# United Nations Population Award

The United Nations Population Award is an international award presented annually by the United Nations Population Fund to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to population and reproductive health issues. Recipients of the award receive a medal, a diploma, and a monetary prize.

## History

The award was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 to recognize "outstanding contributions to population and reproductive health questions and to their solutions," and was first presented in 1983.
In 1983, the inaugural presentation of the award sparked controversy. Two $12,500 awards were given to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India and China's family planning chief Qian Xinzhong, drawing criticism. Economist Theodore W. Shultz, an agency adviser, publicly condemned the awards, alleging that they disregarded expert advice and endorsed countries with aggressive population control methods. He argued that the awards could undermine family planning efforts, citing India's history of forced sterilization and China's punitive policies. The United Nations Fund defended the awards, highlighting that China had outlawed female infanticide, and no longer faced such issues in India.

## Recipients

| Year | Recipients | Country |
| 1983 | Indira Gandhi Qian Xinzhong | India China |
| 1984 | Carmen A. Miró Sheldon J. Segal | Panama United States |
| 1985 | International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) | International |
| 1986 | National Population Council of Mexico | Mexico |
| 1987 | Hussain Muhammad Ershad National Family and Population Office of Tunisia | Bangladesh Tunisia |
| 1988 | Shidzue Kato PROFAMILIA | Japan Colombia |
| 1989 | Suharto Programme national de Bien-être familial of Togo | Indonesia Togo |
| 1990 | Alfred Sauvy National Family Health and Population Council of Mauritius | France Mauritius |
| 1991 | Julia J. Henderson Centre for Population Studies and Responsible Parenthood | United States Ecuador |
| 1992 | J. R. D. Tata The Population Council | India International |
| 1993 | Fred T. Sai Mainichi Shimbun Population Problems Research Council | Ghana Japan |
| 1994 | Hosni Mubarak Turkish Family Health and Planning Foundation | Egypt Turkey |
| 1995 | Halfdan Mahler Inter-African Committee on the Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children | Denmark Intercontinental |
| 1996 | Leticia Ramos Shahani Pathfinder International | Philippines International |
| 1997 | Elizabeth Aguire de Calderón Sol Toshio Kuroda Mechai Viravaidya | El Salvador Japan Thailand |
| 1998 | Hugh H. Wynter Sabiny Elders Association | Jamaica Uganda |
| 1999 | Alireza Marandi National Committee for Population and Family Planning | Iran Vietnam |
| 2000 | Ismail Awadallah Salam Fundación Mexicana para la Planeación Familiar (MEXFAM) | Egypt Mexico |
| 2001 | Nafis Sadik Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning | Pakistan Japan |
| 2002 | Kwasi Odoi-Agyarko EngenderHealth | Ghana United States |
| 2003 | Werner Fornos Family Planning Association of Kenya | United States Kenya |
| 2004 | John C. Caldwell Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital | Australia Ethiopia |
| 2005 | Mercedes B. Concepcion Asociación Pro Bienestar de la Familia de Guatemala | Philippines Guatemala |
| 2006 | Halida Hanum Akhter Fondation Pour la Santé Reproductive et l’Education Familiale (FOSREF) | Bangladesh Haiti |
| 2007 | Allan Rosenfield Hossein Malek Afzali Le Comité National de Population of Algeria The National Population and Family Planning Board of Malaysia | United States Iran Algeria Malaysia |
| 2008 | Billie Antoinette Miller Family Care International (FCI) | Barbados United States |
| 2009 | Mahmoud Fathalla Movimiento Comunal Nicaragüense (MCN) | Egypt Nicaragua |
| 2010 | Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Asian Forum of Parliamentarians for Population and Development (AFPPD) | United States Intercontinental |
| 2011 | Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi Institut de Formation et de Recherche Démographique (IFORD) | Iran Cameroon |
| 2012 | Adrienne Germain Federation of Reproductive Health Associations | United States Malaysia |
| 2013 | Jotham Musinguzi International Islamic Centre for Population Studies and Research | Uganda International |
| 2014 | Father Aldo Marchesini Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics | Italy United States |
| 2015 | Thoraya Obaid African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) | Saudi Arabia Kenya |
| 2016 | Carmen Barroso Childbirth in Dignity Foundation | Brazil Poland |
| 2017 | Hans Rosling Association of Traditional Chiefs of Niger (Association des chefs traditionnels du Niger, ACTN) | Sweden Niger |
| 2018 | Prince Ramsey Guttmacher Institute Save a Child's Heart | Antigua and Barbuda United States Israel |
| 2019 | Mamadou Tangara National Peace Hut Women of Liberia | Gambia Liberia |
| 2022 | Emma Theofelus National Population and Family Planning Board | Namibia Indonesia |
| 2023 | Angeline Ndayishimiye African Institute for Development Policy | Burundi Intercontinental |