Jemilah Mahmood's UN appointment a boost for humanitarian efforts

KUALA LUMPUR: The appointment of Tan Sri Jemilah Mahmood as chief of the World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat is a boost for humanitarian action around the world, said United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator for Malaysia Michelle Gyles-McDonnough.

In her congratulatory statement on behalf of the UN Country Team in Malaysia, she said Jemilah's appointment was great news for humanitarian action in Asia and the Pacific.

"We are pleased to have Tan Sri Jemilah rejoin the UN team, this time with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to lead the preparations for the first ever global humanitarian summit in Istanbul in 2016.

"It is clear that humanitarian action needs to keep pace with national, regional and global changes - Dr Jemilah is the right person to help move that process forward," Gyles-McDonnough added.

In the statement she also gave an assurance on the UN Country Team in Malaysia's support to Jemilah's new role with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Gyles-McDonnough regarded Jemilah as a creative and inspiring leader who understood the humanitarian response system well.

"Drawing on her experience as Chief of Humanitarian Response at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and her extensive experiences as founder and leader for over a decade of MERCY Malaysia, one of the most successful humanitarian organisations from the global South, she brings with her a wealth of knowledge," she added.

Gyles-McDonnough said Jemilah also brought along her knowledge of the actors and inter-connecting networks involved in the international humanitarian response system that would help drive the discourse in finding new and innovative ways to address the growing scope and diversity of humanitarian needs.

Her knowledge would also reduce vulnerability, manage risk and ensure that service delivery by humanitarian communities beyond 2016 would better serve people in need, she further said.

The UN Secretary-General would convene the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit 2016 in Istanbul with the goal to find new ways to tackle humanitarian needs in the fast-changing world.

This three-year initiative is being managed by OCHA and would set a new agenda for global humanitarian action.

The Summit would focus on humanitarian effectiveness, reducing vulnerability and managing risk, transformation through innovation and serving the needs of people in conflict. - Bernama