Il World Food Program wins the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian committee has decided to award the coveted award to the UN agency for international solidarity in the fight against hunger - based in Rome, in via Cesare Giulio Viola - for having demonstrated "an impressive ability to multiply efforts in times of pandemic".
The World Food Program is the largest humanitarian organization in the world, committed to fighting hunger and promoting food security as a tool for peace. In 2015, the eradication of world hunger was adopted as one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. In recent years, however, the situation has worsened further: last year, 135 million people suffered from acute hunger, due to wars and armed conflicts. With the pandemic, global hunger victims have increased dramatically, but WFP has shown great skill in stepping up efforts.
The Covid epidemic makes the fight against hunger more urgent. The World Food Program was recognized with the award “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to improving the conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for its acting as a driving force to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict".
This award is also an important message and reminder to all international communities that agencies busy fighting world hunger do not run out of funding. “The world risks facing a food crisis of unimaginable proportions – he declared Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the committee – if WFP and other organizations concerned with food security do not receive the financial support they have asked for”. Currently, as Andersen herself underlines, “international institutions such as the WFP are in trouble due to populism and nationalism that discredit cooperation agencies. Now, they have no funds or support.”
The delivery, scheduled for December 10, 2020, will be held online for the first time. The event will not be held in the large atrium of Oslo City Hall, as per tradition, but in the small entrance hall of a local university building. The prize consists of $1,1 million and a gold medal.
“Heartfelt thanks to the Nobel Committee for honoring the World Food Program with the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize – thanks the Agency on Twitter -. This is a powerful reminder to the world that the peace and #zerohunger go hand in hand".
An assignment that surprised everyone. Greta Thunberg, Hong Kong activists and WHO leaders were the top names to win this year. Instead, the UN battle against world hunger has managed to impose itself on others 318 candidates, the fourth highest number ever. The long list is made up of 211 individuals and 107 organizations which, however, will not be disclosed by the Foundation for the next 50 years, as per tradition.
