The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has honoured leaders advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on health and nutrition.
The event, held at the organisation’s annual ‘Goalkeepers 2024: Recipe for Progress’ event, celebrated champions tackling malnutrition and climate change’s effects on vulnerable populations.
Hosted by media personality Janet Mbugua, the event featured notable figures like Jon Batiste, Christy Turlington Burns, Bill Gates, UNICEF’s Saul Guerrero Oteyza, Nigeria’s Dr. Ali Pate and celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. Sessions were moderated by Adriana Diaz and Francine Lacqua.
CEO of the Gates Foundation, Mark Suzman emphasised the urgency of addressing malnutrition, noting, “More than 400 million children are not getting the nutrients they need to grow and thrive. While climate change worsens this issue, we can still make progress by scaling up tools, investing in research and supporting today’s champions.”
The event followed the release of the foundation’s report, ‘A Race to Nourish a Warming World,’ which warned that climate change could cause an additional 40 million children to suffer from stunting and 28 million from wasting by 2050. It called for renewed commitments to global health spending, including initiatives like Gavi, the Global Fund and the Child Nutrition Fund.
2024 Global Goalkeeper Award
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received the 2024 Global Goalkeeper Award for his work in reducing poverty and malnutrition. His Bolsa Familia programme, launched during his first term, helped reduce Brazil’s stunting rate from 37 per cent to 7 per cent over three decades. Now, he is championing the Global Alliance on Hunger and Poverty through Brazil’s G20 presidency, focusing on food security and health equity.
Goalkeepers Champions
Ten additional leaders were recognised for their efforts in advancing nutrition and health:
– Dr. Tahmeed Ahmed (Bangladesh): Executive director of icddr,b, working to treat childhood malnutrition and implement maternal nutrition programs.
– Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi (Nigeria): Director of nutrition for Nigeria’s Ministry of Health, leading the training of health workers to improve maternal and child nutrition.
– Beza Beshah Haile (Ethiopia): Founder of HOPE-SBH, providing families with training and engaging government agencies to enforce food fortification mandates.
– Dr. Zahra Hoodbhoy (Pakistan): Assistant professor at Aga Khan University, leading public health interventions and clinical trials for micronutrient supplements.
– Dr. Nancy Krebs (USA): Professor of pediatrics and nutrition at the University of Colorado, influencing global health organizations.
– Dr. Jemimah Njuki (Kenya): Chief of economic empowerment at UN Women, promoting women’s empowerment to improve food security.
– Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana (Rwanda): Minister of health, prioritizing maternal and child nutrition programs.
– Lilian dos Santos Rahal (Brazil): National secretary for food and nutrition security, addressing hunger and malnutrition in Brazil.
– Bhavani Shankar (UK): Research fellow at the University of Sheffield, studying food markets and nutrition in rural India.
– Ratan Tata (India): Chairman of Tata Trusts, leading efforts in food and nutrition security through diverse food systems and micronutrient fortification.
These champions are driving solutions to ensure healthier, more resilient communities worldwide.
