2025 Global Citizen Waislitz Awards: A Report on Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals

The 11th annual Global Citizen Waislitz Awards in 2025 recognizes three leaders for their significant contributions to ending extreme poverty and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report details the achievements of the winners, whose work directly addresses critical global challenges. Each of the three recipients was awarded a $100,000 prize and networking support to scale their impact.

Award Recipients and Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals

1. Grand Prize Winner: Osei Boateng, Ghana

   Osei Boateng, founder of the OKB Hope Foundation, was awarded the Grand Prize for his work in transforming healthcare access in underserved communities in Ghana.

   • Organizational Focus: The OKB Hope Foundation utilizes mobile health vans to deliver primary and preventive care, including mental health resources.
   • Measured Impact: The foundation has provided services to over 10,000 individuals across 80 rural communities and delivered mental health education to 3,000 students.
   • Alignment with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): Boateng’s initiative directly contributes to SDG 3 by ensuring access to essential health services, reducing preventable deaths, and promoting mental health and well-being. The award will support the expansion of the mobile fleet to reach more remote populations, furthering progress on this goal.

2. Disruptor Winner: Maryanne Gichanga, Kenya

   Maryanne Gichanga, Co-founder and CEO of AgriTech Analytics, received the Disruptor Award for her innovative application of technology in agriculture to support smallholder farmers.

   • Organizational Focus: AgriTech Analytics provides an AI-powered sensor that performs rapid soil health diagnostics and detects pests and crop diseases, with a focus on empowering women and youth.
   • Measured Impact: The technology serves nearly 10,000 farmers monthly, resulting in harvest gains of up to 75% and cost reductions of 63%.
   • Alignment with Multiple SDGs:
     • SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): By increasing yields and farmer income, the technology directly addresses poverty and food security.
     • SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The organization makes a targeted effort to empower women farmers.
     • SDG 15 (Life on Land): Future plans include reclaiming 135,000 hectares of degraded land, contributing to sustainable land use.

3. People’s Choice Winner: Joshua Ichor, Nigeria

   Joshua Ichor, founder and CEO of Geotek Water Solutions, won the People’s Choice Award for his efforts to combat water poverty in Nigeria and the Sahel region.

   • Organizational Focus: Geotek Water Solutions builds and installs solar-powered water kiosks and real-time water monitoring systems to ensure clean water access in conflict-affected and underserved areas.
   • Measured Impact: The social enterprise has installed over 1,000 water infrastructure and monitoring systems, delivering clean water to more than 100,000 people.
   • Alignment with SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): Ichor’s work is a direct implementation of SDG 6, ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water. The award will help scale operations to reach 200,000 people by 2026.

Award Framework and Partnership for the Goals

Mission and Collaborative Efforts

The annual awards are a joint initiative of the Waislitz Foundation and Global Citizen. This collaboration is designed to identify, support, and scale the work of social entrepreneurs addressing the root causes of extreme poverty. Alex Waislitz, Chairman and Founder of the Waislitz Foundation, stated, “Ending extreme poverty is not a choice, it’s an obligation.” This sentiment underscores the program’s commitment to tangible global impact.

Contribution to SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The Global Citizen Waislitz Awards program exemplifies SDG 17 by fostering a strategic partnership between a philanthropic foundation and a global advocacy organization. This collaboration mobilizes financial resources, expertise, and technology to support innovators who are accelerating progress toward the full 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 1: No Poverty

  The article explicitly states that the Global Citizen Waislitz Awards recognize leaders for their “deep commitment to ending extreme poverty.” The work of all three winners—in healthcare, agriculture, and water access—directly addresses fundamental aspects of poverty by improving living standards and economic opportunities for underserved communities.

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger

  This goal is addressed through the work of Maryanne Gichanga and AgriTech Analytics. Her organization empowers smallholder farmers with technology to increase crop yields, improve soil health, and combat pests, which directly contributes to food security and sustainable agriculture.

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

  Osei Boateng’s work with the OKB Hope Foundation directly targets this goal. By providing mobile primary and preventive healthcare, including mental health education, to over 10,000 people in rural Ghanaian communities, he is working to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being.

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  Joshua Ichor’s efforts with Geotek Water Solutions are centered on this goal. His work to end “water poverty” by building solar-powered water kiosks and monitoring systems provides clean and safe water to communities in Nigeria, preventing waterborne diseases.

• SDG 15: Life on Land

  Maryanne Gichanga’s plan to use the award funds to “reclaim 135,000 hectares of degraded land” directly supports the goal of protecting and restoring terrestrial ecosystems and halting land degradation.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 1: No Poverty

  • Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services. The article highlights the provision of basic services like healthcare (Osei Boateng) and clean water (Joshua Ichor), and access to economic resources through improved agriculture (Maryanne Gichanga).

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger

  • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women… The work of AgriTech Analytics, which assists smallholder farmers, “especially women,” and has led to “harvest gains of up to 75%,” directly aligns with this target.
  • Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices… The mention of reclaiming degraded land and using technology to improve soil health supports this target.

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

  • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including… access to quality essential health-care services. Osei Boateng’s OKB Hope Foundation provides “primary and preventive care” through mobile health vans to “underserved communities,” which is a direct effort towards achieving universal health coverage.
  • Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being. The foundation’s focus on “preventive care” and providing “mental health education and resources” contributes to this target.

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  • Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all. Joshua Ichor’s work building water infrastructure and delivering “clean water to more than 100,000 people” is a direct action towards this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, the article provides several quantitative indicators that can be used to measure the impact and progress of the winners’ initiatives.

• Indicators for Osei Boateng’s Work (SDG 3)

  • Number of individuals served by healthcare services: “over 10,000 individuals”
  • Number of communities reached: “80 rural communities”
  • Number of students receiving mental health education: “over 3,000 students”

• Indicators for Maryanne Gichanga’s Work (SDG 2)

  • Number of farmers assisted per month: “almost 10,000 farmers every month”
  • Percentage increase in harvest gains: “up to 75%”
  • Percentage reduction in farming costs: “63%”
  • Future goal for land reclamation: “reclaim 135,000 hectares of degraded land”

• Indicators for Joshua Ichor’s Work (SDG 6)

  • Number of water infrastructure and monitoring systems installed: “over 1,000”
  • Number of people provided with clean water: “more than 100,000 people”
  • Future goal for people to be reached with clean water: “reach 200,000 people by 2026”

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: globalcitizen.org