GENEVA – The world’s largest humanitarian prize has been given to the Bangladeshi non-profit organization BRAC for helping more than 110 million poor people with microcredit and basic services.

The US$1.5-million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize goes each year to an organization chosen for making extraordinary contributions to alleviating human suffering.

BRAC founder Fazle Hasan Abed said Friday the award money will be used for anti-poverty programs in southern Sudan.

The organization was created in Bangladesh in 1972 and has since expanded its programs to Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan.

It supports, in particular, poor women with microcredit, health services, education and other programs.