Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Every year, the day is celebrated not just for helping the poor, but also giving every human being the chance to live with dignity. 

Poverty is considered a violation of human rights and about 43.3% of Namibia's population is considered poor.

Namibian children suffer the most compared to adults, with hunger and malnutrition being the biggest threats.

Rinaani Musutua, Coordinator of the Basic Income Grant Coalition, describes a recent incident involving 4-year-old twins who nearly died due to a lack of food.

"There was one who was really really weak. It was believed that the child wouldn't make it. Luckily, the parents managed to get help from an NGO that managed to get the babies to a hospital and get them on treatment, so they survived, but they're still being held in a hospital. That is like serious malnutrition, and the Namibian people are really struggling to survive out there. They don't have enough money to buy food, and the UN says there are about 800,000 Namibians that are really starving and something must definitely be done immediately about it."

Musutua says it is about time the country introduced the N$500 basic income grant for all Namibians between the ages of 0–59. That way, she says, Namibians at least will not have to suffer from a lack of food. 

"I really think that there are enough resources in this country to make sure that everybody leads a decent human life. The problem is that these resources are only shared by a few people in the country, like in the report that came out a couple of months ago that said there is a wealth of N$400 billion only shared amongst 1765 people in Namibia." 

Musutua says if poverty is not tackled, every Namibian will be affected, especially with the high crime rate usually associated with a lack of basic needs. 

The Basic Income Grant Coalition commemorated the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty at the D.I.C Havana Pre-Primary School in Windhoek's Havana Informal Settlement.

Here, the children were educated on what poverty is, they were entertained, and they received a donation consisting mostly of instant porridge.