The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has honored 10 extraordinary leaders who champion children's health and nutrition during its annual event titled: “Goalkeepers 2024: Recipe for Progress.”
The Goalkeepers event serves as a platform to reiterate the importance of continuing to invest in child nutrition, particularly in countries like Nigeria, where millions of children are at risk of stunting and wasting.
The event, which took place during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, highlighted ongoing efforts to address malnutrition in a warming world.
Among the 10 World Champions honored was Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi of Nigeria, Director of Nutrition at the Federal Ministry of Health.
Bako-Aiyegbusi has led efforts to improve maternal, infant and child nutrition in Nigeria by overseeing the training of more than 38,000 frontline health workers.
In a press release released Thursday, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said the Goalkeepers program is focused on specific partnerships and health programs that will be key to ensuring that children around the world can reach its fullness. potential.
“The goal of Goalkeepers is to bring together a community of global changemakers championing the Sustainable Development Goals to energize and inspire each other to keep moving forward,” he said.
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According to Suzman, the foundation focuses on the more than 400 million children who do not receive the nutrients they need to grow and thrive.
“While climate change makes that challenge more difficult to solve, progress is possible. By expanding existing tools, investing in promising research, and raising up champions like those we celebrate today, we can help ensure that all children can reach their full potential and build global resilience as the world warms,” he said.
Other honorees
At the event, the foundation presented the 2024 Global Goalkeeper Award to the President of Brazil, Luiz Lula da Silva.
According to the statement, “the award recognized a leader who has driven progress on a global scale towards achieving the Global Goals.”
The other world leaders awarded the Goalkeeper Award include Executive Director of the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh, Tahmeed Ahmed.
Mr. Ahmed was honored for his efforts in implementing treatments for moderate and severe childhood malnutrition and analyzing barriers to effective implementation of maternal nutrition programs in Bangladesh.
Additionally, the foundation honored Beshah Haile of Ethiopia, founder and executive director of HOPE Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (HOPE-SBH), for providing information and skills training to more than 3,000 families.
Zahra Hoodbhoy, a research assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the Aga Khan University in Pakistan, was honored for combining public health interventions with artificial intelligence tools to train community workers to support mothers before and after childbirth.
Others are; Nancy Krebs of the United States, the Chief of Economic Empowerment of UN Women, Jemimah Njuki of Kenya, the Minister of Health of Rwanda, Sabin Nsanzimana, the National Secretary of Food and Nutrition Security of Brazil, Lilian dos Santos Rahal, research professor at the University of Sheffield, Bhavani Shankar (United Kingdom); and Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan Tata.
Malnutrition in Nigeria
Nigeria's Coordinating Minister for Health and Welfare, Muhammad Pate, was present at the event along with Gates Foundation CEO Bill Gates.
As Nigeria faces its nutritional challenges, Mr. Pate's presence at the event highlights the nation's dedication to global health.
An estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition. To reduce malnutrition, the federal government recently announced the distribution of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS), intended to help prevent malnutrition and reduce maternal mortality.
The Nigerian government said it has distributed more than 1.3 million bottles of MMS in 12 states, and that an additional three million bottles will be delivered by the end of September.