Some of the most influential humans in the world have won the Nobel Peace Prize including Malala Yousafzai, Barack Obama, and Nelson Mandela. This year, the prize goes to a much broader world actor: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
The pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity around the globe, so this year the Nobel Peace Prize goes to not a politician or activist, but an organization fighting every day to keep some of the world’s most vulnerable people fed.
The organization was created in 1961 and provided food for 100 million people in 88 countries last year alone. Right now, the organization is operating a large-scale aid project in Yemen where local conflict has fueled a widespread famine.
The prize money, 10 million Swedish krona ($1.1 million), will allow the organization to continue to draw attention to families suffering from food insecurity and provide vital resources to those in need. Hunger and conflict are two closely correlated factors. Food insecurity is common in regions of conflict and in turn, events like famines can drive civil unrest, so the WFP certainly plays an important role in world peace.
In an interview with BBC, WFP head David Beasley said, “To receive this award is a recognition to the men and women at the World Food Programme who put their lives on the line every day for the struggling, suffering people around the world. So I hope this is a signal and a message that the World Food Programme is a role model and that we all have got to do more.”
