2020 Nobel Peace Prize Awarded To World Food Programme
The program was recognized for efforts to prevent hunger in developing nations or those experiencing conflict.
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) for its efforts to combat global hunger.
Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced the award on Friday in Oslo, Norway. The WFP won 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,” Reiss-Andersen said.
WFP Executive Director David Beasley posted an ellated response to the award on Twitter, saying, “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.”
In April, Beasley delivered a warning to the UN Security Council that the pandemic could cause famines “of biblical proportions.” The former Republican South Carolina governor was nominated by President Donald Trump for the WFP role in 2017.
Though Reiss-Andersen did not specifically name Trump during the announcement, but advocated for the type of international unity that the president has eschewed. During his first term, Trump has distanced the U.S. from multiple unified global efforts, like the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization.
“The need for international solidarity and multilateral cooperation is more conspicuous than ever,” she said.
The food-assistance branch of the United Nations, which was established over 40 year ago, assisted 97 million people in 88 countries last year, according to statistics from its website.
Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his role in ending a 20-year conflict between Ethiopia and neighboring nation Eritrea.