Bold Changemakers Recognized: 2025 Global Citizen Waislitz Award Winners Announced

The Global Citizen and the Waislitz Foundation have unveiled the three distinguished awardees of the 2025 Global Citizen Waislitz Awards. These individuals have been honored for their exceptional impact in confronting and dismantling the systemic roots of extreme poverty. Each winner receives a substantial USD $100,000 prize, part of the USD $300,000 total fund, aimed at scaling up their innovative solutions and amplifying their social impact.

Grand Prize Winner: Osei Boateng (Ghana)

Osei Boateng, founder and executive director of the OKB Hope Foundation, secured the Grand Prize for his groundbreaking mobile health initiative in Ghana. Inspired by personal tragedy, losing family members due to limited medical access, he launched mobile health vans that bring primary and preventive care directly to underserved communities.

To date, Boateng’s initiative has served over 10,000 individuals across 80 rural villages and even reached incarcerated populations in 10 prisons. Beyond physical health services, he has integrated mental health support through the Wohohiame Wellness program in schools and the AI-powered counselling assistant, HeyAkua. With the award funds, Boateng plans to expand both the mobile healthcare fleet and mental health outreach.

Disruptor Award Winner: Maryanne Gichanga (Kenya)

Maryanne Gichanga, CEO and co‑founder of AgriTech Analytics, stood out for her technological disruption in agriculture. Her AI-driven sensor platform offers rapid soil diagnostics and pest detection to empower smallholder farmers, especially women and youth.

AgriTech Analytics currently supports nearly 10,000 farmers each month, delivering harvest yield increases of up to 75% and cutting costs by 63%. Looking ahead, she aims to rehabilitate 135,000 hectares of degraded land, advancing food security, gender equality, and land preservation.

People’s Choice Award Winner: Joshua Ichor (Nigeria)

Joshua Ichor, founder of Geotek Water Solutions, took home the People’s Choice Award for his work providing sustainable clean water to communities in Nigeria and the Sahel.

Geotek has installed over 1,000 solar-powered water kiosks and real-time monitoring systems that currently serve more than 100,000 individuals. His vision includes scaling this infrastructure to reach 200,000 people by 2026, directly aligning with global goals for water and sanitation equity.

Awards Structure & Evaluation Criteria

Now in its 11th year, the Global Citizen Waislitz Awards invest a total of USD $300,000 annually in three equal cash prizes:

• Grand Prize – awarded based on holistic excellence across all evaluation dimensions.
• Disruptor Award – for innovators disrupting entrenched poverty systems.
• People’s Choice Award – determined through public voting informed by impact merit.

Candidates are assessed against five rigorous criteria:

1. Global Citizenship – embodying values of equity, action, and shared responsibility.
2. Proof of Concept – demonstrable impact over at least 1‑2 years.
3. Disruption – innovation that challenges the status quo to end poverty.
4. Scalability – capacity to expand reach and strengthen outcomes.
5. Adaptability – ability to evolve in shifting landscapes and needs.

The applications opened in mid‑May and closed in early June 2025, followed by a public voting period and final selection process.

Looking Forward

The 2025 winners reflect practical solutions across critical areas, health, agriculture, and water access, directly contributing to multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 3 (Good Health), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Their initiatives offer scalable models of empowerment, leveraging innovation to serve marginalized communities effectively.

General Conclusion

These awardees stand as powerful examples of how targeted, creative solutions can uplift communities and combat extreme poverty. Their diverse approaches, from mobile healthcare vans to AI-powered farming tools and solar-powered water systems, underscore that progress lies in adaptability, inclusivity, and bold vision. By spotlighting such changemakers, the Global Citizen Waislitz Awards continue to drive momentum toward a world where equal access to health, food, and clean water is not a privilege but a universal right.

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