Mohammed Methqal will be directly advising the UN chief on humanitarian emergencies.
Rabat – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appointed Morocco’s Mohammed Methqal to the Central Intervention Fund for Humanitarian Emergencies (CERF) advisory group. Methqal will be one of 18 officials who advise Guterres on the deployment and impact of the CERF, the first Moroccan to serve in this capacity.
The newly-appointed advisor will bring significant experience in the humanitarian field to the position. He has served as the ambassador director general of Morocco’s Agency for International Cooperation since 2016.
Mohammed Methqal’s appointment as a CERF advisor is another sign of the international recognition that Moroccan diplomacy and humanitarian aid are garnering.
Moroccan humanitarian efforts
Moroccan efforts in regional diplomacy, humanitarian assistance, and peace processes have seen a rapid rise in Morocco’s role in the international diplomatic sphere. Methqal’s appointment as a CERF advisor comes after a busy period for Moroccan humanitarian workers.
King Mohammed VI in June sent medical aid packages to 16 African countries in need of assistance due to the spread of COVID-19. Following the devastating explosion that destroyed parts of Beirut, Lebanon, Morocco established a field hospital which has helped thousands of victims in the disaster’s aftermath.
What is CERF?
The appointment will task Morocco’s Mohammed Methqal, along with the other members of the group, with advising UN Secretary General Guterres on the use of the Central Intervention Fund for Humanitarian Emergencies. CERF is a relief fund that supports humanitarian organizations to rapidly respond and mobilize resources in case of humanitarian disasters.
CERF’s purpose is to ensure that victims of large-scale emergencies, armed conflicts, and the devastating natural disasters — which are becoming more common due to climate change — receive rapid aid. As an advisor to Guterres, Methqal will be able to aid millions of people in dire need.
Up to 2016, CERF funding has helped 15.8 million people receive healthcare and provided food for 4.2 million hungry people. CERF helped another 3.9 million people with drinkable water and sanitation facilities and protected 3 million people from violence and harm.
Who is Methqal?
Mohammed Methqal is well-suited for the role in the UN’s CERF advisory group as one of Morocco’s most experienced humanitarians. King Mohammed VI appointed Methqal as Ambassador Director General of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) in 2016.
At the AMCI, Methqal has coordinated Morocco’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in emergencies across 40 countries around the globe. He has ensured the effective distribution of medical supplies, medicine, logistical equipment, and essential food to people in need in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia.
Prior to his appointment as ambassador director general of AMCI, he gained experience in the field while serving for three years as special advisor to the minister of foreign affairs, where he led new economic diplomacy, cooperation, and international development.
A Rabat native, Methqal started his career in the humble position of research assistant at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and gradually worked his way up the ranks in various private and public organizations.
