[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 209 (Thursday, December 10, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        2020 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE RECIPIENT THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 10, 2020

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, today, December 10th, International 
Human Rights Day, at 7:00 AM Eastern Time, the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize 
was awarded in Oslo, Norway to the World Food Program (WFP) for its 
outstanding humanitarian work to feed the world's hungriest and most 
vulnerable people.
  The World Food Program is the largest humanitarian organization 
addressing hunger and promoting food security internationally, 
providing aid to nearly 100 million people in 88 countries last year 
alone.
  Since the COVID-19 pandemic began wreaking havoc on people's lives, 
livelihoods and economic security, WFP has redoubled its efforts to 
address global hunger and failing food systems. Last month, WFP 
executive director David Beasley warned of the potential for famine of 
Biblical proportions if the world failed to provide support now to the 
those currently made most vulnerable by the pandemic and its associated 
economic shocks, climate change, natural disaster, war and conflict.
  I have had the privilege of seeing WFP operations up close and 
personal in various regions of the world. I was in eastern Chad on the 
border of Sudan visiting Sudanese refugee camps in 2007 when Janjaweed 
militias crossed the border and attacked two villages. WFP and many 
humanitarian aid groups swung into immediate action, providing safety, 
food, water and emergency medical care to hundreds of villagers made 
homeless in hours.
  In Colombia, I've seen WFP provide nourishing meals in schools for 
the children of families internally displaced by violence. And in 
Ethiopia I visited health centers serving individuals and families 
ravaged by HIV/AIDS that could provide food for their patients thanks 
to WFP and its local partners.
  In the wars in Syria, Yemen, Sudan and South Sudan, the deliveries of 
food and related services provided by WFP are often the only source of 
nourishment for civilian populations trapped in conflict zones, 
forcibly displaced inside their countries, or forced to flee to 
neighboring nations for safety.
  I am very proud that the United States is the largest donor to WFP 
operations world-wide, and that USDA, USAID and our own Food for Peace 
Program are among WFP's most reliable and effective partners. The U.S. 
provides food grown by America's own farmers, ready-to-eat meals, cash 
assistance, support for school feeding programs, and nutritious food 
products tailored for the very young and especially for infants and 
young children suffering from malnutrition and undernutrition.
  Many of us cannot imagine the range and scale of WFP's global 
mission. It includes 17,000 staff worldwide, works in some 80 
countries, and has more than 20 ships, 90 planes, and 5,600 trucks on 
the move on any given day. It certainly has some of the most generous 
and dedicated local staff that I have ever met and works with a broad 
range of local, national and international NGOs and partners to combat 
global hunger and food insecurity.
  I will never forget those days when I have been with WFP in the 
field. I give my warmest congratulations to David Beasley, and the 
extraordinary local and international WFP staff, for being awarded the 
2020 Nobel Peace Prize. May they carry on their noble mission until the 
day comes when no child, no man or woman goes to bed hungry and every 
household in the world is secure in the knowledge that there will 
always be food on the table.

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