The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has announced the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) as the recipient of the 2022 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

The annual $2.5 million prize recognizes a nonprofit organization for extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering. Nomination submissions are received from nonprofits around the world, and an independent, international panel of distinguished jurors makes the final selection.

Founded in 1946, NRC works in more than 35 countries to assist people forced to flee from their home countries. NRC helps civilians in armed conflict, prioritizing neglected and hard-to-reach areas where access to assistance is limited, and increasingly supports people displaced by natural disasters, the adverse effects of climate change, and generalized violence. In 2021, NRC supported 10 million people worldwide, and in 2022 the organization has mobilized efforts after the earthquake in Afghanistan, during the war in Ukraine, and amid the worsening drought in Somalia.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious humanitarian prize at a time when we are challenged like never before in reaching, aiding, and protecting people forced to flee war and repression,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general of NRC and a former UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs. “We are witnessing one devastating crisis on top of the other, authoritarian regimes and brutal armed actors trying to block our access to those in need and donor purse strings being tightened, leaving aid budgets decimated. This makes the support and recognition from private-sector donors such as the Hilton Foundation vital. The world’s displaced must not be overlooked or forgotten.”

“The Norwegian Refugee Council’s work is imperative right now in terms of the organization’s ability to reach people in the most difficult of circumstances, and to do so at scale,” said Hilton Foundation president and CEO Peter Laugharn. “The jury’s selection of the Norwegian Refugee Council as the recipient of the 2022 Hilton Humanitarian Prize recognizes the importance of advocating for displaced people as they build a new future.”

(Photo credit: Peyre Costa/NRC)