Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene January - February 2016 vol.11 no.1 | Page 22

People
In Transition
Sanitation giant Dr. Babar Kabir dies
The former senior director of
BRAC’s disaster management
and climate change (DMCC)
and water sanitation and hygiene
(WASH) programmes, Dr Babar
Kabir, died on 15 January 2015.
The late Dr Babar Kabir
Under his leadership more than 37
million people in Bangladesh were provided with hygienic
sanitation and another two million with access to safe
water through the BRAC WASH Programme.
IRC has been a knowledge partner of BRAC WASH
since 2006. Thanks to Dr. Kabir, BRAC supported IRC’s
contributions to Sanitation Updates from 2012-2015.
In 2014, Dr. Kabir left BRAC. He recently became
Bangladesh Country Director for Water.org
Babar Kabir is survived by his wife and two daughters.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia Visits
UNEP

H.E. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia and Mr. Achim Steiner,
Executive Director of UNEP

Africa’s first democratically elected female Head of State
and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, President Ellen JohnsonSirleaf of Liberia visited the United Nations Office at
Nairobi (UNON) on 15 December 2015 as part of her
five-day state visit to Kenya.
President Johnson-Sirleaf met with Mr. Achim Steiner,
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director of
UN-Habitat.and Ms. Sahle Work Zewde, Director-General
of UNON.
Addressing UN staff, President Johnson-Sirleaf stressed
the great responsibility resting on the UN family to assist
countries in achieving a sustainable future under the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development.
President Johnson-Sirleaf was first elected to office
in 2005 and is currently serving her second term as
President. She previously worked for the United Nations,
serving as Assistant Administrator of the United Nations
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • January - February 2016

Development Programme (UNDP) and Director of its
Regional Bureau for Africa, with the rank of Assistant
Secretary-General.
In 2011, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, together
with Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakel Karman
of Yemen, for their non-violent struggle for the safety
of women and for women’s rights to full participation in
peace-building efforts.
Amina J. Mohammed to serve as Chair of Leading
WASH Organization
WSSCC Announces Appointment of Renowned Sustainable
Development Expert
On January 19, 2015, the
Water Supply and Sanitation
Collaborative Council (WSSCC)
announced that Amina J.
Mohammed, Environment
Minister of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, will serve as its new
Amina J. Mohammed Chair, effective as of April 5, 2016.
The former Assistant-Secretary General and Special
Advisor to the Secretary General on Post-2015
Development Planning, Ms. Mohammed will chair the
Steering Committee and guide the work of WSSCC’s
Geneva-based Secretariat, its operations in 20 countries in
Africa and Asia, and its 5,000 members in 150 countries.
As the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Post2015 Development Planning, Ms. Mohammed worked
systematically to ensure the successful adoption by
Member States of the SDGs in September 2015. She
is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and
previously held the position of Senior Special Assistant
to the President of Nigeria on the MDGs, serving three
Presidents over a period of six years.
In her role as Chair of WSSCC, Ms. Mohammed plans
to draw upon her experience and network of contacts in
politics, business, academia, and demonstrated knowledge
of the United Nations, to raise awareness about practical
solutions to improving sanitation and hygiene.
Kevin Rudd joins Sanitation and Water for All
partnership as Chair
Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), the global
multistakeholder partnership working to catalyze political
leadership and improve accountability in sanitation, water
and hygiene, today announced that the Hon. Kevin Rudd
has been appointed as Chair. He replaces H. E. Hon. John
A. Kufuor, Former President of Ghana, who is standing