Jemilah Mahmood

Dr. Jemilah Mahmood is the Chief of the World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat,^{[1] [2]} a Malaysian doctor and humanitarian activist. From 1999-2010 she was the President of the Malaysian Medical Relief Society (MERCY Malaysia), a medical charity which she founded in June 1999,^[3] modelled after Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).^[4] In 2008, she was one of 16 members appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)^[5] She is a also a board member of DARA.

Education

Mahmood attended Assunta Girls School in Petaling Jaya.^[6] She graduated in 1986 as a Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the National University of Malaysia (UKM), and went on to earn her Masters in Obstetrics & Gynaecology from the university in 1992. She became a member of of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the United Kingdom, and received training in various subspecialties of gynaecology in the United Kingdom and the USA.

Career

She started her career in Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, and was a lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Medical Faculty pf UKM until 1995. She also served as a research fellow at Tokyo University; and became a fellow of the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 2004.

From 1995 to 1998, she was the Treasurer for the Malaysian Obstetrical & Gynaecological Organisation. She was also the Vice President for the Malaysian Menopause Organisation from 1999 to 2000.

As of September 2009, she is an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

On May 2014, Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood was appointed to head the World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) headquarters in New York. “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.^[7] About the World Humanitarian Summit which integrates the voices of those rarely heard in the international arena, she explains, “This is done through eight regional consultations with affected people, civil society organisations, academia, governments, the private sector and new donors, to really have global solidarity on the current situation of humanitarian challenges.”^[8] Based on what she had learned at Teach for Malaysia, she further added, if the problems are universal, then the solutions are shareable.

About the World Humanitarian Summit

The World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) is an initiative by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to improve humanitarian action. Through the two-year consultation process, the aim is to build a more inclusive and diverse humanitarian system by bringing all key stakeholders together to share best practices and find innovative ways to make humanitarian action more effective. The process is being managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and will culminate in a global summit in 2016.^[9]

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

Musing on the fulcrum of humanitarian aid assistance, Dr Jemilah noted that it must be based on the principles of impartiality, neutrality, independence and humanity: Providing help is irrespective of race, religion, gender, political beliefs, and more. “It’s not about charity. It’s about meeting the rights of human beings,”^[10] she concluded.

Shot in Baghdad

In 2003, she was shot in her left hip during a MERCY mission to offer medical relief and supplies to hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. After dropping off supplies at two hospitals, MERCY’s two vehicles were shot at by some Iraqis who mistakenly thought the ambulances were Syrian, after experiencing rocket fire in the villages from alleged Syrian fedayin. The Syrian driver and an Iraqi hospital staff accompanying them were killed in the incident. Two other doctors suffered injuries in the attack.^[11]

She said the doctors at Chiwader hospital had wanted to remove the bullet but she did not want to take up their time and medication. She was still walking around with a bullet in her left hip, five days after being shot, and eventually removed the bullet from her hip and sewed up the wound herself.^[12][13]

MERCY

The medical charity founded by Mahmood, MERCY, has performed medical charity and medical rescue work in several countries, including Afghanistan and in Indonesia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.^[14]

Awards and recognition

• 2002: Dato’ Paduka Mahkota Perak (DPMP) from Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak
• 2003: Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) from DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di Pertuan Agong ^[15]
• 2003: First East Asia Women’s Peace Award - Humanitarian Service category
• 2006: Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award , Morehouse College^[16]
• 2009: Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) from DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di Pertuan Agong ^[17]
• 2013: Isa Award for Service to Humanity ^[18]

Personal life

Mahmood is married to Dr. Ashar Abdullah, and they have two sons.^[11]

References

External links

• World Humanitarian Summit
• MERCY