Dr. Jemilah Mahmood is currently the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia on Public Health, beginning her mandate in April 2020. She is also a member of the Government of Malaysia’s Economic Action Council and is actively engaged in the country’s Covid-19 response. Prior to this, she served as the Under Secretary General for Partnerships at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) from January 2016 until June 2020.  Her other international positions include having served as the Chief of the World Humanitarian Summit at the United Nations in New York, and Chief of the Humanitarian Response Branch at the United Nations Population Fund.  She is an accomplished humanitarian and founder of MERCY Malaysia, a Malaysian humanitarian organisation working globally.