World Food Program to receive Nobel Peace Prize tomorrow

Wednesday, 9 December 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) will be accepting the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December, in a ceremony that recognises its role in fighting hunger and fostering peace in conflict-affected areas.

WFP Executive Director David Beasley will receive the award on behalf of the agency and its 20,000 staff, in a virtual event due to COVID-19 constraints, which can be watched worldwide on WFP’s dedicated Nobel Peace Prize web site – www.nobelprize.org. WFP will also be hosting a Facebook event, which will be streamed live on the WFP global and Sri Lanka Facebook pages.

WFP said it shared the Nobel Peace Prize with many others, including its UN, NGO and government partners, as it worked towards achieving zero hunger. “Together, we aim to improve the lives of millions living on the edge, especially those in conflict zones.”

“Every one of the 690 million hungry people in the world today has the right to live peace-fully and without hunger. Today, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has turned the global spotlight on them and on the devastating consequences of conflict,” Beasley said, following the Nobel’s announcement.

The Nobel comes as famine again threatens millions of people, especially in four conflict-affected countries—Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria (northeast) and Burkina Faso. As the Nobel Committee notes, an alarming convergence of conflict, hunger and the COVID-19 pandemic has driven hunger up and funding to combat it down.

WFP has been working in Sri Lanka since 1968, helping vulnerable communities have better futures, through activities that help achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Over the last decade, WFP has shifted focus, from humanitarian to development-oriented projects, providing a ‘hand-up’ to government and other partners, by way of capacity-building programs for sustainable solutions, from what was previously more of a ‘hand-out’ role, using food aid.

WFP’s core priorities are poised to increase in importance given the context of mitigating the impact of COVID-19, where job losses and reduced incomes mean that families are finding it harder to put nutritious food on a plate.