Mark served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator from May 2017 to June 2021. Before his appointment to the United Nations, he was Permanent Secretary of the UK Department for International Development. Mark has spent 35 years leading the response to humanitarian crises around the world. He recently authored a book entitled Relief Chief: A Manifesto for Saving Lives in Troubled Times. In this episode he talks about the leading causes of humanitarian suffering around the world, the organizations that work hard to make a difference, the problems that arise from focusing on treating the symptoms rather than the root cause, and how ordinary people get involved can make a difference.

“Conflict, climate change, COVID and other diseases contribute to humanitarian suffering. And so you have to address the root causes of these problems if you want to see how many people are suffering and give people immediate help to overcome them until the root causes can be addressed,” said Mark Lowcock, United Nations Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator from May 2017 to June 2021. Prior to his appointment to the United Nations, he was Permanent Secretary of the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. Mark has spent 35 years leading the response to humanitarian crises around the world. He has twice been awarded medals for services to international development and public service by Queen Elizabeth II, including being knighted in 2017. Mark recently authored a book entitled Relief Chief: A Manifesto for Saving Lives in Troubled Times. Today he talks to host Tiffany Zehara about how humanitarian crises are dealt with and how ordinary people can get involved.

Listen or watch Tiffany Zehara’s full podcast interview with Mark Lowcock on your favorite podcast channel.

In this podcast, the presenter covers: