In a rare honour, Bhutanese Queen Mother Guyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuk has been awarded the United Nations Population Award 2020 for her contributions to addressing the challenges of sexual health and gender violence. 

She was awarded in the individual category for 2020. “It is of great honour to our region as the recipient of the prestigious UNFPA Population Award this year, both in the individual and institutional category are from the Indian sub-continent,” she was quoted by The Hindu. 

In the institutional category, Help Age India, an Indian organization that works for elder care, has been awarded the United Nations Population Award 2020. 

The Queen founded the Organization, RENEW, in 2004. The UN Population Fund hailed her contributions for  “enabling the environment to openly discuss sexual reproductive health in the Kingdom.”  
 
RENEW (Respect, Educate, Nurture, and Empower Women) is a volunteer organization that works for spreading sexual education amongst students, ensuring reproductive healthcare for women and counselling service.