Poverty is not a personal failure; it is a systemic failure ¨C a denial of dignity and human rights.
UN Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres
2026 ¨C 2028 theme: United for Peace and Human Rights
2026 focus: Safe Homes for All
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, observed annually on 17 October, recognizes that ending poverty is inseparable from protecting human rights, human dignity and peace. Under the 2026¨C2028 theme ¡°United for Peace and Human Rights,¡± the 2026 observance focuses on ¡°Safe Homes for All,¡± highlighting adequate housing as a foundation for security, participation and a life of dignity.
More than 2.8 billion people worldwide face some form of housing inadequacy. People already experiencing poverty and exclusion bear the greatest burden. Without a safe and stable home, access to health care, education, employment and participation in community life becomes far more difficult.
Housing insecurity is not simply a question of shelter. Unsafe, unaffordable, overcrowded or insecure housing can reinforce poverty and exclusion, and undermine the enjoyment of other human rights. The 2026 concept note, therefore, calls for housing policies and systems that place human dignity, human rights and people's needs at their centre.
For 2026, the Day calls for action in three key areas:
- Make safe housing a human-rights priority: Respect, protect and progressively fulfil the right to adequate housing, and give a dignified standard of living the appropriate priority in public policy and budgeting.
- Design policies with people experiencing poverty: Move beyond token consultation and involve people experiencing poverty and housing exclusion directly in the design, implementation and evaluation of housing policies, recognizing them as rights- and knowledge-holders.
- Mobilize resources for safe homes for all: Strengthen public financing and other resources needed to expand access to safe, accessible and affordable housing while ensuring that no one is left behind.
The 2026 focus also builds on the Doha Political Declaration (A/RES/80/5), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly following the in November 2025. The Declaration reaffirms the right to an adequate standard of living - including adequate, safe, accessible and affordable housing; safe drinking water; and adequate sanitation and hygiene - while emphasizing action to address poverty in all its forms and dimensions.
Ensuring safe and adequate housing supports progress across the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 1 ¡ª No Poverty, SDG 10 ¡ª Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11 ¡ª Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 16 ¡ª Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
Safe Homes for All
United for Peace and Human Rights
United Nations Commemoration
Friday, 16 October 2026
United Nations Headquarters
New York
The 2026 United Nations commemoration will take place on Friday, 16 October at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The International Day itself is observed annually on 17 October.
The observance will focus on ¡°Safe Homes for All,¡± bringing together people with lived experience of poverty, Member States, civil society and other stakeholders. It will highlight the experiences and expertise of people affected by poverty and housing insecurity and emphasize the importance of developing policies with people experiencing poverty, not simply for them.
Background
In a world characterized by an unprecedented level of economic development, technological means and financial resources, that millions of persons are living in extreme poverty is a moral outrage. Poverty is not solely an economic issue, but rather a multidimensional phenomenon that encompasses a lack of both income and the basic capabilities to live in dignity.
Persons living in poverty experience many interrelated and mutually reinforcing deprivations that prevent them from realizing their rights and perpetuate their poverty, including:
- dangerous work conditions
- unsafe housing
- lack of nutritious food
- unequal access to justice
- lack of political power
- limited access to health care
Read more on the background for the Day
Related organizations and information
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 warns that progress towards ending extreme poverty has stalled. In 2026, some 826 million people ¡ª 10 per cent of the global population ¡ª still live in extreme poverty, with the burden increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and fragile and conflict-affected countries. The report calls for targeted investment, stronger social protection and more inclusive economic opportunities to accelerate progress towards ending poverty.
Facts and Figures
- In 2026, an estimated , surviving on less than $3.00 a day in 2021 purchasing power parity.
- Some , even though more than half of the world's population is now covered by at least one social protection benefit.
- In 2025, . Young workers are more than twice as likely as adults to experience working poverty.
- More than , making safe and adequate housing a central issue for poverty eradication and human dignity.
- , returning to approximately 2015 levels.
Voices
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¡°A home means being warm, feeling safe...¡±
¡ª Amanda B., United Kingdom -
¡°Policies for the poor must be made with the poor, not without them.¡±
¡ª Seynabou M., Senegal - Read more voices and information in the .
