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House and Senate leaders of the United States will hold a ceremony next month to present Prof Muhammad Yunus with Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his life-long effort for fighting poverty and promoting economic and social opportunity.
According to a statement posted on the website of House Speaker John Boehner on March 5, House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will hold the US Capitol ceremony on April 17 in the Capitol Rotunda.
The medal represents Congresss highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievement and contribution.
In 2010, the US Senate unanimously approved a bill to award Dr Yunus the medal.
The bill, introduced by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin and Senator Robert Bennett, recognises the Nobel Laureate as a leading figure in the effort to fight global poverty.
Through his Grameen Bank, Yunus pioneered the microcredit movement and helped hundreds of millions of people around the world come out of poverty.
The banker to the poor has won international acclaim for developing the concept of microcredit and using that model of lending to promote economic and social opportunity.
For his work, Dr Yunus, along with Grameen Bank, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
Former recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal include George Washington, Sir Winston Churchill, Elie Wiesel, Pope John Paul II, Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King.
In 2009, Yunus received the USAs highest civilian award Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work as an agent of change.
Source: US award for Yunus | The Daily Star