and sharing knowledge; it also means fostering dialogue between the various systems of knowledge and cultures, and creating new opportunities for development. Effectively mobilizing the international community is both a necessity and a matter of urgency…. UNESCO, alongside the entire United Nations system, and its partners, is fully mobilized to respond to these challenges.”

Stand Up and Take Action starts now!
Around the world over 100 million people in over 2,000 events across more than 100 countries are registered to Stand Up and Take Action against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals, from October 17-19.