World Food Programme Awarded Nobel Peace Prize: Statement by WFP Executive Director David Beasley

ROME – The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is a humbling, moving recognition of the work of UN World Food Programme staff who lay their lives on the line every day to bring food and assistance to close to 100 million hungry children, women and men across the world. People whose lives are often brutally torn apart by instability, insecurity and conflict.

Every one of the 690 million hungry people in the world today has the right to live peacefully and without hunger. Today, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has turned the global spotlight on them and on the devastating consequences of conflict. Climate shocks and economic pressures have further compounded their plight. And now, a global pandemic with its brutal impact on economies and communities, is pushing millions more to the brink of starvation.

The Nobel Peace Prize is not the UN World Food Programme’s alone.  We work closely with governments, organizations and private sector partners whose passion for helping hungry and vulnerable people equals ours. We could not possibly help anyone without them. We are an operational agency and the daily work of our staff each day is driven by our core values of integrity, humanity and inclusion.

Where there is conflict, there is hunger. And where there is hunger, there is often conflict. Today is a reminder that food security, peace and stability go together. Without peace, we cannot achieve our global goal of zero hunger; and while there is hunger, we will never have a peaceful world.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

Follow us on Twitter @WFPUSA and @wfp_media.  Follow Executive Director David Beasley on Twitter @WFPChief

Media contacts:

• Shaza Moghraby, WFP/New York, Mob. + 1 929 289 9867
• Steve Taravella, WFP/ Washington, Mob.  +1 202 770 5993