Ever since the lockdown was announced, leading to massive discomfort for migrant workers, actor Sonu Sood has been hailed as a hero on social media for his efforts to send thousands of stranded migrants to their home. Now, recognising his efforts, Sood has been honoured with the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) prestigious SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award.
The Bollywood actor received the award during a virtual ceremony on Monday. So far, according to media reports, the actor has helped stranded migrants during the coronavirus crisis by arranging food, buses, trains and chartered flights for them and providing them job opportunities.
Sood joins the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, David Beckham, Emma Watson, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Antonio Banderas and Nicole Kidman who have been honoured with Humanitarian Award by different UN bodies.
“The ‘Special Humanitarian Action Award’ given to Mr Sonu Sood was conferred on him by the Department of Planning of the Government of Punjab, with the support of the Sustainable Development Goals Coordination Centre. The awardees were selected based on the recommendation of an independent jury. UNDP was not involved in the selection nor in the conferring of the award to Mr Sonu Sood. We congratulate Mr Sood on receiving this award and appreciate his humanitarian efforts to help people in these challenging times,” said a statement by the UNDP.
