UNICEF Malaysia Representative
About Dr Rashed Mustafa Sarwar, UNICEF Malaysia Representative
Dr Rashed Mustafa Sarwar, UNICEF Representative, Malaysia
Dr Rashed Mustafa Sarwar has about 25 years of diverse work in Central Asia and Caucasus, Europe and Southeast Asia, with UNICEF and other UN agencies in politically transitional and developing countries, in countries transitioning rapidly to middle and upper-income status as well as in extreme humanitarian and post-conflict situations.
Before taking his posting in Malaysia, Dr Sarwar has served as the UNICEF Representative in the Republic of Belarus in 2015-2020 and UNICEF Deputy Representative in Azerbaijan in 2009-2015. In both countries, he has been providing overall leadership and managerial guidance on UNICEF programming, policy direction, monitoring of compliance and performance standards as well as coordination with international, governmental and civil society organizations. In Belarus, he has successfully launched and tested new fundraising model, with increased mobilization of private and corporate donations and greater involvement of Belarusian citizens, companies and civil society for children in the country and abroad.
From 2006 to 2009, Dr Sarwar served as Chief of UNICEF Office for North Caucasus, Russian Federation, where he was responsible for leadership, guidance and direction for programme planning, implementation and analysis through ongoing consultations and intersectoral coordination of activities with international, governmental and civil society organizations in 5 Caucasian republics: Dagestan, Chechen Republic, North Ossetia, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. Dr Sarwar also provided policy support, guidance and advocacy as required in emergencies and other humanitarian programme implementation.
Before this period, in 1995-2006, Dr Sarwar worked for UNHCR in East Timor and Georgia and UNWFP Tajikistan as well as for UNICEF in South-East Asia (East Timor and Myanmar) first as Health and Nutrition Project Officer, then as Project Officer on Integrated Early Childhood Development and Expanded Programme on Immunization respectively.
He has valuable expertise for Former Soviet Union countries (over 17 years), fluent in Russian, well familiar with the geopolitical context and social fabric of the region.
Dr Sarwar is a national of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Has advanced medical educational background, PhD in Medicine.