Episode #19 - Jemilah Mahmood

Jemilah Mahmood is the founder of Mercy Malaysia, a southern medical humanitarian NGO currently working across the world. She is the former Under-Secretary-General for Partnerships at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Mahmood was also the Chief of the World Humanitarian Summit, held in 2016. Her previous appointments also include Special Advisor to the former Prime Minister of Malaysia on Public Health during the height of the COVID pandemic. In this episode, Jemilah Mahmood talks about her role on the humanitarian response to Pakistan’s earthquake in 2005 and how she applied innovative ways to coordinate humanitarian response. She also reflects on her time leading the preparations of UN’s largest humanitarian summit in 2006. During this episode, Jemilah mentions Valerie Amos, who was UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator from 2010 to 2015, and who features herself in the Episode #4. Disclaimer: The opinions and memories expressed in the “I Was There” podcast series are those of each individual speaker and do not imply the expression of any opinion or responsibility on the part of UN OCHA.