Anti-hunger organization wins Nobel Peace Prize

The World Food Program won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its work to fight hunger during the coronavirus pandemic. The food-assistance branch of the United Nations provided aid to almost 100 million people in 88 countries last year.

Why did the committee choose the World Food Program? The Nobel Committee noted how COVID-19 heightened food insecurity around the world, particularly in vulnerable countries facing other problems at the same time. The organization has worked in South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen to bring food to populations facing ongoing violence and natural disasters. In Sudan alone, some 9.6 million people are in life-or-death need of food support. “Without their grain, many people here would have nothing at all to eat,” said Ibrahim Yousef, director of the Kalma displacement camp in South Darfur.

Dig deeper: Read a report by Sarah Erdős on hunger around the world during the coronavirus pandemic.