Nominate Your Community Hero for the Avoidable Deaths Network’s (ADN) Hero Award!
Every day, ordinary people take extraordinary actions to protect others, reduce disaster risks, and strengthen their communities. Some save lives through innovation. Others mobilise neighbours to solve neglected problems ignored during or post-disasters. Many work quietly—such as driving a snakebite victim on their motorbike to the nearest hospital without recognition—yet their impact saves lives and transforms entire communities.
Now is the moment to bring those stories forward.
We invite you to nominate individuals whose courage, leadership, and commitment have prevented harm, protected lives, or created safer futures. Whether they introduced a simple idea that changed everything, rallied a community to act, or stood up when no one else would, their stories deserve to be told. They are the unsung heroes.
If you know someone who has:
- Reduced preventable injuries or deaths
- Led a community-driven safety or risk-reduction initiative
- Overcome barriers to protect others
- Created measurable, lasting change
Submit a nomination today (via the form at the bottom of this page) to shine a light on the next ADN Hero. Each year, one ADN Hero Award is announced; however, exceptions may be made depending on the volume of nominations.
Timeline & Important Dates
| Nomination Deadline | 1st February (Nominations submitted on or after 2nd February will be considered for the next round.) |
| Announcement of the Winner | 12th March |
| Certificate Presentation | 31st March (At the IAD4AD Closing Event) |
The award winner will also be invited to the following year's IAD4AD Closing Event to share their story with the participants.
Selection Criteria
The Panel of Experts applies eight selection criteria, using the criterion most relevant to each case.
1. Demonstrated Life‑Saving Impact
Nominees must have taken actions that directly prevented loss of life or significantly reduced the risk of serious injury.
2. Innovation in Risk Reduction
The nominee should have introduced or championed a practical, scalable, and context‑appropriate solution to a persistent safety or disaster‑related problem.
3. Community Mobilization and Leadership
Nominees must demonstrate exceptional leadership in engaging, motivating, or organizing their community to address a shared risk.
4. Overcoming Systemic or Structural Barriers
The nominee should have acted despite institutional, financial, cultural, or logistical obstacles, showing persistence and courage.
5. Measurable and Sustainable Results
The initiative must show clear, verifiable outcomes and demonstrate potential for long‑term sustainability.
6. Ethical Conduct and Community Well‑Being
Nominees must uphold ethical, inclusive, and community‑centred values.
7. Personal Commitment and Sacrifice
The award recognises individuals who have shown extraordinary dedication.
8. Evidence of Transformational Change
The nominee’s actions should have shifted community norms, perceptions, or behaviours.
Selection Committee
The Hero Awards are selected by a Panel of Experts comprising six members (three ADN Advisory Board Members and three external experts), chaired by the ADN President Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita.
ADN Advisory Board Members
Dr. Stephen Samuel
A medical graduate from India holds an MSc and PhD from Trinity College, Dublin. He has served as a Registrar across various clinical medicine departments within the NHS in the UK. Currently, he is the Senior Vice President of Clinical Medicine at Ophirex, Inc., focusing on the development of small molecule-based field antidotes for venomous snakebites. Additionally, Stephen is a visiting Physician-Scientist collaborating with institutions in India that specialise in treating snakebite victims, as well as with education and awareness initiatives to reduce snakebite-related fatalities. His research publications include topics such as nanoparticle-human microvasculature interactions and snakebite envenoming.
Professor Alois Hirschmugl
A Regular Officer, Trainer/Expert in international disaster management, and Technical Director of DMAT Consulting KG. Since 1999, Professor Hirschmugl has participated in nine missions as a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Member and has undertaken two missions as an EU Civil Protection Expert. He has contributed to European Union research projects focusing on Space, Disaster Resilience, and Security. Professor Hirschmugl holds a Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Law and has published a handbook on the legal aspects pertinent to peace support operations, humanitarian efforts, and disaster management.
Ms. Aditi Ghosh
Aditi serves as the Country Director for Sri Lanka at ChildFund International. Previously, she held the position of Country Manager for Sri Lanka and India at Handicap International – Humanity and Inclusion, and she served as Deputy Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation’s Humanitarian Programme. With over twenty years of experience, she possesses extensive expertise in leading and managing humanitarian programmes. Holding a professional degree in Environmental Management, she specialises in humanitarian response and risk reduction initiatives. She has led numerous humanitarian interventions across three continents and over twenty-five countries. Her career includes extensive fieldwork in crisis-affected areas, managing humanitarian operations at the forefront. Aditi has held several leadership roles and has played a key role in organisational transformation. An avid traveller and passionate reader, she is deeply committed to causes such as gender justice and inclusive, rights-based humanitarian programming.
External Experts
Mr José Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri
José Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri is a social change enthusiast, entrepreneur, mobilizer, and fire safety advocate based in Nairobi, Kenya, with extensive experience in community mobilisation. At four months old, José suffered burns from a house fire that inflicted burns on 85% of his face and left hand. José has dedicated his life to fire safety education. He is trained as a firefighter and has been engaged in community fire safety advocacy for six years. José aims to save lives and prevent property damage by collaborating with community members, leaders, and fire service personnel. Employing a train-the-trainer approach, he has imparted training to fire personnel and community members in Nigeria, Malawi, and Kenya. Furthermore, José is featured in “Fire Safety with Tochi and José,” a contextualized fire safety program for Africa, which is currently broadcast in Kenya.
Ms. Lauren MacLeod
Lauren has provided operational and administrative support to the ADN since 2021. She was stationed at the ADN India Hub in Odisha for eight months and received a Visiting Fellowship at the Institute of Environmental Futures. She holds a Master of Science in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management from the University of Leicester.
Ms. Chloe Vasquez
Originally from Texas, USA, Chloe studied economics and political science at Macalester College in Minnesota. Inspired by her mother’s survival of a venomous pit viper bite in 2020, she is now undertaking a 12-month fellowship across Southern Asia, Africa, and South America to study antivenom access and snakebite mitigation. Her focus is on improving antivenom supply, pricing, clinicians’ knowledge, and snakebite prevention through economics and policy.
Hero Stories
You can see the stories of previous ADN Hero Award Winners on our Hero Stories page.
Submission Form
You can nominate your hero using the submission form.