Pretoria: The Department of Social Development (DSD) today commemorates the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, focusing on initiatives to combat poverty amid South Africa's economic challenges. The department's efforts include outreach programs to facilitate access to essential services and the distribution of grants to support local economic development. According to South African Government News Agency, the DSD's statement on Thursday emphasized that the commemoration of End Poverty Day is particularly significant as the country faces a severe cost-of-living crisis and escalating inequality. The department asserts that eradicating poverty remains central to its mission. In the Eastern Cape, Deputy Minister of Social Development, Ganief Hendricks, leads the Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programme (ICROP) at Cofimvaba, within the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. This area, known for its rural and underdeveloped landscape, suffers from high poverty levels. The outreach focuses on improving access to critical services such as birth registration and social grants applications, aiming to mitigate child poverty and malnutrition. During this event, Deputy Minister Hendricks is also distributing school uniforms at Intlangano and Sentile Primary Schools. This effort seeks to ensure that children from impoverished backgrounds can continue their education, a vital step towards breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Meanwhile, in the North West province, MEC of Social Development, Basetsana Sussana Dantjie, commemorates the day by presenting a check to the Thota Ya Tau Fish Harvest Primary Cooperative in the Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality. The cooperative, supported by the National Development Agency (NDA), receives R321,225.58 in grant funding. This financial boost will enable the purchase of a fishing boat, a mobile cold-room trailer, and a generator, essential equipment that will expand the cooperative's fishery operations, create sustainable jobs for its member s, and enhance local economic development. These activities form part of the DSD's broader initiatives during Social Development Month, aimed at highlighting and improving access to services that alleviate poverty and hunger among the nation's most vulnerable groups.