The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed every year since 1993, when the United Nations General Assembly designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries.

With its partners, UNFPA focuses on the significant number of poor people, especially women and youth, who continue to lack access to education and health care, including reproductive health information and services. This keeps them trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty running from one generation to the next.

This year's theme is 'The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030'.

In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

Older persons are playing an increasingly significant role in society as they grow in number and as healthcare improves in some parts of the world. However, as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated in 2014, “Discrimination and social exclusion persists” for older persons and “we must overcome this bias in order to ensure a socially and economically active, secure and healthy ageing population."