Prime Minister Modi was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award last night for the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in New York. The award was presented by tech giant Microsoft founder Bill Gates. “I dedicate the award to the 130 crore people of India and the collective endeavours of our nation to improve cleanliness,” he said in a tweet.
“In last five years a record more than 11 crore toilets were constructed. If this mission has benefited someone the most it is the poor of this country and the women,” PM Modi said while receiving the award. “I have been told that in a report of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation it was found that in India due to better rural sanitation, heart problems in children have decreased, and there has been improvement in Body Mass Index of women,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi asserted that India is now close to achieving the sanitation target. However, India is working steadfastly on other missions as well, like the Fit India Movement which was recently launched to promote health and fitness.
Every year, the Gates Foundation confers ‘Goalkeepers Award’ to individuals who have taken action to bring global goals to live and help achieve them. In 2019, the awards honoured those individuals who have been working towards tackling issues which contribute toward global inequity.