New York - A doctor from Egypt and a non-government organization from Nicaragua have won the 2009 United Nations Population Award for raising awareness on population issues, the UN Fund for Population said Tuesday.

Mahmoud Fathalla founded the Egyptian Fertility Care Society, one of the first family planning organizations in Egypt, in 1974, and has since been advising his government on issues related to population and health. He is a renowned doctor and professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Assiut University in Egypt.

Since the 1970s, Nicaragua's Movimiento Comunal Nicaraguense has been working on issues related to gender equality and health in hundreds of municipalities in the Central American country.

Fathalla and the Nicaraguan group will be presented with the awards on June 1 at UN headquarters in New York. An award committee comprising representatives of ten nations and UNFPA selected the winners. There were 18 international nominees for this year's prize. (dpa)