Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards Presented in New York on September 24

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Bill and Melinda Gates, co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, co-hosted the fourth annual Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards on September 24 in New York to celebrate outstanding work around the world that is directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals).

The Changemaker Award was presented to youth activist Payal Jangid for her fight against child labor and child marriage in India. The Progress Award was presented to Gregory Rockson, co-founder and CEO of mPharma, for his work to increase access to high-quality drugs across community pharmacies in five African countries. The Campaign Award was presented to Aya Chebbi, the first African Union Youth Envoy, for her work promoting youth empowerment, peacebuilding, and non-violent mobilization in Africa.

The Global Goalkeeper Award was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India for the progress India is making in improving sanitation through the Swachh Bharat mission. Before the Swachh Bharat mission, over 500 million people in India did not have access to safe sanitation, and now, the majority do.

About the Global Goals

On September 25, 2015, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, 193 world leaders committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals). These are a series of ambitious objectives and targets to achieve three extraordinary things by 2030: end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and fix climate change.

About Goalkeepers

Goalkeepers is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s campaign to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals). By sharing stories and data behind the Global Goals through events and an annual report, we hope to inspire a new generation of leaders—Goalkeepers who raise awareness of progress, hold their leaders accountable, and drive action to achieve the Global Goals.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

MEDIA CONTACT: For all media inquiries, please contact [email protected]. 

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