This year, the Nobel peace prize was awarded to the world food program on Friday. The citation, further says that the humanitarian organization, part of the United Nations, is being recognized “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.” In a world full of hungry and selfish people, what WFP did was only an act of selflessness and they deserved the recognition.
Whether delivering food by helicopter or on the back of an elephant or a camel, the WFP prides itself on being “the leading humanitarian organization” in a world where, by its own estimates, some 690 million people — one in 11 — go to bed on an empty stomach. “During the pandemic, we were the biggest airline in the world when all commercial airlines were grounded, we moved assistance and delivered assistance through our global common services and so our staff was able to stay and deliver in communities where people were at risk of the infection and hunger,” they said.
The decision to grant an organization the Nobel peace prize might be seen in some quarters as a retreat from controversy by the Nobel committee. Last year the award was given to Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia, for making peace with Eritrea and seeming to open up space for democratic dissent. But a year later Ethiopia remains deeply troubled and Mr.U. Abiy is not as popular as he was. Bestowing the prize on the WFP, which is less likely to disappoint than any political leader, is a safe option.
