Is there a broader meaning behind the WFP’s Nobel Prize?

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the World Food Programme (WFP), a Rome-based United Nations agency.

In the public mind, the WFP is often associated with famine relief. But its mandate is actually much broader.

It works extensively in war zones and with refugees around the world.

In highlighting the agency’s work, the Norwegian Nobel Committee cited it as a “driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”.

But can the recognition that comes with the Nobel also draw attention to the use of food as a weapon in conflict zones and international efforts to prevent it?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Matthew Hollingworth – South Sudan country director, World Food Programme

Emma Leslie – director at Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies

Ole Solvang – director of Partnerships and Policy, Norwegian Refugee Council