2024 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award
Five outstanding women – a nun, an activist, a social entrepreneur, a volunteer aid worker, and an advocate for ending statelessness – are honored as winners of the 2024 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
This year’s global laureate, Sister Rosita Milesi, is a Brazilian nun, lawyer, social worker and movement builder who has championed the rights and dignity of people on the move for nearly 40 years.
The four regional winners are the following women: Maimouna Ba (Africa), an activist from Burkina Faso who helped more than 100 displaced children return to the classroom and put over 400 displaced women on a path to financial independence.
Jin Davod (Europe), a social entrepreneur who drew on her own experience as a Syrian refugee to build an online platform that has connected thousands of trauma survivors with licensed therapists providing free mental health support.
Nada Fadol (Middle East & North Africa), a Sudanese refugee who has mobilized essential aid for hundreds of refugee families fleeing to Egypt in search of safety.
Deepti Gurung (Asia-Pacific), who campaigned to reform Nepal’s citizenship laws after learning that her two daughters had become stateless – opening a path to citizenship for them and thousands more in similar straits.
In addition, the people of Moldova receive honorable mention for acting as a beacon of humanity. Setting aside their own economic challenges, they rapidly transformed their schools, community spaces and homes into sanctuaries for more than one million people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award honors individuals, groups and organizations who go above and beyond the call of duty to protect refugees, displaced and stateless people. Established in 1954, the Award celebrates the legacy of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat and first High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations.
In 1963 the International Council for Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), with the World University Service as one of its founding members, was honored as winner of the Nansen Refugee Award.
