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With the coronavirus pandemic threatening hunger for millions more around the world, the prestigious award recognizes WFP’s “efforts to combat hunger, its contribution to peace in conflict-affected areas and its driving force in preventing the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict, “said the winner in Oslo. Berit Reiss-Andersen, Chairman of the Nobel Committee.
Whether transporting food by helicopter or on elephants and camels, WFP is proud to be the world’s “leading humanitarian organization” with an estimated 690 million. people, one in 11, go to bed on an empty stomach.
“With this year’s award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wants to focus the world’s attention on the millions of people who suffer or are at risk of starvation,” Reiss-Andersen said.
WFP, for its part, has declared that its Nobel Peace Prize is a “fascinating reminder” that eradicating world hunger is inseparable from the end of wars and conflicts.
“It is a compelling reminder to the world that peace and the eradication of hunger go hand in hand,” the Rome-based WFP wrote on Twitter.
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization fighting hunger and promoting food security. Founded in 1961, the United Nations provided nearly $ 100 million in aid last year. people in 88 countries.
123RF.com nuotr./Badas
The numbers are huge, but only a small part of the needs are actually being met.
While progress has been made over the past three decades, the UN’s goal of eradicating hunger by 2030 seems unattainable if current trends continue, experts say.
Women and children are often at higher risk of starvation.
Hunger can lead to war, but hunger is also a consequence of war. People living in conflict zones are three times more likely to be undernourished, according to the WFP.
“We cannot end hunger without ending conflict,” WFP Executive Director David Beasley said on 21 September.
“Biblinio masto badmečiai”
Yemen, which is currently experiencing, according to the UN, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, is a clear example.
The UN and aid agencies have repeatedly drawn attention to the catastrophic consequences of this conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 2015.
In 2015, when a powerful Saudi-led military coalition contributed to the Yemeni government’s fight against Iranian-backed Hussite insurgents, 3 million people had to flee their homes. people, the country found itself on the brink of famine.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Jemenas
Two-thirds of the 30 million. Yemeni residents do not know where to get their next meal, WFP figures show.
The global situation has worsened this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to loss of income, rising food prices and disruption of supply chains.
“The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a large increase in the number of hungry people in the world,” the Nobel Committee said.
“In countries such as Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Burkina Faso, the combination of violent conflict and pandemic has led to a significant increase in the number of people living on the brink of starvation,” said the report.
In April, Beasley warned: “There can be many Biblical famines in a few months.”
Another 83-132 million people are at risk of starvation due to the global recession caused by the virus. people, according to a UN report released in mid-July.
This is the twelfth time that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the UN, to any of the agencies or personnel of this global organization. No one else has received so many of these bonuses.
There was no shortage of noble goals and nominations on this year’s list of candidates: 211 individuals and 107 organizations were nominated before the February 1 deadline.
The prestigious Nobel Prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma and 10 million. Swedish crowns (959 thousand euros).
Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize went to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He was honored by their efforts to resolve the long-running conflict with neighboring Eritrea.
The pandemic also affected the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, scheduled for December 10 in Oslo, the 1896 anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish founder and philanthropist.
Depending on the power limitations of the coronavirus at the time, the award will be presented in person at a modest ceremony in the Norwegian capital or remotely via an online ceremony.
This year’s Nobel Prize season began on Monday with the presentation of the Medical Prize. It went to Americans Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice, as well as Britain’s Michael Houghton.
These virologists were generally honored “for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.”
On Tuesday, the Nobel Prize in Physics went to three scientists who explore black holes. Half of the prize was awarded to the Englishman Roger Penrose, representative of mathematical physics, and the other half to the German astrophysicist Reinhard Genzel and the American astronomer Andrea Ghez.
On Wednesday, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier of France and Jennifer A. Doudna of the United States for the development of the CRISPR-cas9 genome editing technology.
According to experts, Professor Virginijus Šikšnys, director of the Institute of Biotechnology at Vilnius University, also applied for the latter prize, but the Nobel Committee did not consider his contribution.
On Thursday, the Nobel Prize in Literature went to Louise Glueck, an American poet and essayist of Jewish descent.
This year’s Nobel Prize season will end on Monday with the announcement of the winner of the Economics Prize.
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