The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has won the Nobel Peace Prize this year for its efforts to combat hunger worldwide and other peace bringing contributions.
The agency in a statement expressed its gratitude to Norwegian Nobel Committee for selecting it for the award, one of the world’s most coveted prizes.
Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize was won by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy who helped end a long-running war between his country and neighboring Eritrea.
The UN agency was created in 1961. Today it provides food to over 90 million people a year globally.
Stating behind picking WFP for the award, the Norwegian Nobel committee in a statement said, ‘it was honored “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.’
While revealing the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize this year, Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Nobel committee, said, ‘the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a strong upsurge in the number of victims of hunger in the world.’
The official further that , ‘in the face of the pandemic, the World Food Programme has demonstrated an impressive ability to intensify its efforts’, adding that ‘as the organization itself has stated: until the day we have a vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos.’
