Images of war, peace and the climate crisis have been chosen as the winners of this year’s World Press Photo Awards.
Four images said to highlight the importance of press photography around the world were chosen from thousands of submissions.
A confronting image said to “perfectly capture the human suffering caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” was named Photo of the Year.
Evgeniy Maloletka’s image, taken during the siege of Mariupol, shows a fatally wounded pregnant woman being carried on a stretcher amid the rubble of destroyed buildings. She died less than an hour after giving birth to the lifeless body of her baby.
The Story of the Year awarded was given to Mads Nissen for nine haunting but beautiful photos showing the reality for the people of Afghanistan who are now living under the Taliban with a lack of international aid.
The Long-Term Project Award was given to Anush Babajanyan for her years-long project capturing the effects that the end of the Soviet Union had on water management — a story not often covered outside of Central Asia.
The Open Format Award, meanwhile, was given to Mohamed Mahdy, who worked alongside residents of Al Max, in Alexandria, Egypt, to preserve the memory of their fast-disappearing fishing village.
The four global winners were selected from 24 regional winners, who were chosen from more than 60,000 entries. Submissions were made by 3,752 entrants from 127 countries.
Six regional juries judged initial entrants, the chairs of which came together to form a global jury that chose the final winners.
“Our four global winners represent the best photos and stories from the most important and urgent topics of 2022,” said Brent Lewis, global jury chairman, The New York Times photo editor and co-founder of Diversify Photo.
“They also help to continue the tradition of what it is possible to do with photography, and how photography helps us to see the universality of the human condition.”
Maloletka’s image was unanimously chosen as the winner of the World Press Photo of the Year.
With the vote being decided on the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, the jury spoke of the power of the image and the story behind it.
“Millions of people around the world will look at these photos and see death, despair, loss, and crisis,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo.
“My wish is that they also see what I see — the hope that through documentation there is a chance of justice and a better future, through remembering we honour what is lost, and through the courage and dedication of these photographers we are inspired.
"By highlighting these global winners, we hope to help people understand the world we all share a little bit more.”
The winning photos and stories, alongside regional winners, will be part of an exhibition set to show in more than 60 cities around the world over the coming year, including Amsterdam, Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, Zurich, Tel Aviv, Taipei, Singapore, Mexico City, Jakarta, Sydney and Toronto.
