WFP’s ShareTheMeal wins awards from Google and Apple
App allows users to donate meals via their mobile phones
On 1 December, the World Food Programme (WFP)’s fundraising app, ShareTheMeal , was recognized by both Google and Apple as one of the best apps of 2020, winning Google’s “Best apps of 2020” in the category “App for Good” and Apple’s “Best of 2020” in the category “Trend of the Year: Making a Difference”.
ShareTheMeal links those who want to help with those in need, allowing people to donate a meal to a child with just a tap on their phones. Almost 4 million people have joined the ShareTheMeal community since its launch in 2015, donating more than US$ 47 million to critical WFP operations to end hunger.
In a video message shared on the occasion of the “Best of 2020” awards, Apple CEO Tim Cook praised the “incredible passion, dedication and creativity” of the developer community and cited ShareTheMeal as an app that allows us to “support (…) those who need it the most”.
The Google and Apple awards came just weeks after WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 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. In conflict hotspots, shared meals help prevent hunger being used as a weapon against civilian populations and contribute to stability.
One such area is northeast Nigeria, where more than 900,000 children are acutely malnourished. WFP currently operates over 35 health facilities in the northeast, providing specialised nutrition assistance to children under 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
For young Fatima, nutrition assistance from WFP made all the difference. She was at risk of becoming malnourished and when she fell sick, her mother, Ka’ana, brought her to a clinic. WFP enrolled her into a malnutrition prevention programme, ensuring she got the nutrition she needed to become strong and healthy.
“Before the assistance Fatima was very weak and was not taking breast milk as other normal children do, but now with the help of WFP, Fatima has started taking breast milk frequently,” Ka’ana explains. “I am grateful to WFP for saving Fatima’s life.”
“As needs continue to grow around the world, we are working to ensure that our community and our ability to help grow as well. Our current challenge is to reach 100 million meals by the end of the year,” says Massimiliano Costa, Head of ShareTheMeal.
