During the annual UN Day Event held yesterday on the 24th of October, at the UN headquarters in Nairobi. Aaron Nanok was named as the United Nations Person of the Year in Kenya 2022. The Agronomist from Turkana County was awarded for his contributions towards solving and addressing the food crisis in the country.
While accepting the award he said, “Thank you WFP (World Food Programme) for nominating me for this award. I would like to thank my employer for giving me the opportunity that other youths yearn to make the lives of other people better.” He went on to state that,the only way countries can be food and nutrition secure is by making our agri-food systems resilient.
The second runners up for this year’s award was, Kenya Wildlife Service’s Head of Administration, Mr John Mugendi Gitonga. He was honoured for his efforts to counter the illicit trade in wildlife products by fighting institutional corruption.
“Mr Mugendi is a role model for his unrelenting dedication to wildlife conservation and to countering corruption, especially at a time of heightened efforts to combat corruption in all sectors of Kenya, so this recognition is very well deserved,” Ms Maria Temesvari, UNODC Deputy Regional Representative for Eastern Africa remarked.
Previous winners of the award include; the 2021 winner Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food for Education, and an organization that feeds over 33,000 children daily. The 2020 winners were Kenyatta University students and in 2019 winner, Brother Peter Tabichi; who was recognised for his efforts in promoting education.
