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News > Norway

2020 Peace Nobel Prize Goes To the World Food Programme

  • Food rations provided by the World Food Programme in Sana'a, Yemen, Feb. 11, 2020.

    Food rations provided by the World Food Programme in Sana'a, Yemen, Feb. 11, 2020. | Photo: EFE

Published 9 October 2020
Opinion

The Norwegian Nobel Committee considered 318 candidates for the prize. Of those, 211 were individuals and 108 were organizations.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the 2020 Peace Nobel Prize for its efforts to combat hunger by "avoiding the use of hunger as a weapon of war."

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The Norwegian Nobel Committee (NNC) mentioned that the WFP has managed to “turn the eyes of the world" to the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger.

"The WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger," the NNC pointed out.

"In the face of the pandemic, the WFP has demonstrated an impressive ability to intensify its efforts. As the organization itself has stated, ''Until the day we have a medical vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos'," it added.

Before announcing its decision, the Norwegian Nobel Committee considered 318 candidates for the 2020 Peace prize. Of those, 211 were individuals and 108 were organizations, as reported by NPR.

Greta Thunberg was among the people nominated for the Peace Prize for her 'Fridays for Future' initiative. She stood out internationally in 2018 when she began demanding effective measures against climate change in front of the Swedish Parliament.

Another of the favorites to win the 2020 Nobel Prize was Cuba's Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, a team of health professionals specialized in natural and epidemiological disasters. 

Created in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, this international cooperation team has mobilized over 12,000 professionals to various nations. So far, during the pandemics, 3,700 Cuban health workers have fulfilled their humanitarian mission in 39 countries.

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