Bangladesh's Runa Khan has been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2026 for her decades of services improving lives in remote, river-eroded, and climate-vulnerable areas of the country.
She is the founder and executive director of the non-governmental organisation "Friendship".
Friendship began its operations in 2002, pioneering a hospital ship for the most unaddressed and deprived communities in the world living on sandbar islands, called chars, of the Jamuna river (Brahmaputra) in Bangladesh.
Now their programmes span across our floating hospitals and access to healthcare for all, disaster relief, capacity building and economic development, climate resilience, education, inclusion and access to rights and and cultural preservation.
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Runa Khan outside a Friendship hospital ship during a health camp, interacting with a child. Photo courtesy: Friendship
After the announcement of the award, Runa Khan said, “It is with great happiness and profound humility that I accept the Ramon Magsaysay Award. There is no leader who walks alone, so it is an honour for me to receive this on behalf of the unaddressed communities, who allow us to walk beside them; and on behalf of my Friendship family whose tireless devotion makes this work possible every day. I thank also those who have trusted and walked this almost impossible path with me for 25 long years—just believing. My children whose patience and understanding awes me. This recognition is a wonderful responsibility, and I offer my deepest gratitude to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for their trust and for honouring the enduring faith and power of humanity.”
For Runa Khan, the recognition honours a body of work that began in Bangladesh’s remote riverine communities and evolved into an integrated model for delivering solutions based on a deep understanding of local realities. What started with a single floating hospital has grown into a social purpose organisation serving 7.5 million people annually across healthcare, education, climate action, sustainable economic development, inclusive citizenship, and cultural preservation.
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Runa Khan planting mangrove saplings with community members. Photo courtesy: Friendship
Along with Runa Khan, two other individuals have received this award this year. They are Tommy Koh of Singapore and Bo Chi of Myanmar.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced the names of the 2026 award recipients in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, today, Monday.
Ramon Magsaysay was the seventh president of the Philippines. This award is given in his name. He died in a tragic plane crash on 17 March 1957. The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation was established in the same year. The award was first presented in 1958.
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Runa Khan with Friendship School students. Photo courtesy: Friendship.
The awards will be presented to the recipients at the closing ceremony of this festival at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila on November 15.
According to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, the 2026 awardees have been selected for work that reflects the enduring values associated with Magsaysay's leadership. These include serving others, creating opportunities for various communities, and helping people build their own futures.
