Payal Jangid becomes first Indian to win Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Changemaker award

Payal received the award from Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations

NEW YORK  (TIP): 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. Hailing from Rajasthan, 17-year-old Payal Jangid was on Wednesday conferred the Changemaker Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards held in New York. Becoming the first Indian to win the award, Payal was recognized for her work towards the abolition of child marriage in her village, Hinsla, which is a child-friendly village (Bal Mitra Gram), and other neighboring villages.

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.

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.

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.

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