Annan applauds senior UN official on winning 2003 World Food Prize

A senior United Nations official who used to run the UN's emergency food aid agency was awarded the 2003 World Food Prize and won plaudits today from Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Catherine Bertini, currently UN Under-Secretary-General for Management, was chosen for the award by a special committee under the chairmanship of Nobel Peace laureate and "Green Revolution" creator Norman Borlaug. From 1992 to 2002, she had been Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), the world's largest provider of emergency food aid.

"Thanks to her outstanding leadership the World Food Programme is today on the front lines of the world's battle against hunger," Mr. Annan said in a statement. "Its staff have made many sacrifices in the line of duty and have helped save millions from the scourge of famine. Let's congratulate them, too."

The award ceremony takes place tonight in Des Moines, Iowa.

During her tenure at WFP, the World Food Prize committee said in its statement, "over 50 million people, the majority women and children, faced imminent famine and death from these natural and man-made disasters alone. Yet, in every instance, she and the 8,000 dedicated members of the World Food Programme staff were able to confront and halt incipient starvation and prevent large-scale famine from occurring."

Ms. Bertini said she planned to donate the $250,000 award to the Friends of the World Food Programme to help fund education initiatives for girls, which "represents the fastest and most efficient way to saving and improving people's lives in poor countries."

The current WFP Executive Director, James Morris, said the agency would match the gift by allocating the same amount of money to whatever girls' education initiatives Ms. Bertini supported.