Nobel Peace Prize goes to UN World Food Programme

The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the WFP had acted “as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”.

The WFP, the 101st winner of a prize now worth 10m Swedish krona ($1.1m; £875,000), said that it was “deeply humbled”.

Some 107 organisations and 211 individuals were nominated this year.

The WFP said on Twitter: “This is in recognition of the work of WFP staff who put their lives on the line every day to bring food and assistance to more than 100 million hungry children, women and men across the world.”

WFP head David Beasley said he was in shock following the announcement.

“This is unbelievable. Talk about the most exciting point in time in your life,” he said.

“It’s because of the WFP family. They’re out there in the most difficult complex places in the world, where there’s war, conflict, climate extremes. It doesn’t matter. They’re out there and they deserve this award.”

The World Health Organization and climate activist Greta Thunberg were among the favourites to win this year.

Under the Nobel Foundation’s rules, nomination shortlists are not allowed to be published for 50 years, and the organisation says any speculation ahead of the announcement is “sheer guesswork”.

What else did the Nobel Committee say?

Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said that with this year’s award the Norwegian Nobel Committee wanted to “turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger”.

“The World Food Programme plays a key role in multilateral co-operation in making food security an instrument of peace,” she told a news conference in Oslo.

The committee said Covid-19 had further boosted the importance of the group.

“The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a strong upsurge in the number of victims of hunger in the world,” it wrote in a statement.

“In the face of the pandemic, the World Food Programme has demonstrated an impressive ability to intensify its efforts.”

Earlier this year, the WFP warned that the world was at risk of widespread famines “of biblical proportions” as a result of the pandemic.

What does the WFP do?
The UN agency delivers food assistance to countries around the world. The group says it provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries last year who were victims of acute food insecurity and hunger.

The agency was established in 1961, following calls from former US President Dwight D Eisenhower for “a workable scheme” to be devised for providing food aid through the UN system.