And the winner is…
Normally, the Nobel Peace Prize goes to a person. In 2020, it has been awarded to an organization: the World Food Programme (WFP). The World Food Programme, funded by voluntary government contributions, is the leading humanitarian organization working to feed hungry communities globally and work within those communities to foster sustainable, nutritional living. Worldwide, particularly in developing countries, the WFP is the essential service; it distributes more than 15 billion rations per year, costing just about US $0.61 per ration. Indeed, in 2019, the World Food Programme helped 97 million people throughout 88 countries. On October 9, 2020, the WFP was recognized for its monumental efforts with the Nobel Peace Prize for its work “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.
With this move, the Nobel Prize Committee has recognized an oft-forgotten part of world peace: the strong link between conflict and hunger. Throughout Africa, the Middle East, and select places in Latin America and Asia, civil conflict rages, leaving thousands of people displaced and communities destroyed. Moreover, as new technologies have evolved in the developed world, conflicts have become deadlier, and non-state actors, such as terrorists, have become a nidus for this violence. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has long attempted to prevent conflict with policies such as deploying peacekeepers, economic sanctions, and preventive diplomacy. However, the UNSC has not taken the necessary steps to address one of the most pressing side effects of conflict: hunger. Similarly, as questions about immigration and refugee policy continue to polarize developed nations, with many countries in the European Union (EU) debating whether or not to keep their borders open to refugees and about trade embargos and economic sanctions, the true scale of starvation and hunger is often overlooked. As the Nobel Prize Press Release states perfectly, “The link between hunger and armed conflict is a vicious circle: war and conflict can cause food insecurity and hunger, just as hunger and food insecurity can cause latent conflicts to flare up and trigger the use of violence. We will never achieve the goal of zero hunger unless we also put an end to war and armed conflict.”
To best address this cycle, it is imperative that citizens residing in developed countries understand what is happening internationally. In an attempt to raise the world’s level of awareness, the United Nations passed Resolution 2417, the first resolution to explicitly address the link between conflict and hunger. However, for those living in a developed country, it is still hard to fathom the daily threat hunger poses to citizens in underdeveloped nations, nations struggling in conflict, and now, nations severely weakened by the coronavirus pandemic. Each year, approximately 3.1 million children die from malnutrition. According to the World Food Programme, “66 million primary school-age children attend classes hungry across the developing world, 23 million [of] whom live in Africa.” For these children, their ability to learn and even their lives are at stake when food is unavailable, a problem likely exacerbated by COVID-19 due to social distancing safety protocols and economic recessions.
Given the staggering numbers of people involved, it is not surprising that the second of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is Zero Hunger. According to the United Nations, “nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population.” Although the sustainable development goals, originally intended to be completed by 2030, present great driving forces to motivate action, world hunger is in fact increasing.
On a national level, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program is combating world hunger through programs like Feed the Future and Food for Peace. Some of their contributions include helping farmers improve agriculture (meaning teaching sustainable and efficient farming techniques) to boost profits; providing proper health, nutrition, and sanitation education; and empowering women in Africa. While these efforts are making a positive impact, the body that is perhaps the forerunner for ending world hunger is indeed the 2020 Nobel Prize winner, the World Food Programme. As citizens of developed countries, it is our job to be aware of our privilege when it comes to living in a country not at war with itself or neighboring countries. We must vote for politicians who not only support the mission of the WFP but who actively donate to organizations with missions to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Only with sustained, collective effort can we reach the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero Hunger.