WFP wins Nobel Peace Prize 2020 for fight against ‘hunger as a weapon of war’
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday morning for its “efforts to combat hunger” and its “contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas.”
According to the international news agency, the Norwegian Nobel Committee presented the award in Oslo on Friday describing WFP as “a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.”
The organization is the 101st winner of a prize now worth 10m Swedish krona ($1.1m; £875,000), said it was “deeply humbled” to have won.
According to the reports, around 107 organisations and 211 individuals were nominated for the award this year.
The head of WFP, David Beasley after the announcement said that he was in shock following the achievement.
“I was literally for the first time in my life without words,” he said.
Beasley extended immense gratitude for his organization being considered for the award.
We are deeply humbled to receive the #NobelPeacePrize. This is an incredible recognition of the dedication of the @WFP family, working to end hunger everyday in 80+ countries.
Thank you @NobelPrize for this incredible honor! pic.twitter.com/bHcS0usWQa
— David Beasley (@WFPChief) October 9, 2020
Note that the Nobel Peace Award holder, WFP was established in 1961 on the request of then U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower as an experiment to provide food aid through the U.N. The group says it is active in 83 countries and that its staff “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.”
