The World Food Programme (WFP) has noted its role in Sri Lanka after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
WFP is the largest humanitarian organization in the world. Last year, it assisted 97 million people in 88 countries.
WFP was 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 to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”, said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The COVID-19 crisis has added to global food insecurity with an increasing number of people going hungry. The pandemic, with its brutal impact on economies and communities, is pushing millions of people worldwide to the brink of starvation.
Globally and in Sri Lanka, WFP focuses on emergency assistance, relief and rehabilitation, development aid and special operations. In Sri Lanka, WFP has worked with the government and other partners to save lives and livelihoods and make profound changes to ensure people have better access to food and nutrition.
“For more than half a century, WFP staff have dedicated themselves to helping communities in Sri Lanka, from assisting during the tsunami and post conflict period, to providing nourishing school meals to children,” says Brenda Barton, WFP Country Director in Sri Lanka.
“We are profoundly honoured that WFP has received this award, which is in recognition of WFP staff worldwide including those in Sri Lanka, who work tirelessly to develop a better future for vulnerable communities everywhere’.
(LIN)