Norwegian Refugee Council wins 2022 Hilton Humanitarian Prize

The Norwegian Refugee Council has been announced as the 2022 recipient of the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

The $2.5 million prize is touted as the world’s largest annual humanitarian award and is granted to NRC to help continue its “extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering.” Selected each year by the Hilton Humanitarian Prize jury, previous prize laureates include METAdrasi, Homeboy Industries, and 2021’s winner, Campaign for Female Education, or CAMFED.

NRC is an independent humanitarian organization striving to protect displaced people around the world and support them in building new futures. Working today across 35 countries, NRC assisted almost 10 million people worldwide in 2021 by its own estimates.

“I think what was on the jury’s mind this year is that we’re facing a century of dislocation,” Peter Laugharn, president and CEO at the Hilton Foundation, told Devex. “We’re facing multiple crises of migration and refugees around the world, compounded by pandemic, by inflation, by global conflict.”

Earlier this year, NRC said that more than 100 million people are currently forcibly displaced for the first time on record, with the war in Ukraine, the effects of climate change, and protracted violence across the world all contributing to this sobering figure.

NRC takes a holistic approach in its response to these crises, collaborating with partners at all levels to maximize both their global and on-the-ground impact. Employing around 16,000 staffers, the vast majority of NRC staffers  are hired and deployed locally, with many colleagues having once themselves been forcibly displaced from their homes.

“Winning this prize means a lot to me and other colleagues who are working very hard in one of the most dangerous places in the world,” Mohamed Abdi, country director for NRC Somalia, told Devex. “It’s a testament to the work that is being done by our colleagues who are working in some of the areas that have been ravaged by the conflict.”

It is the bravery, breadth, and human impact of NRC’s work that has made it the worthy recipient of this year’s prize, Laugharn explained.

And the prize “could not have come at a better time,” Jan Egeland, secretary general of NRC, told Devex. “The recognition that our 16,000 humanitarian field workers get with this prize is important,” he said. 

Looking forward, Egeland and Abdi say the money will go toward in-field innovation, ongoing improvements of NRC’s work, and contributing to the support of 7.7 million people currently impacted by drought in Somalia.

Watch the announcement video.

Visit the Hilton Humanitarian Prize Laureate series for more perspectives on how organizations can build resilience amid the pressing humanitarian issues of today and the future.