The World Food Programme (WFP) was declared the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2020. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, in-charge of selecting the award winners every year, gave the award to the WFP “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”.
The Nobel Committee included in its citation that “until the day we have a medical vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos”.
As stated by the Executive Director of the organisation, David Beasley, their team made efforts to successfully provide food for around 690 million people, this year. The team worked on the frontlines in various countries, regardless of the situations of war, conflict, pandemic and climate changes.
The organisation is relentlessly operating in various countries including strife ridden regions like like Yemen, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, despite the lack of funding.
Yemen: The WFP claims that their emergency response in Yemen is their biggest yet, compared to the other locations. They have helped around 13 million people despite facing multiple obstacles. The WPF has pointed out that the local leaders in Yemen attempt to prevent the distribution of food among the needy. They also stated that they were facing major funding problems in 2020. This happened because some of the donors were reluctant to fund the programme as the deliveries were repeatedly being obstructed.
Afghanistan: The WFP has quoted that it is their “overarching goal” to support Afghanistan by eradicating hunger in a way that contributes to peace. They have also stated that they face multiple challenges due to “complex and protracted conflicts” over a really long time.
South Sudan: The organisation has helped many people is south sudan during calamities like famine and conflicts. Due to battered economy of the region as a result of long civil war, crop production minimised and there is increasing dependence on imported food items. Due to this, a lot of people living there do not have access to nutritious food.
The World Food Programme (WFP), founded in 1961, is a humanitarian organisation and also an essential branch of the United Nations. This organisation focusses on hunger and food security and considered the largest provider of school meals. It has setup its offices in over 80 countries with its headquarters in Rome.
The organisation claims to help provide food for close to 97 million people in 88 countries on an average, every year.
Earlier this year, the WFP had quoted that the COVID-19 could result in a “hunger pandemic”. This was because the coronavirus heavily impacted the food supply chains and obstructed the movements of critical food assistance, personnel and critical equipment. They had also stated that the acute hunger in the 88 countries where they operate, could increase up to 270 million, which would be an 82 percent rise from 2019’s recorded value.
The WFP also runs a logistic service and is responsible for delivering medical cargoes to over 120 countries during the pandemic to provide support for various governments and health partners.