World Food Program Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Medical supplies on the tarmac at Liège airport, Belgium, before being loaded to an aircraft chartered by the World Food Program to help developing countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Francois Lenoir/Reuters

The World Food Program — the largest humanitarian organisation addressing hunger and promoting food security internationally — last year provided assistance to nearly 100 million people in 88 countries.

Established in 1961 after a proposal by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, it has been a major behind-the-scenes player helping people affected by some of the world’s most devastating humanitarian disasters, including famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s, wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the 2004 Asian tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The Nobel Peace Prize comes with a cash award of 10 million Swedish kroners, about $1.1 million.

In a telephone interview, David Beasley, the program’s executive director, said the prize had turned an important spotlight on the millions who go hungry around the world and on the devastating consequences of conflict.

“It’s the first time in my life I’m speechless,” he said, adding that it was both wonderful and bad news to receive, because it highlighted not only the work being done, but also the depth of the need for it.

Mr. Beasley said it was an “indictment of humanity” that anyone could want for food “in a time when there is so much wealth in the world.”

“It’s a call to action,” he said of the prize. “The world is suffering more than in any time period, and we literally will be facing famines of biblical proportions if we don’t act.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/world/2020-nobel-peace-prize.html