The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2025 highlights a powerful theme: Ending social and institutional maltreatment by ensuring respect and effective support for families. It’s a reminder that poverty is not only about material hardship, but also about the way institutions interact with people, especially in moments of vulnerability.
To honour this day, we invited students from the new cohort of the MA Poverty, Policy and Development Practice to reflect on their lives before IDS, motivations behind choosing this programme, what they hope to do next, and how their experiences connect with this year’s theme.
Javier Cuaical Alpala
Before joining IDS, Javier led the Socioeconomic Wellbeing Axis of Colombia’s Borders for Prosperity Plan with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, managing over USD 20 million for 175 projects. “75% of which benefited Indigenous and ethnic communities” he stated. His work focused on strengthening livelihoods and improving access to public services in historically marginalised areas. As a National Government representative, he led the design and implementation of a post-conflict pilot strategy to build trust between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army for the implementation of the peace agreements signed in 2016. He also worked on binational cooperation with Ecuador and Peru to improve living conditions and protect vulnerable households.
“Building on these experiences, I seek to pursue the Master’s in Poverty, Policy and Development Practice at IDS to deepen my analytical and methodological skills in addressing the multidimensional roots of poverty,” he said.
Looking ahead, Javier hopes to collaborate with international organisations on inclusive development across Latin America. He also added, “In the long term, I aspire to lead public policies that eradicate rural poverty, reduce inequality, and guarantee that every family receives the respect and institutional support needed to thrive,” advancing on this year’s theme by the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Micaela Salcedo Zeballos
Micaela worked as a junior researcher at the Institute of Human Development of Latin America (IDHAL-PUCP) in Peru, where she focused on multidimensional poverty and wellbeing among marginalised groups, including rural populations, women, older generation, and people with disabilities. “That experience helped me understand that poverty is not only a lack of income, but a complex and interconnected condition affecting multiple dimensions of life that often overlap and reinforce one another,” she explained.
With a background in economics, Micaela was drawn to the MA in Poverty, Policy and Development Practice for its multidisciplinary approach. “I chose this programme to deepen my understanding of poverty beyond economic-based solutions and explore more holistic, people-centred approaches,” she said.
Looking ahead, she hopes to work in spaces where research directly informs policy, applying insights from IDS to promote inclusive and equitable development in Peru. This year’s theme particularly resonates with her: “Ending social and institutional maltreatment requires recognising people’s dignity and diverse experiences, and ensuring that families and communities receive effective, context-sensitive support.” Her previous work has explored how social connectivity, isolation, and interpersonal relationships shape wellbeing, reinforcing the need for policies grounded in everyday realities.
Yasara Kannangara
After completing her undergraduate studies, Yasara worked extensively in the development sector across areas including conservation, education policy, and sexual and gender-based violence. These experiences revealed to her how deeply poverty intersects with broader social and political issues. “Many development interventions often do not properly study the multidimensional nature of poverty in their projects,” she noted.
In recent years, Yasara observed a decline in the visibility of poverty as a development priority, despite its ongoing impact on people’s lives. The recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka, which exacerbated poverty and deepened existing inequalities, further cemented her interest in exploring the issue in greater depth. Through her time at IDS, she hopes to gain the practical skills needed to work towards eradicating multidimensional poverty and uplifting impoverished communities.
Santoshi Balasubramanian
Santoshi worked as an Associate Manager for the Chennai Chapter at U&I Trust- India, a volunteer-driven non-profit organisation focused on after-school education for underprivileged students. Her role involved overseeing end-to-end programme implementation and volunteer engagement. She also contributed to crowdfunding efforts and helped develop social reintegration of institutionalised young adults.
Santoshi chose the MA in Poverty, Policy and Development Practice to better understand the systems and actors shaping poverty-related policies. Her time working closely with marginalised students led her to question why poverty persists despite decades of policy focus and international commitment. “I began to wonder why we, as humankind, have not been able to solve the problem of poverty although it has been at the forefront of policies and discussions for decades,” she said.
She hopes to use the knowledge gained at IDS to influence poverty alleviation efforts both in India and internationally. “I want to combine my experience with what I learn here to contribute to systemic change, from national strategies to supporting families directly, and to work towards achieving SDG 1: No Poverty,” she explained.
Through their reflections, Javier, Micaela, Yasara, and Santoshi remind us that tackling poverty goes beyond economic indicators. It requires transforming the ways institutions engage with people, particularly families living in vulnerable contexts. As we mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, their stories highlight the importance of inclusive, respectful, and context-sensitive approaches to development, and the role that education, policy and practice play in shaping a more just and equitable future.
CPAN key messages sbout tackling chronic poverty
The MA Poverty, Policy and Development Practice is convened by Vidya Diwakar, Deputy Director of the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network (CPAN). Together with Andrew Shepherd, an Honorary Associate at IDS and CPAN’s Director, they have co-authored a new set of key messages to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2025, drawing on CPAN’s work across 17 low- and middle-income countries to inform policy that addresses chronic poverty and builds long-term resilience.
These key messages speak to the urgent need to integrate poverty reduction with climate resilience strategies and highlight five priority areas for action:
- Resilience is achieved at high levels of welfare, though this threshold can be reduced through public policies and programmes
- Tackling chronic poverty and supporting upward mobility requires layered, climate-resilient ‘growth from below’
- Poverty reduction programming should place greater emphasis on preventing downward mobility and impoverishment
- Building climate resilience needs to go hand-in-hand with peacebuilding in many high-poverty countries
- Special measures are needed to support climate-resilient poverty reduction for people experiencing intersecting and compounding inequalities
Read the full CPAN key messages here: