WFP Nobel win reminder of duty to narrow gap between rich, poor: Dalai Lama

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Saturday congratulated the executive director of the UN World Food Programme, a day after the organisation won this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The Dalai Lama in a letter to David Beasley said the award is recognition of the organisation's vital role in reducing hunger in the world.

The World Food Programme (WFP) was honoured 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.

The Rome-based organisation has been feeding people in some of the world's most dangerous and precarious places, with the coronavirus pandemic seen pushing millions more into hunger.

"Through its actions to address poverty, hunger and malnutrition, whether they arise due to conflict or natural disasters, the WFP is bringing help to the most vulnerable and needy. It brings peace and comfort where often there is only desperation," the Dalai Lama said.

"The Nobel Committee's honouring of WFP is also a reminder to all of us of our responsibility to do what we can to narrow the gap between rich and poor," he said.

He also expressed his gratitude to members of the WFP for their tremendous humanitarian work.

"As the current global health crisis reminds us, threats to the whole human family have to be addressed by us all, since we all want to be happy and free from suffering.

"Hunger and poverty can only be eliminated on the basis of international cooperation. As a firm believer in the oneness of humanity, it is my fervent hope that the award of this year's Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Programme will inspire an intensification of efforts to ensure that nobody is left to die of hunger anywhere, he added.