Chief, Polio Team in Pakistan
Mr. Hamish Young
Hamish Young has led the UNICEF Polio Eradication Team in Pakistan since July 2020. He leads the Team as part of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative which is led by the Government of Pakistan and supported by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
A lawyer by profession, Hamish has over 25 years’ experience in leadership, strategic and emergency management, international human rights and humanitarian law, humanitarian relief and development work, in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East.
Prior to this assignment, Hamish served in various positions in UNICEF Headquarters including as Deputy Director of Internal Audit and Investigation and Chief of Development and Emergency Integration. Previously he was the UNICEF Representative to Papua New Guinea and the Deputy Representative in Tanzania. Hamish has also been the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Advisor on Child Protection and started his career with UNICEF as the advisor on humanitarian principles in Operation Lifeline Sudan.
Before joining the UN, Hamish worked for nearly two years with the International Rescue Committee in Sudan and Rwanda. He previously worked for several years as a solicitor in commercial litigation with law firms in Sydney and London.
Hamish holds degrees in economics and law and is admitted as a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia and the High Court of England and Wales. An Australian citizen, he is married and has two children.