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WFP wins 2020 Nobel Peace Prize

WFP wins 2020 Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP). The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to…

October 9, 2020 - Last update: February 10, 2023

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP). The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger.

The need for international solidarity and multilateral cooperation is more conspicuous than ever. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation addressing hunger and promoting food security. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger. In 2015, eradicating hunger was adopted as one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The WFP is the UN’s primary instrument for realising this goal. In recent years, the situation has taken a negative turn. In 2019, 135 million people suffered from acute hunger, the highest number in many years. Most of the increase was caused by war and armed conflict.

 


“For its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”

Nobel Peace Prize Committee


 

“This is in 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,” it said on Twitter. WFP head David Beasley told the Associated Press news agency it was “the first time in my life I’ve been without words”.

Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said that with this year’s award the Norwegian Nobel Committee wanted to “turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger.”

“The World Food Programme plays a key role in multilateral co-operation in making food security an instrument of peace,” she told a news conference in Oslo.

The Nobel Committee said Covid-19 had further boosted the importance of the group. “The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a strong upsurge in the number of victims of hunger in the world,” it wrote in a statement. “In the face of the pandemic, the World Food Programme has demonstrated an impressive ability to intensify its efforts.”

 

• Statement by WFP Executive Director David Beasley – WFP website

• Nobel Peace Price 2020 Announcement – English / Norwegian

 

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Nutrition for Growth Covid-19 Humanitarian Nutrition-sensitive