Jemilah Mahmood to head UN-led humanitarian summit secretariat

KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood (pic), Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Teach For Malaysia, has been appointed to head the World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat at the United Nations headquarters in New York from Thursday.

She is also the founder and former President of Mercy Malaysia, former senior fellow at Khazanah Nasional Berhad, senior visiting research fellow at King’s College London Global Policy Institute.

“I am extremely grateful and honoured to be appointed to lead the charge in such an important initiative, and that a Malaysian has been selected for the role,” said Dr Jemilah in a statement.

“Now more than ever, we need to recognise the sheer magnitude of the problems we face in the humanitarian and developmental sectors, and focus our collective resources on solving them. As I have learned in my time at Teach For Malaysia, if the problems are universal, then the solutions are shareable,” she added.

In 2012 alone, an estimated 28.8 million people around the world were displaced by conflict and violence.

The World Humanitarian Summit, an initiative of the secretary-general of the United Nations, is an opportunity for governments, UN and intergovernmental agencies, regional organisations, non-profits and civil society actors, the private sector, academia as well as people affected by crises to come together, take stock of humanitarian action, discuss the changing landscape, share knowledge and best practices, and chart a forward looking agenda.

The summit will be held in Istanbul in 2016 and will focus on four major themes: Humanitarian Effectiveness, Transformation Through Innovation, Reducing Vulnerability and Managing Risk, and Serving the Needs of People in Conflict.

Teach For Malaysia Managing Director Dzameer Dzulkifli said Dr Jemilah had been a pillar of strength for Teach For Malaysia in the time that she had led its Board of Trustees. – Bernama