For a child displaced by war, peace is not just the absence of gunfire; it is having food on the table, access to education, and the safety of a stable home. For families struggling in poverty, peace means freedom from daily survival battles and the chance to build a future.
Each year on September 21, the world observes the International Day of Peace — a reminder that peace is not passive. Sustaining peace requires preventing conflict, supporting recovery, and building systems that allow people to thrive (UN General Assembly, 2020). The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 defines peace as inclusive societies, access to justice, and accountable institutions (UN, 2015). But these ideals cannot exist in isolation. Without reducing poverty and inequality, sustaining peace remains out of reach.
Peace and development cannot be separated. From the global poverty policy framework to local nonprofits, the most effective peacebuilders are those who advance development and equity hand-in-hand. Together for You, Inc. is one such organization, committed to empowering families and youth by dismantling the poverty and inequity that strip people of their fundamental rights. The lesson is clear: lasting peace is impossible without first addressing deprivation and injustice at their roots.
Poverty, Inequality, and Inequity Undermine Peace
Poverty is more than a lack of income; it is, in the World Bank’s words, a “pronounced deprivation in well-being.” Families may be food-poor, housing-poor, or health-poor, unable to meet even their most basic needs. Extreme poverty is rising most rapidly in economies torn by conflict, where rates now reach as high as 40% (World Bank Group, 2025). As of this year, more than 421 million people are living on less than $3 a day in conflict-affected countries, with Africans making up 70% of those enduring instability. Instead of growth, economic stagnation has become the norm in fragile states.
The relationship is cyclical. Conflict deepens poverty, and poverty fuels conflict — a vicious loop that undermines peace and makes development nearly impossible. Breaking that cycle requires international support, effective partnerships, and conflict-prevention strategies that prioritize long-term economic progress and social stability.
Inequality compounds the problem. Defined as the uneven distribution of income, wealth, or opportunity, inequality limits growth, blocks access to resources, and erodes social cohesion (World Bank, 2024). When some groups are consistently excluded, frustration and mistrust deepen, creating fertile ground for unrest. At its core, inequality is often driven by inequity — the injustices or biases that systematically disadvantage certain groups. Unlike inequality, inequities are avoidable. They are the unfair practices, policies, or prejudices that create unequal outcomes. Health inequities are a clear example: Black Americans are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than white Americans, not because of biological factors but because of structural inequities in care, income, and opportunity.
Sustaining peace cannot be achieved while such inequities persist. Addressing poverty means addressing inequity — ensuring that opportunities and protections are shared fairly across race, gender, class, and geography. Without equity, neither justice nor peace can endure.
Action at the Local Level
While poverty is a global challenge, its consequences are most visible in local communities — in the affordability of housing, access to healthcare, the cost of childcare, and the prevalence of violence. These everyday struggles reveal why addressing poverty is essential to sustaining peace.
Housing is one of the most immediate poverty drivers. Without stable shelter, families cannot build secure lives. The Poverty Tracker 2025 reports that programs like federal Section 8 vouchers and New York City’s CityFHEPS kept more than 150,000 individuals above the poverty line, reducing poverty from 55% to 37%. Cuts to housing assistance would reverse this progress and deepen instability for vulnerable families.
Healthcare access tells a similar story. Millions of Americans struggle with health challenges they cannot afford to treat. In 2022, Teva Pharmaceuticals partnered with Direct Relief and the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics to launch Community Routes: Access to Mental Healthcare, targeting underserved populations. With $4 million committed through 2025, the program underscores the importance of partnerships in addressing health inequities. Untreated mental health issues carry a staggering cost: the U.S. economy loses an estimated $300 billion annually through medical expenses, unemployment, and lost productivity. Investing in mental health care is not only humane, it is an economic imperative.
Violence is another poverty-linked crisis. A Brookings study found that areas with concentrated poverty — where at least 30% of residents live below the poverty line — experience significantly higher homicide rates. Arrests alone cannot solve this problem. Violence must be treated as a public health crisis, addressed through prevention, community engagement, and rehabilitative support. Baltimore’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), launched in 2022 and expanded by Mayor Brandon M. Scott in 2025, demonstrates what is possible — identifying individuals at highest risk and connecting them to life-changing services while investing in public spaces.
Childcare costs also weigh heavily on families, forcing many parents to reduce hours or leave the workforce entirely. Starting in November, New Mexico will become the first state to implement universal childcare, estimated to save families an average of $12,000 annually. The Child Care Aware of America 2025 report reveals stark disparities in state funding, from under $500 per child in some states to more than $8,000 in Washington, D.C. Investing in childcare not only relieves financial burdens on parents but strengthens the economy — enabling more people to participate fully in the workforce and ensuring that every child thrives. It is investing in the young minds of our future.
These examples show that poverty is not an abstract condition. It is experienced in housing insecurity, untreated illness, unsafe neighborhoods, and unaffordable childcare. Local action matters, and when policies succeed in easing these burdens, they lay the groundwork for peace in the community.
From Local to Global
The challenges of poverty and inequity extend beyond neighborhoods and cities. They are magnified in conflict-affected countries where war devastates infrastructure, displaces millions, and erodes trust in institutions. These nations urgently need international aid and partnerships to recover, rebuild, and prevent cycles of violence from repeating.
Ukraine offers a clear example. Years of war have crippled the economy and destroyed critical infrastructure. On September 17, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced a $75 million investment fund for Ukraine’s recovery, matched by $75 million from Ukraine itself. Together, the $150 million fund will rebuild infrastructure and develop critical minerals while encouraging private-sector investment.
In Gaza, the cost of war is borne daily by families living without secure housing, water, or electricity. On June 24, 2025, UN-Habitat and the Japanese government launched a recovery project to rebuild damaged homes and restore essential services, expected to benefit 20,000 individuals in the most affected neighborhoods. Syria, entering its fifteenth year of civil war, continues to suffer profound humanitarian losses; in September 2025, Saudi Arabia announced 16 humanitarian initiatives there, ranging from equipping hospitals and supporting agriculture to strengthening water and sanitation systems.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than six million people remain internally displaced by ongoing violence. On September 9, 2025, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) launched The Peace Fund, a €54.3 million initiative supported by Germany’s KfW bank, aiming to rebuild infrastructure and prevent youth from being drawn into cycles of violence by expanding education and job opportunities. And Egypt, now home to more than one million refugees from over 60 nationalities, joined with UNHCR and UNDP on June 24, 2025, to launch the Egypt Refugee and Resilience Response Plan (ERRRP).
Whether in Baltimore, Maryland, or Gaza, in New Mexico or the Democratic Republic of Congo, the lesson is the same: poverty and inequity are destabilizing forces. Partnerships, investments, and inclusive policies are essential to rebuilding both lives and peace.
Why Addressing Poverty and Inequity Matters
When people cannot meet their most basic needs — education, employment, healthcare, and housing — they are excluded from contributing fully to society. This exclusion weakens economies, fuels resentment, and erodes the trust that holds communities together. Poverty is not only an economic issue; it is a threat to stability that impacts individuals’ lives.
Inequity sharpens this threat. When individuals believe they are denied opportunities because of their race, gender, or status, distrust in public institutions grows. That distrust often finds expression in protests, unrest, or even armed conflict. Inequality and exclusion are catalysts for instability.
Sustainable peace, then, is inseparable from justice. Without equity, development stalls. Without development, poverty deepens. And where poverty and inequity persist, peace cannot endure. The Sustainable Development Goals acknowledge this reality: achieving poverty eradication (Goal 1), reducing inequality (Goal 10), and promoting just and inclusive societies (Goal 16) are interdependent. Advancing one strengthens the others; failing on any undermines them all.
Call to Action
The International Day of Peace reminds us that peace is not given; it is built. It is built when nations choose inclusion over exclusion, when communities invest in their most vulnerable, and when institutions uphold justice over inequity.
To sustain peace, we must confront poverty and inequity head-on. That means governments reforming policies to ensure equal access to opportunity and justice; international organizations and donors providing the aid and partnerships fragile states need to recover; local communities investing in housing, childcare, healthcare, and violence prevention to address the root causes of instability; and nonprofits, civic groups, and faith institutions empowering families and youth to break cycles of deprivation.
Peace cannot be sustained through diplomacy alone. It must be rooted in equity, in the dignity of every person, and in the chance for every family to thrive.
As the world marks the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, the call is louder than ever. The UN was founded on the ashes of war with a vision of collective security and shared progress. Eight decades later, that vision remains unfinished. Reducing poverty and inequity is not only a moral responsibility — it is the surest path to lasting peace, and the truest way to honor that promise.