Neil McFarlane was Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction Coordination for UNISDR 2011-2016 in Geneva managing two Global Platforms (2011 and 2013) and the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March 2015, Sendai, Japan.
Previously Mr. McFarlane was counsellor at the Australian Permanent Mission responsible for the Australian aid program interests with Geneva-based institutions. He was Chair of the Donor Support Group in the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA); assisted in the Presidency of the Executive Committee of the UN Office for High Commissioner for Refugess (UNHCR); was the Australian Alternate Member on the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and, a delegate to the WHO, UNAIDS, and UNISDR.
Over the last twenty years, Mr. McFarlane has gained intimate knowledge and experience in international development cooperation. He has worked at local, national and international levels in the delivery of aid, humanitarian, health and climate change programs. He is an aid practitioner, experienced policy advisor, and multilateral expert. He now specializes in advising and advocating for disaster risk reduction.
Mr. McFarlane holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University (1987), a Masters in Development Studies from Deakin University (1994); and a Doctor of Philosophy (Development Economics) from Deakin University (2005).
