2020 Nobel Peace Prize Goes to World Food Program

This year's Nobel Peace Prize has gone to the world's largest humanitarian organization. In a virtual ceremony Friday, the Nobel Committee announced that it is honoring the United Nations' World Food Program for its efforts fighting hunger and food insecurity worldwide, the BBC reports. "In the face of the pandemic, the World Food Program has demonstrated an impressive ability to intensify its efforts," said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Nobel Committee. NBC notes that the deadline for nominations this year was Feb. 1, meaning that other organizations and individuals involved in fighting the pandemic may not have been nominated.

Last year, the program assisted almost 100 million people in 88 countries. With this year's award, the committee "wishes to turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger," said Reiss-Andersen. "The World Food Program plays a key role in multilateral cooperation in making food security an instrument of peace." There were 211 individuals and 107 organizations nominated for the prize this year, reports the AP. (More Nobel Peace Prize stories.)