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The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the UN World Food Program for ‘its efforts to combat hunger in the world’
- The UN World Food Program won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize
- The judges said the award was to recognize their efforts to address world hunger.
- The award is a slight to the WHO, also a UN body, amid criticism for its handling of Covid
- Other favorites were activist Greta Thunberg and dissident Alexei Navalny.
The World Food Program has been announced as the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts in the fight against world hunger.
The UN body led a field of contenders that included climate activist Greta Thunberg and Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.
The judges bypassed the World Health Organization, another UN body that was also in the running, amid criticism for its handling of the pandemic.
Also among the field were US President Donald Trump, who became a surprise nominee earlier this year, and Vladimir Putin, who is nominated every year.
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the UN World Food Program (director David Beasley, pictured) for its role in the fight against world hunger.
The Nobel committee decided to bypass the World Health Organization, another UN body that was also in the race, amid criticism for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
There were 318 candidates: 211 people and 107 organizations. Nominations can be made by a select group, including national legislators, heads of state, and certain international institutions.
The deadline for nominations was February 1, which means those on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, which was only declared a pandemic in March, seem unlikely contenders.
Along with enormous prestige, the award comes with a cash prize of 10 million crowns ($ 1.1 million) and a gold medal to be presented at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway on December 10, the anniversary of the death of the founder of the Alfred Nobel Prize.
This year’s ceremony will be shortened due to the pandemic.
A surprise nominee for this year’s award was US President Donald Trump (left), while climate activist Greta Thunberg (right) was considered a favorite.
Alexei Navalny, the dissident Russian politician currently recovering in Germany after being poisoned by the state, was also considered a favorite.
On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the physiology and medicine prize for discovering the hepatitis C virus, which devastates the liver.
Tuesday’s physics award honored advances in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes, and Wednesday’s chemistry award went to the scientists behind a powerful gene-editing tool.
The literature prize was awarded to American poet Louise Gluck on Thursday for her “sincere and uncompromising” work.
The award for outstanding work in economics is yet to come next week.
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