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The United Nation's World Food Programme has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, following its efforts to combat hunger and prevent hunger from being used as a weapon of war.

The announcement, which also highlighted the UN's work towards improving peace conditions in conflict areas, was made on Friday morning in Oslo, Norway.

"The need for international solidarity and multilateral cooperation is more conspicuous than ever," read a statement posted on the Nobel Prize website. "The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP) 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 in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict."

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The UN's World Food Programme, the statement explains, is the largest humanitarian organisation addressing hunger and promoting food security in the world. Last year alone it assisted residents of 88 countries suffering from acute hunger and food insecurity.

"The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a strong upsurge in the number of victims of hunger in the world," continues the statement. "In countries such as Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Burkina Faso, the combination of violent conflict and the pandemic has led to a dramatic rise in the number of people living on the brink of starvation. In the face of the pandemic, the World Food Programme has demonstrated an impressive ability to intensify its efforts."

Previous winners of the Nobel Peace Prize include Ethiopian politician Abiy Ahmed in 2019, and activists Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege in 2018.

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