The awardees include Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, Bono and activists from Cameroon, Ethiopia and the United States.

The awards ceremony took place during United Nations General Assembly week on the evening of Tuesday, 19 September. It was followed by a daytime event to discuss current and future efforts to achieve global goals through concrete action and new approaches to development finance.

Participants included:
  • Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan
  • President William Ruto of Kenya
  • Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo
  • Bill Gates
  • Melinda French Gates, and
  • more than 400 young changemakers from around the world.

The foundation responded to an alarming reversal in progress on Global Goal Three by announcing commitments totaling USD$200-million to help achieve universal access to:
  • family planning products and information
  • faster delivery of lifesaving health solutions, and
  • a reduction in maternal and child mortality.

"Halfway to the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, our annual Goalkeepers Report shows that on 18 indicators — from poverty to gender equality, education to food security, health to climate — the world is off track," says Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation.

"But we also see where innovation, investment and the extraordinary work of passionate changemakers around the world have the potential to turn the tide, saving the lives of 2 million mothers and babies by 2030," Suzman adds. 

The full text of the 2023 Goalkeepers report can be found here:

Celebrating Global Goalkeepers

The 2023 Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards ceremony was hosted by Elaine Welteroth, award-winning journalist, TV host and author, and was attended by global leaders, activists and celebrities, says the foundation.

The event included special performances by:
  • Tiwa Savage, Nigerian singer-songwriter and actress
  • Usha Jey, Tamil dancer and choreographer
  • Zara Larsson, Swedish singer-songwriter, and
  • the Harlem Gospel Choir.

The daytime event featured special guests:
  • Jon Batiste, American musician and singer
  • David Oyelowo, actor, director and producer
  • Titilope Sonuga, Nigerian poet and former poet laureate, and
  • Sallie Krawcheck, founder of Ellevest.

"This year's Goalkeepers Global Goals Award winners show us how human ingenuity and innovation can help tackle some of the world's most difficult challenges," says Blessing Omakwu, deputy director of global content and campaigns and Goalkeepers lead. "Everyone has the power to make a difference in their communities, and these courageous and indefatigable advocates are helping tens of thousands of people live healthier, more productive lives."

The 2023 awards include:

Global Goalkeeper Award

This award recognises a leader who has driven progress on a global scale toward achieving the Global Goals, was presented to the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, for championing resilient, equitable and sustainable universal health coverage for all, embedding the Global Goals in Japan's development cooperation charter and strengthening the global health architecture to prevent future pandemics.

Campaign Award

This award which celebrates a campaign that has raised awareness or built a community by inspiring action and creating change, was presented to The Farmlink Project, founded by Aidan Reilly, Ben Collier and James Kanoff, for its work advocating for and building community around food equity in the United States. Through its network of more than 600 student fellows and 6 000 volunteers, The Farmlink Project has provided 83 million meals and transferred more than 130 million pounds of nutritious food to communities facing hunger.

Changemaker Award

This award, which celebrates an individual who has inspired change using personal experience or from a position of leadership, was presented to Ashu Martha Agbornyenty for her work reducing high rates of maternal mortality in Cameroon. She writes about the work of midwives and shares her knowledge of pregnancy through her blog Marthie's Midwifery Diary.

Through her For Mom & Baby Foundation, she and her team provide community workshops and distribute emergency kits containing essential birth supplies to pregnant women in crisis-stricken areas, reaching 1 000 women and girls in the region since 2021.

Progress Award

This award celebrates an individual who supports progress via a science, technology, digital, or business initiative and was presented to journalist, social entrepreneur, digital innovator and human rights activist Eden Tadesse.

Tadesse founded the online platform Invicta, a global impact platform that promotes digital financial inclusion, skills development and access to job opportunities for urban refugees.

More than 35 000 people from 90 countries have registered on Invicta, with 7 000 of them completing online courses and more than 2 200 refugees finding employment.

Special Recognition Awards were presented to Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter and Bono for their tireless work over many decades towards global health and development.

The Goalkeepers Lifetime Achievement Award

This award was given to former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, honouring their extraordinary work on disease eradication, mental health, democracy, conflict resolution, human rights, and, most notably, combating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) — such as Guinea worm disease, river blindness and malaria.

The award was accepted on their behalf by Paige Alexander, CEO of the Carter Center and Jason Carter, chair of the Carter Center Board of Trustees.

The Goalkeepers Voice Award

This award was presented to Bono, founder of the ONE Campaign and (RED), lead singer of the band U2 and activist for his significant impact on SDG progress through advocacy and campaigning with ONE and (RED).

Media assets, which include biographies, images and videos of awardees, as well as photos from the awards ceremony, can be found here.

Accelerating progress toward the Global Goals

The Gates Foundation announced the following commitments this week:

Long-term commitment of up to USD$100-million to help meet the demand in low — and middle-income countries (LMICs) for family planning supplies. This funding will go to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership to ensure more women in LMICs are able to access the contraceptives they need and want at a price they can afford.

Contraceptives are critical building blocks of women's power and can accelerate progress toward nearly every SDG — whether that's ending poverty or improving global health. This commitment comes at a time when the global funding gap for contraceptives is growing, with the potential to cumulatively reach USD$1-billion by 2030 if we do not preserve funding and bring in additional support, including through sustainable financing approaches.

Long-term commitment of USD$100-million to bring faster access to health products in low and middle-income countries. This funding will go to Unitaid, doubling the foundation's previous commitment, to support its work to accelerate the introduction and delivery of new lifesaving solutions at an equitable scale, including those for maternal and newborn health.

Unitaid's unique approach helps reach the health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals more quickly. Its previous work unlocked access to more than 100 groundbreaking health products, including those for:
  • HIV
  • TB
  • malaria
  • women's and children's health, and 
  • pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
For more information, visit www.gatesfoundation.org. You can also follow the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Facebook, X or on Instagram.