World Food Programme (wfp) Wins 2020 Nobel Prize For Peace....for Tackling Hunger In 88 Countries Of The Globe
The World Food Programme (WFP), a global body for the eradication of hunger, has emerged winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Peace.
The award was announced on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo and that made WFP to be the 101st winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2020 with a prize tag of $1.1 million.
A statement posted on twitter by WFP's Executive Director, David Beasley confirmed the award.
He said: "Every one of the 690 million hungry people in the world today has the right to live peacefully and without hunger".
“Today, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has turned the global spotlight on them and the devastating consequences of conflict", David Beasley said.
The Executive Director who issued the statement through a video message, added that: “Climate shocks and economic pressures have further compounded their plight.
"And now, a global pandemic with its brutal impact on economies and communities is pushing millions more to the brink of starvation," David said.
Beasley who twitted the statement from the Niger Republic also paid special tribute to WFP staffers whom he said the award is dedicated to.
“They’re out there in the most difficult, complex places in the world, whether there’s war, conflict, climate extremes, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “They’re out there, and they deserve this award.
"The Nobel Peace Prize is a poignant tribute to our WFP team members who have made the ultimate sacrifice on the front lines of hunger.
"However, the win was “not WFP’s alone. “We work closely with governments, local and international organizations and private sector partners whose passion for helping the hungry and vulnerable equals ours. We could not possibly help anyone without them", David said.
The Executive Director further explained that "WFP, the world’s biggest humanitarian organization, warned earlier this year that COVID-19 could result in a hunger pandemic” as corona virus wreaked havoc with supply chains, disrupting the movements of critical food assistance, personnel and critical equipment."
"Last year, WFP reached a record 97 million people with food assistance. In June it issued a call for US$4.9 billion to reach up to 138 million people.
" Bearing witness to how hunger and conflict feed each other in dozens of countries, WFP has always been an advocate for the critical role that peace has in ending hunger, and for the use of food as a tool for peace.
"In 2018, the global community explicitly recognized the formal link between hunger and conflict for the first time through UN Security Council Resolution 2417.
“The Nobel Peace Prize should inspire all of us to work even harder, to continue to save lives, change lives and reach that Zero Hunger goal", David Beasley said.
The Rome-based UN agency added that acute hunger in the 88 countries in which it operates could reach 270 million people by the end of the year with an 82 per cent increase in 2019.
"Despite funding shortages, the organization has persevered, working to fend off famine in hunger hotspots such as Yemen, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo — places beset by the intersecting threats of conflict, climate change and now coronavirus," Beasley added.