![Villagers collect food aid dropped from a plane to a village in Ayod county, South Sudan, where World Food Programme carried out a food drop in February 2020. [Photo via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/201009100846-02-world-food-programme-file-exlarge-169.jpg?resize=780%2C438&quality=89&ssl=1)
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which presented the award in Oslo on Friday, also described the organization as “a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.”
The World Food Programme was created in 1961, and today provides food to over 90 million people a year.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the need for international solidarity and multilateral cooperation was more conspicuous than ever. It said it wanted to turn the eyes of the world towards the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger.
The prize is one of the most prestigious in the world and recognizes those who have contributed the most towards ending conflict, promoting peace and building relationships between nations. This year’s award carries particular significance in a period dominated by division, economic woes and a global pandemic.
Previous winners include former US Presidents Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter, Malala Yousafzai, Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and the European Union.
This year’s prize comes at the end of a fascinating week of Nobel announcements, which included the Nobel Prize for Literature going to US poet Louise Glück on Thursday.
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for discovering the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool for “rewriting the code of life.”
The Nobel Prize in Physics went to Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for their discoveries about black holes.
And the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of hepatitis C virus, which led to the development of tests and treatments.
This breaking story has been updated with additional reporting.
