2020 Nobel Peace Prize
Reason for Award
for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas, and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict
Laureates
World
Explanation
Around the world many people cannot eat enough every day. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) brings food such as rice and bread by ship and truck to hungry children and families. It also gives meals to people who have lost their homes because of fighting or war so they can feel safe again. When people have food they can go to school healthy and dream about the future. That is why WFP is called a hero that “builds peace with food.”
Related Keywords
food security
Food security is a state in which all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life. It is assessed through four dimensions—availability, access, utilization and stability—each of which can be disrupted by conflict, climate change or economic shocks. WFP complements these dimensions via early-warning systems, cash transfers and targeted rations to avert acute hunger.
weaponization of hunger
Weaponization of hunger is a tactic whereby warring parties deliberately block or manipulate food supplies to weaken civilian populations. Although IHL prohibits starving civilians as a method of warfare, the tactic has emerged in conflicts such as Syria and Yemen. WFP monitors access restrictions and reports evidence to the UN Security Council to deter such practices.
school feeding programme
A school feeding programme provides nutritious meals to children to improve attendance and learning outcomes. Reduced household food costs function as a social-protection benefit and encourage girls to remain in school. WFP serves roughly 18 million children per year and uses home-grown school meals to stimulate demand for local agriculture.
emergency logistics
Emergency logistics refers to the rapid delivery of food, medicines and shelter items within the first 72 hours—often called the golden window—after a disaster or conflict. As a common UN service provider, WFP operates the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and fast-deployment warehouses, consolidating cargo for multiple agencies to save cost and time.
Sustainable Development Goal 2
SDG 2, “Zero Hunger,” commits the world to ending all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030. As a lead implementation agency, WFP supports data collection for indicators 2.1 (prevalence of undernourishment) and 2.2 (child stunting) and reports progress toward the goal.
SCOPE platform
SCOPE is WFP’s biometric beneficiary management system that uniquely identifies recipients through fingerprints or iris scans, preventing duplicate cash or food voucher distributions. Data dashboards create audit-ready transparency for donors.
smallholder farmer support
Through its Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative, WFP buys grains directly from smallholder farmers, providing them with stable markets. The approach raises farmer income, stimulates local economies and reduces environmental impact by shortening supply chains.