The Nobel Prize 2020 was awarded to the United Nation’s
World Food Programme for its endeavor to fight global hunger, mainly during
the pandemic, which has brought millions of people to the edge of starvation.
Consequently, the pandemic brought an immense amount of food
are being destroyed because of the breakdown in global food supply chains while
workers and peasants have less money to
purchase food as a result of the global economic collapse.
Though the pandemic has severely aggravated the crisis,
global hunger was already rising in the years before it stuck. Every region of
the world is experiencing mass hunger, including countries thought to
be relatively secure in Europe and the United States.
In 2019, the number of severely undernourished people was close to
750 million, or almost one in ten people on the planet, the majority living in
South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Even without taking COVID-19 into account, it previous
world hunger trends continued, by 2030, the number of severely hungry, those who
have run out of food and have gone a day or days without eating, would have risen
to 840 million people.
Current forecasts are supplemented with the impact of
pandemic, an additional 83 to 132 million people will go hungry in 2020, depending
on the economic situation.
Additionally, the pandemic has badly triggered economic
depression conditions for many workers around the world have also disrupted
global food supply chains, restaurants that used to account for many
distributors business are no longer in operation, forcing farmers to dump valuable
food crops or simply let them rot in the field. With no adequate infrastructure
in many parts of the world, there are no readily available means by which this
food can be redirected to those in need.
United Nation’s predicted hunger rising due to COVID-19, The number of undernourished will be closer to 909 million.
According to the World Food Programme, those who live
in the world's major food-producing regions have not been spared hunger
either. Latin America, which exports agriculture worldwide, is leading
the brink in hunger this year.
In the US, the wealthiest country globally, some 2% of
the population, more than 5 million people, cannot afford a healthy diet.
Even worse in India, the situation is where 78% of the
people, more than 1 billion humans, cannot afford a healthy diet.
Earlier this year, the WFP warned that the world was at
risk of widespread famines of biblical proportions due to the pandemic.
World
Food Programme achievements
The UN’s agency was given the Prize for its efforts to
fight with hunger and improve conditions for peace.
WFP received worldwide praise for their humanitarian
work. The head of the WFP head David Beasley said he was shocked following the
announcement.
He said, “I was literally for the first time in my
without words”.
To receive this award is recognition to the men and women
at the World Food Programme who put their lives on the line every day for the
struggling, suffering people worldwide. This is a hope and a message
that the WFP is a role model and that we all have got to do more, he said.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, also congratulates the
group. She said, “if there is a deserving organization, then this is undoubtedly
one of them. The people there do incredible work helping others, and therefore I
am very pleased about awarding the Noble Peace Prize.
Also Read
what are trauma disorders and mental health
Nobel
community Reaction
Chairwomen Berit Reiss-Andersen said that with this
year’s award, the committee wanted to “turn the eyes of the world to the millions
of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger.” The World Food
Programme plays a vital role in multilateral co-operation in making food
security as an instrument of peace.
According to the Nobel community, the pandemic has
contributed to a substantial upsurge in the world's number of hunger victims. In
the face of the epidemic, the World Food Programme has demonstrated an
impressive ability to intensify its efforts.
What
does the World Food Programme do?
The United Nation’s agency delivers food assistance to
countries around the world. The group provided service to
close to 100 million people in 88 countries last year who were victims of acute
food insecurity and hunger.
It was established in 1961, following calls from former
US president Dwight D Eisenhower for “a workable scheme” to be devised for
providing food aid through the UN system.
Afghanistan: The WFP says its "overarching goal" is to support
the country in tackling hunger in a way that contributes to peace. But it says
that decades of "complex and protracted conflicts" have created
difficulties. There have been instances of the group suspending food aid
deliveries to certain areas because of attacks.
Yemen: The WFP says its emergency response in conflict-torn Yemen is
its biggest anywhere. It aims to support about 13 million people but has faced
several challenges. It has accused local leaders of diverting food away
from vulnerable people. This year it has warned that it is facing a significant
funding shortfall, with some donors shopping aid over concerns that deliveries were being obstructed.
South Sudan: The agency has been supporting people
through both conflict and famine. In addition to a years-long civil war, it
says a collapsing economy, reduced crop production, and dependence on imports
mean many cannot access sufficient nutritious food. In 2014, one of its
staff members was abducted at gunpoint.
However,
the organization has not been free of controversy.
In
a WFP internal survey last year, at least 28 employees said they had
experienced rape or sexual assault while working at the agency. More than 640
others said they were either victim of or had witnessed sexual harassment. Mr
Beasley told the Associated Press news agency at the time he was "making
hard choices to bring change."
No comments:
Post a comment