kemet celebrates the nobel prize-winning world food programme

The World Food Programme succeeded in winning the Nobel Peace Prize. While this is not the first time a United Nations organization has received the world’s most prestigious peace award, it is certainly one of the most difficult and significant awards, given at one of the darkest times to bring solace to the hearts of millions in need across the globe. In recognition of this vital international program's efforts, the Kemet Boutros-Ghali Foundation for Peace and Knowledge held a celebratory event in its honor.

At the beginning of the event, Mr. Mamdouh Abbas highlighted the crucial role played by the World Food Programme, which was launched in 1961 and, within just a few months, faced its first humanitarian crisis when a devastating earthquake claimed the lives of 12,000 people in northern Iran. Today, after more than sixty years of relentless effort, the Programme provides food—and increasingly medicine—to around 97 million people in 88 countries. However, as Mr. Abbas noted, the COVID-19 pandemic drove the poor into a deep abyss, affecting around 690 million people, 60% of whom live in conflict zones. He emphasized that the most affected are hungry children, as nearly 1.9% to 16.5% of the total GDP of 14 African countries is lost due to the toll of hunger, stunting, and related diseases among millions of children.

Ambassador Moushira Khattab, the Foundation’s Executive President, stressed the strong correlation between violence and hunger. She noted that despite UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s call to “silence the guns” at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it took the Security Council four months to respond—and only in relation to conflicts already on its agenda. This, she argued, meant ignoring conflicts in 35 other countries as well as anti-terror operations that hindered the delivery of aid in conflict zones. Nevertheless, the World Food Programme managed to overcome these challenges and reach the poor with food and even medicine.

Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, affirmed that the close partnerships the Programme has developed worldwide—including with Egypt—had a significant impact during the COVID crisis. She underscored the vital role played by international organizations during major crises. Dr. Al-Mashat explained that her ministry works based on three core principles that have enabled it to establish broad and important partnerships with international development stakeholders: creating a platform for inclusive development cooperation, aligning work with national priorities amid growing demand for grants and support, and mapping out a sustainable development framework that reflects the government’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She noted that Egypt, in cooperation with the World Food Programme, had implemented several development programs, including a project with the Ministry of Agriculture that worked with farmers in a village near Luxor in southern Egypt. This initiative focused on raising awareness about the efficient use of water and limited agricultural land, which successfully transformed local culture and introduced a model of "triple-bottom-line economics."

WFP Regional Director, Mr. Muhannad Hadi, pointed out that one of the core factors enabling the Programme to overcome major challenges—especially during the pandemic—was its deep-rooted connections with people everywhere. He noted that about 52% of every dollar the Programme receives is spent in the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe due to the multiple crises in those regions. He emphasized that peace is unattainable in the face of widespread hunger. Hadi mentioned that the Programme assists around 4 million Syrian refugees and another 2 million people in neighboring countries.

Dr. Maha El-Rabbat, the World Health Organization’s envoy for the Eastern Mediterranean, emphasized that the Programme had managed to operate under extremely difficult conditions, reaching millions of people through a vast network of local volunteers. Dr. Rami Al-Nazer, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, also highlighted the fruitful cooperation between the World Food Programme and the Red Crescent in alleviating the impact of crises on large segments of the Egyptian population. He noted the historic role of Egyptian women, who have contributed significantly to the Red Crescent’s work for over a century, and whose contributions continue to be deeply valued today.