Global Forum Urges Anti-Poverty Action

A high-level forum kicked off in Beijing on October 17 to mark the 21st International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Jointly organized by the Government of China and the United Nations in China, the forum is recognized globally as a platform for improving policy coherence and coordination.

Convening top government officials, international development experts, and renowned scholars, including a Nobel Prize-winning economist, the forum this year attracted over 300 participants from China and other countries, for idea-sharing sessions on how to accelerate local and global anti-poverty action against the backdrop of rapid urbanization.

During the opening ceremony, Christophe Bahuet, Resident Representative ad interim of UNDP China, relayed a message from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saying "The post-2015 agenda must have poverty eradication as its highest priority and sustainable development at its core. After all, the only way to make poverty eradication irreversible is by putting the world on a sustainable development path."

The primary aim of this year's forum was to address China's unprecedented surge of urbanization and accompanying challenges such as rural-urban migration, new types of poverty faced by disadvantaged groups, and how to improve public policy in a rapidly evolving development landscape. Leaders called for greater global commitment to bridging socioeconomic disparities and promoting social inclusion.