Sainath became the first Indian reporter to win the European Commission's Lorenzo Natali Prize for journalism in 1995. In 2000, he won the inaugural Amnesty International Global Human Rights Journalism Prize. That same year, he was awarded the United Nation's Food & Agriculture Organisation's Boerma Prize. In 2002, he was given the Inspiration Award at the Global Visions Film Festival in Edmonton, Canada. During the decade, Sainath toured ten drought-stricken states in India. This tour inspired him to write his book "Everybody Loves a Good Drought". He was awarded the Harry Chapin Media Award in New York in 2006.