2005
As the Senior Advisor to UNICEF’s Representative to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei I worked on supporting the Government of Malaysia in addressing HIV AIDS, Maternal and Child Health, Harm Reduction, Avian Influenza, Road Injuries. Credit for my success in Malaysia can be wholly attributed to the strong leadership provided by Ms. Gaye Philips, Representative of UNICEF and an unwavering activist for the Rights of the Child. Every day Gaye Philips walks the talk and inspires people to rise and shine. Gaye’s species will soon be extinct. The other person who was instrumental in helping me make the impossible possible was IndraNadchatram. Indra is the most effective, efficient and affectionate ‘relations person’ that I have ever met.
What ?
sector
Where ?
When ?
With whom ?
Connecting UNICEF’s strategy on HIV AIDS with a communication strategy
Sector?
HIV AIDS; Child Rights
What?
Strategic Planning; Strategic Communication
Where?
Malaysia
Why?
For many years UNICEF had partnered with the Government of Malaysia to deliver numerous and effective grassroots initiatives. With the rapid strides Malaysia made in development and achieved a middle-income country status, it was felt that UNICEF could advance the well being of children in Malaysia more effectively by becoming an upstream partner of the government. UNICEF’s then executive director Carol Bellamy had hand picked the dynamic CEO of UNICEF Australia Gaye Phillips to set in a Malaysia a model of engagement with middle-income countries.
When?
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
What exactly?
In 2005, UNICEF’s Representative appointed me to link the organization’s HIV AIDS programs to a meaningful communication strategy.
In addition to developing a comprehensive strategy on up-streaming UNICEF’s HIV AIDS program in Malaysia, key Strategic Communication products were developed:
- Video documentary- “Women in AIDS”: Conceptualized this video documentary to celebrate and document the contribution of women from various walks of life in the fight against HIV AIDS in Malaysia. This video galvanized support from the Govt. of Malaysia and the donor community for UNICEF’s HIV AIDS program.
- Video documentaries- Conceptualized video documentaries on joint projects of UNICEF & Ministry of Health that reflect the impact of good partnerships. These included the video capsules on ProStar Youth Initiative (Peer counseling), Village Health Promoters and Youth & Drugs. Youth volunteers for UNICEF in Malaysia filmed the films.
- Launch of UNICEF’s global campaign- “Unite for Children Unite Against AIDS” in Malaysia: After the global campaign against polio in the 70s, this is UNICEF’s biggest global campaign. Sunoor Verma co-conceptualized the Malaysia launch of this campaign in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
- High Profile Events: Conceptualized the launch of UNICEF’s Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Award in Malaysia. A top-level corporate event, it brought in valuable support for UNICEF’s programs in Malaysia from the corporate sector.
With- whom?
UNICEF
Prime Minister’s Office,Economic Planning Unit, Malaysia
Minister of Health
Attorney General of Malaysia
Minister of Women and Community Development
What happened?
UNICEF became the partner of choice of the Malaysian government on HIV AIDS
“ He has demonstrated his problem solving skills and emphasizes the need to back up words with action, and the need to engage in solutions that are forward-looking. ”
Michael Szporluk
Expert, Civil Society Development
Mercy Corps
Support for the Sri Lanka Peace Process
Sector?
Minority issues; Peace building; Inter-ethnic issues
What?
Dialogue management; Assessment & Evaluation
Where?
Sri Lanka
Why?
The Muslims in Sri Lanka are a minority spread out across the island state. They tended to be the balance of power in parliamentary equations. However the peace process in Sri Lanka did not include them as a party in negotiations. The inner divisions within the Muslim community further diminished the chances of their participation. It was felt that for the eventual peace agreement to be implemented the participation of a Muslim representation is a must.
When?
2005
What exactly?
Sunoor Verma was retained to conduct Needs assessment; Stakeholder Consultations; Situation analysis and Institutional capacity assessment of the divided Muslim communities in Sri Lanka in relation to the peace process in that country. This involved, consulting with political, religious, community leaders and other members of the Muslim communities, the government, international missions and further relevant actors in Sri Lanka. The project was carried out in a climate of growing security concerns and travel restrictions.
With- whom?
Cambridge University, Centre of International Studies
Carnegie Foundation, New York
What happened?
Visible and invisible opinion makers were consulted thus ensuring a report, which is highly reliable. This substantive report detailed the identity, interests and positions of Muslim political actors in Sri Lanka in relation to the peace process. This report was presented to the peace process facilitators.
“ While many give lip service to the importance of a participatory approach that involves the community in the design of projects, Sunoor puts this theory into practice through his natural curiosity and his interest in working with people. This enhances the sustainability of interventions. ”
Michael Szporluk
Expert, Civil Society Development
Mercy Corps
What?
Refugees; Humanitarian Relief;
Dialogue Management; Needs Assessment; Stakeholder Consultations; Project
development; Negotiations.
Where?
Macedonia
Why?
In 1999 during the Kosovo refugee crisis, following concerns of inter-ethnic instability, the Republic of Macedonia imposed a condition on the international community for admitting refugees from neighboring Kosovo. The number of refugees that are evacuated from Macedonia to NATO countries would be the number of newly admitted refugees into the country. In the race against time, while it was vital to evacuate as many refugees as possible, it was important to give priority to vulnerable cases. Prioritizing medical cases among an exhausted from difficult travels and traumatized population was one aspect of the challenge. The other- convincing reluctant host governments accept medical cases for evacuation and the associated costs to their health systems.
When?
1999
What exactly?
Sunoor Verma’s services were retained by the UNHCR to formulate priority criteria for the evacuation of refugee patients to NATO countries. Sunoor prioritized the cases from 7 geographically dispersed refugee camps, and negotiated with NATO country delegations transfer and treatment of emergency medical cases from among the refugees. He coordinated and monitored the facilities for evacuation of severely ill refugees. He played a key role in the initiation, planning and implementation of extending the medical evacuation program to approximately 200,000+ host family refugee cases. Sunoor monitored the standard of medical escorts during evacuation. He worked in partnership with local medical authorities, government authorities, donor community and NGOs to facilitate the patient evacuation process.
With- whom?
UNHCR
NATO
What happened?
- Medical evacuation program extended to approximately 200,000+ refugees residing with host families.
- Significant increase in evacuation of patient to NATO countries for treatment.
( on the value that Sunoor Verma brings to project design/ innovation..) Good sense of “common sense”, no fear of criticism and trying to look into issues from all kinds of angles: in short the ability to make the project as likely to succeed as possible.
Annika Palo
Adviser, Department for Europe
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
Evaluation – German government’s civil peace service program
Sector?
Civil society; Peace building
What?
Assessments & Evaluation
Where?
Macedonia
Germany
Why?
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) had launched a pilot Civilian Peace Services program. This pilot needed evaluation to decide how to shape the roll out.
When?
2005
What exactly?
Evaluation of the partnerships of the international NGO- Centre for Education in Non Violent Action- KW with NGOs in Macedonia on peace building initiatives.
With- whom?
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
What happened?
Recommendation of the evaluation was taken into account for the rollout of the program.
“ Sunoor strikes me as an incredibly good listener with a strong ability to read the “hidden script” between the lines…….. ”
Matthias Siegfried
SwissPeace
Project Coordinator
Mediation Support Project, Switzerland
Up-streaming UNICEF’s HIV AIDS portfolio in Malaysia
Sector?
HIV AIDS; Child rights; Women
What?
Strategic partnerships; Strategic communication; Dialogue management;
Where?
Malaysia
Why?
UNICEF has enjoyed a longstanding fruitful partnership with the Government of Malaysia. However with Malaysia graduating into a fast developing middle-income country it was felt that UNICEF could support the government better by becoming a policy partner. Countering HIV AIDS was one of the two MDGs that were eluding Malaysia. UNICEF felt that it could add value to the efforts of the government in that area.
When?
2005
What exactly?
Identifying key areas of support required by the Ministry of Health of Malaysia to address HIV AIDS & children & Youth in Malaysia. Key components of this support involved
- Identification of potential partners and analysis of their capacity & risk
- High level negotiations and building of strategic partnership with government and civil society representatives.
- Policy analysis and advise on partnerships, HIV AIDS.
- Development of project portfolio on HIV/ AIDS.
With- whom?
UNICEF
Prime Minister’s Office, Malaysia
Ministry of Health, Malaysia
Institute of Health Management, Malaysia
Ministry of Women and Community Development, Malaysia
What happened?
UNICEF became a close partner of the Malaysian government in addressing HIV AIDS through policy interventions.
“ I believe Sunoor Verma is well apt to mediate in conflicts, as he comes across as straightforward and trustworthy, calm and with a good listening ear. ”
Ulrika Lindberg-Labasauskas
Head of Development Cooperation
Embassy of Sweden in Skopje
National Strategic plan for HIV AIDS 2005- 20010 in Malaysia
Sector?
HIV AIDS; Women; Child rights
What?
Strategic Planning; Strategic Partnerships; Dialogue Management; Strategic Communications
Where?
Malaysia
Why?
It was clear that Malaysia could not address HIV AIDS effectively without a national strategy in place. In turn for the National Strategy to be effective it needed to not only be a consensus document but also collaborative arrangements of implementation would need to be foreseen in the concept and planning. The HIV AIDS landscape in Malaysia as in many other countries was deeply fragmented and finding ways to bridge the fissures required the support of a party like UNICEF, which had a stake in addressing the issue but not in the power play that happens in every country when it comes to HIV AIDS.
When?
2005, 2006
What exactly?
The UNICEF Representative in Malaysia Gaye Phillips tasked me to come up with a strategy on bringing the movers and shakers in the HIV AIDS arena and find entry points to engage with them. I conducted a rapid nationwide mapping exercise meeting with key players and understanding their perspectives. This helped create common grounds to launch a consensus process for drafting the national strategic plan. I supervised the work of consultants brought in to support specific technical inputs and worked as one team with the HIV AIDS division of the Ministry of Health.
Adopting the first national strategic plan was a huge success for Malaysia because it paved the way for a fully budgeted HIV AIDS program to be launched by the government. The plan also provided a platform for collaboration between government, civil society and the private sector.
While UNICEF’s Representative ensured that there was strong political backing for UNICEF’s support to the process and to my services being made available, the intelligence and expertise of Indra Nadchatram were unmatched. With Gaye, Indra and our Malaysian counterparts we worked around the clock with a sense of urgency of the epidemic.
With- whom?
UNICEF
Ministry of Health, Malaysia
Prime Ministers Office, Malaysia
What happened?
Malaysia’s first National Strategic Plan (2005-2010) was adopted, budgeted and implemented.
“ Many people working in development use the experience from different settings as a blinding tool — they think they know much more than they do — Dr Verma never lets his experience blind him from seeing things afresh. Rare!!! ”
Annika Palo
Adviser, Department for Europe
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sweden
Minister level study trip on harm reduction
Sector?
Harm Reduction; HIV AIDS; Women; Child rights
What?
Strategic partnerships; Dialogue management; Capacity building
Where?
Malaysia
Why?
Implementing harm reduction at a national level was a giant step and a political risk that the Minister of Health of Malaysia took. Before launching a pilot it was felt that a study visit to a successful implementation of a similar program around the world would be important.
When?
2005
What exactly?
I mapped the case studies of implementation of government funded harm reduction programs around the world to see what would be make a good study visit for a high level Malaysian delegation and also be acceptable in the political context of the country. I negotiated with the governments of Hong Kong and Malaysia the details of the study trip including protocol arrangements.
I made a reconnaissance visit to Hong Kong and with the support of the key actors there designed a study trip. I visited all the sites myself and met with the stakeholders briefing them on the objective of the visits and also making them aware of the challenges that Malaysia faces in addressing these issues. Meticulous planning of the visit was only possible because of my intimate knowledge of the gaps in the various programs on HIV AIDS in Malaysia. I ensured that the study visit is comprehensive and demonstrates the value of investing early in a holistic program. Prevention, Treatment, Care, Advocacy, Finance, were all covered in the visit. Along with UNICEF’s Representative Gaye Phillips, I accompanied the delegation for the study trip.
With- whom?
UNICEF
Ministry of Health, Malaysia
Honk Kong Health Authority
National AIDS Society, Hong Kong
Hong Kong AIDS Foundation
Red Ribbon Centre Hong Kong
What happened?
The study trip was a huge success. The Minister of Health H.E. Datuk Chua Soi Lek led the Malaysia delegation. The delegation was handpicked to ensure that this would indeed be the team charged with implementing the country’s HIV AIDS program. The Honk Kong government was wonderful hosts who appreciated the far-reaching consequences of this study trip. One of the outcomes of this trip was that the Malaysia model for the harm reduction program was simplified further to ensures effective implementation.
“ Dr. Verma tries to solve a problem from the perspective of the beneficiary and adapts the design of a project to meet their needs instead of recommending a preconceived one-size-fits-all formula. ”
Development Expert
USAID