UN food agency wins Nobel Peace Prize
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the United Nations' agency, the World Food Programme.
For its efforts in combating hunger and improving the conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas.
The United Nations food agency, which is based in Rome, says it helps some 97 million people every year across roughly 88 countries.
But that one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee’s chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen:
"The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security...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."
She added that the agency is a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.
And that the COVID-19 outbreak has further boosted its relevance.
The World Food Programme called this a quote, "proud moment” and “nothing short of a feat."
The WFP’s Executive Director David Beasley celebrated the news while in Niger - he spoke with Reuters shortly afterwards and had this to say:
"I was like wow, you really just couldn't believe it, it really is a tribute to the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to help people around the world, and WFP and our partners."
The coveted prize is worth $1.1 million and will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10.
