IFRC renews mandate of Chapagain as Secretary General for second term

KATHMANDU: The IFRC Governing Board has renewed the mandate of Nepali humanitarian Jagan Chapagain as its Secretary General for a second four-year term.

A meeting of the IFRC Governing Board in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday night renewed his term. He was elected the Secretary General of the world’s largest humanitarian network in December, 2020.

“I am both honoured and humbled to have the trust of the IFRC’s Governing Board and of President Francesco Rocca. This comes with immense responsibility and there will be many challenges along the way, but we will work with ability and integrity to find solutions and build trust among the communities we serve,” said Chapagain.

Chapagain has extensive experience and board knowledge of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. His decades of experiences in the humanitarian sector has contributed during major crises and build community resilience. His role in leading localisation agenda that empowers local actors to lead their own development.

As an engineer by training, he started his journey as a humanitarian as a youth volunteer with the Nepal Red Cross where he represented and advocated on behalf of communities. Before working for the IFRC as Secretary General, he served as Under Secretary General for Programmes and Operations and guided IFRC relief and development efforts around the world.

Announcing Chapagain selection, IFRC President Francesco Rocca said, ” We are all very proud of the work done by Jagan in recent years and we look forward to working with him in the future. He took the helm of the organisation shortly before COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency. But despite those trying times, Jagan demonstrated visionary and able leadership and made impressive achievements within a very short period. Thanks to his leadership and the work we have done together, our organisation is financially healthy and continue to deliver on its important humanitarian mandate.”