United Nations World Food Program awarded 2020 Nobel Peace Prize

The United Nations food agency, the World Food Program (WFP), won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday (October 9) for its efforts to combat hunger and improve conditions for peace in areas affected by conflict.

The Rome-based organization says it helps some 97 million people in about 88 countries each year, and that one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat.

"The need for international solidarity and multilateral cooperation is more conspicuous than ever," Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, told a news conference.

The WFP is a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which the WFP says could double hunger worldwide, has made it even more relevant, she said.

"The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a strong upsurge in the number of victims of hunger in the world," the Nobel committee said in its citation.

WFP responded by tweeting its thanks for "recognition of the work of WFP staff who put their lives on the line every day to bring food and assistance to more than 100 million hungry children, women and men across the world".

 

 

REUTERS