Nobel Peace Prize awarded to UN's World Food Programme
The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. The UN agency is the largest humanitarian organization in the world that addresses hunger and promotes food security. "With this award, we wish to turn the world's eyes to the millions of people who face hunger and food poverty," Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the committee, announced in Oslo.
In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are the victims of acute food insecurity and hunger. The Rome-based WFP has also been instrumental in working to fight increased hunger caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Reiss-Andersen noted, adding that food insecurity is also a driving cause of conflict in the world.
