The SDG Programme of the Year Award
The SDG Programme of the Year Award recognises exceptional, innovative initiatives that significantly advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), delivering innovative and proven solutions to address one or more SDGs in the Global South. Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination.
Award ceremony sponsored by:
PAST WINNERS:
2025 winner - Simprints - Operation Sight
Simprints “Operation Sight” stood out for its transformative impact in tackling one of the world’s leading causes of preventable blindness—trachoma—across Ethiopia. Ethiopia carries the highest burden of trachoma globally. This painful, infectious disease can lead to trachomatous trichiasis (TT)—a condition where eyelashes turn inward and scratch the eye, causing irreversible blindness if left untreated. Led by Orbis International and launched in 2021 with the support of CIFF and the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health, Operation Sight set out to eliminate the backlog of TT cases across Amhara, Oromia, Central Ethiopia, South Ethiopia, and Sidama regional states. The project uses cutting-edge biometric technology from our partner, Simprints. Their privacy-first digital ID system ensures that every patient is registered accurately, every surgery is recorded, and every person receives proper follow-up care—streamlining eye health services on an unprecedented scale.
2024 winner - Love Binti International’s "Menstrual Hygiene Training Program"
Love Binti International is a non-governmental organization established in response to the growing awareness of period poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. The program primarily targets schools and public spaces such as churches, mosques, and town halls to reach young people and household leaders, aiming to instil knowledge on proper menstrual hygiene management. Love Binti International has conducted thousands of menstrual health workshops for adolescent girls, teaching them how to make reusable sanitary pads. The overarching goal of the program is to empower young women and girls with skills and knowledge to manage their menstrual health safely, helping to reduce uterine ailments and menstrual infections.