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The United Nation has announced Zubaida Bai from India as one of the 10 Local SDG Pioneers for Safe and Healthy Birth. The announcement was made at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2016 in New York. Zubaida Bai, founder and CEO of ayzh, was recognized for her efforts that align with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 on Good Health and Well Being. Over 600 nominations were received from 100 countries between February and April 2016.

Launched in 2016 as part of the UN Global CompactâÂÂs Making Global Goals Local Business campaign, the Local SDG Pioneers programme seeks out individuals who are demonstrating how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can enable business to unlock economic, social, and environmental gains for the world. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development â adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit â officially came into force on 1 January 2016. Over the next fifteen years with these new goals that universally apply to all, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.

âÂÂEach of the 2016 Local SDG Pioneers exemplifies how business can be a force for good in addressing the challenges we face as a global society,â said Lise Kingo, UN Global Compact Executive Director. âÂÂMs. Bai is dedicated to assuring healthcare for women in India. She has developed an affordable product and successful business model that is making a critical difference in the lives of mothers, children, and families across her country. She is a pioneer for safe and healthy birth.âÂÂ

The Pioneers are made up of entrepreneurs who are championing sustainability through their business models and change makers who are mobilizing the business community broadly to take action in support of the SDGs. A Pioneers Selection Group, comprised of experts from the UN, academia, civil society and the private sector, ranked the nominees based on a set of criteria, resulting in the ten 2016 Global Compact Local SDG Pioneers. In the years to come, the Global CompactâÂÂs Pioneers programme will become a vital part of the organization’s priority to make global goals local business.

âÂÂIâÂÂm honored to be a part of the inaugural class of 2016 Local SDG Pioneers and wish to thank the UN Global Compact for this prestigious recognition,â said Ms. Bai. âÂÂThe SDGs provide strategic roadmap for improving the health and wellbeing of mothers and their newborns. We are excited to advance the role of the private sector in achieving the Sustainable Development goals as they relate to the entire reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) continuum. We also hope to impact SDG 5 (gender equality), 9 (resilient infrastructure), and 17 (partnerships for the goals) with our work.âÂÂ

Ms. Bai founded ayzh in India, based on the belief that every woman has the right to a safe birth as well as affordable and dignified healthcare. Since 2010, Zubaida has attracted clients and strategic partners from around the world, putting over 240,000 kits out into the market, all while putting health products into the hands of the women who need them the most.

The UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2016 is a two-day gathering of the private sector, UN, Government and civil society to jump-start action to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Together, over 800 leaders from around the world are gathered in New York to identify how to unleash the business activities, thinking, and innovation required for a new era of sustainability.

The UN Global Compact is the worldâÂÂs largest corporate sustainability initiative, calling on companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals. In India, over 300 companies and non-business organization have joined the initiative, and the Global Compact Network India has supported their efforts to advance sustainable business practices since 2003.

Ayzh (pronounced âÂÂeyesâÂÂ) is a social enterprise that develops and distributes low-cost, appropriate technology designed to meet the unique needs of women and health institutions in low-resource settings, targeting the time around childbirth. Through the sale of our customizable âÂÂkit styleâ products (namely our janma Clean Birth Kit), our sustainable and scalable model increases availability and access to proven health commodities, while providing economic opportunity to local Indian women who package and assemble our products. Our expanding product suite addresses the critical continuum of maternal health, namely newborn care, post partum care, and menstrual hygiene. ayzh has a diverse, dynamic, and passionate management team with expertise and synergy, who naturally foster integrated innovation across the fields of global health, business, and technology.”