UN Human Rights Commissioner releases video celebrating Keralam’s achievement in eliminating extreme poverty

A grab from the video released on YouTube | Photo Credit: special arrangement The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has released a video celebrating Keralam declaring itself free from extreme poverty. The short video made by the OHCHR office and made available on its YouTube channel was formally released at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday. The animated video is part of the observation of the 40th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, adopted on December 4, 1986.Keralam was declared free from extreme poverty at a special session of the Assembly on the occasion of ‘Kerala Piravi’ on November 1, 2025, following a five-year long process during the tenure of the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.The OHCHR notes that “Kerala’s experience shows the value of dialogue. Development responses that put people at the center ensure equity, participation and dignity. To address poverty we must understand the many ways it shapes people’s lives. Kerala chose to listen through its ground breaking people’s plan campaign and extreme poverty eradication programme, development was shaped not just for people, but with people”.Detailed accountThe video gives a detailed account of the entire process behind the programme. Using a multidimensional approach, Keralam defined poverty not simply as a lack of income but as an intersecting deprivation of capabilities and freedoms. Local self-government institutions, civil society and women’s organisations worked together to identify those living in extreme poverty. Nearly 1 million citizens identified vulnerable families in their neighbourhood using indicators which included homelessness, chronic illness and absence of documentation. The list of beneficiaries were then reviewed and endorsed in a transparent and locally led process, says the video.It further says that more than 64,000 households received tailored support through individual micro plans designed around their specific requirements. Government departments coordinated existing resources to address immediate needs for food security and health care. They then designed long term pathways out of poverty through sustainable livelihoods and secure housing within five years, according to the video. Published - November 05, 2026 03:03 pm IST