UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has congratulated the World Food Program (WFP) on winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
The United Nations Information Center in Dhaka said in a press release on Saturday (October 10th).
“I am delighted that the Nobel Committee has decided to award the UN World Food Program for peace this year,” said Antonio Guterres.
I sincerely congratulate WFP Executive Director David Beasley and the entire staff of the World Food Program for this recognition.
The World Food Program is the food agency of the United Nations and is the largest organization in the world involved in hunger and food security. Millions of people in the world go to bed hungry every night which escapes our notice. Hundreds of thousands more are now starving due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
In my ten years as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, I have had the opportunity to work hand in hand with my colleagues from the World Food Program.
I have been seen to serve the weakest people in the world with a lot of courage and skill in extremely miserable and dangerous positions.
Although many have cooperated internationally, there is hunger everywhere. The World Food Program quenches hunger. The WFP works on politics, managing it with humanitarian needs. The organization itself survives on the voluntary contributions of UN member states and the public.
This kind of solidarity is needed now to meet not only the epidemic, but also other global challenges of our time. We know that existential threats such as climate change will exacerbate the hunger crisis. We know that overcoming hunger is essential for peace. A hungry world is not a peaceful world.
News Room, October 10,2020