It was with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of Dr. Aleya El Bindari-Hammad, whose incredible work touched the lives of millions of people around the world. The highly decorated Dr. El Bindari-Hammad had an outstanding career at the World Health Organization (WHO), where she became the first Arab woman to hold several leadership positions, including Executive Director and Assistant Director General in Geneva, Switzerland. She was also a trailbaizer in the battle against human trafficking, through the founding of the pioneering NGO, End Human Trafficking Now! (EHTN). Her journey was full of lessons in bravery and strong will, and incredible achievements in the humanitarian field. Dr. El Bindari-Hammad was equally admired on a personal level. She touched so many with her brilliance, as well as her kindness and gentle demeanor; and was an inspiration to everyone who met her.
Throughout her long career, Dr. El Bindari-Hammad, was dedicated to helping disadvantaged and vulnerable groups all over the globe. She rose to the highest positions at WHO, where her achievements included initiating its human rights program and the Commission on Women, as well as reforming the WHO health improvement programs and making them a critical part of socio-economic and political development.
Dr. El Bindari-Hammad’s battle against human trafficking was also exceptional. The NGO, End Human Trafficking Now! (EHTN), which she co-founded, was a pioneering initiative that successfully made the private sector an active agent in anti-trafficking efforts. Her outstanding contributions in the fight against human trafficking paved her road to Chair of the Board of the United Nations Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking, and the Women’s Leadership Council of UN-GIFT.
Dr. El Bindari-Hammad also worked alongside Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak to co-found The Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement, which was established to spread peace and to shield women and children from the horrors of war and conflict. She was also named by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as a Goodwill Adviser and became an esteemed member of several prestigious boards, including the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), USA, and the Advisory Board of the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), Switzerland. She was also chosen as Honourary Member of the youth-related anti-trafficking Youth Underground nonprofit, Switzerland.
After retiring from WHO, Dr. El Bindari-Hammad focused on academia and became a Visiting Professor at George Washington University and New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. Together with her husband, Ismail Hammad, she founded the Ismail & Aleya International Fund, aimed at nurturing future leaders by providing postgraduate scholarships to African students to study public policy at the Wagner School. In recognition of her accomplishments, she received numerous accolades throughout the years, including the Gold Medal of Honour awarded to her by the President of Egypt in 1986.
Dr. El Bindari-Hammad’s story is truly one of a life well lived. The world is a better place thanks to her.
It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to this amazing human being. We are certain that her memory will live on though the rich legacy she leaves behind. May her beautiful soul Rest in peace.
“Dr. Aleya was perhaps one of the most inspiring, brilliant,
creative and dedicated persons I have ever known. I had the pleasure
of working with her on important human issues that made and are making a difference in people’s lives until this day. She was truly a woman of substance” – Dr. Taher Helmy
Senior Counsel, Baker Mckenzie
“If you ever had a project with Aleya, you knew that you could sleep well because she didn’t sleep until it was done. Very few people had the perseverance she had” – Eng. Samih Sawiris Former Executive Chairman & CEO OF Orascom Development Holding AG, Former Director End Human Trafficking Now
“Dr. Aleya El Bindari-Hammad was a tiny woman with a huge heart and a brilliant
mind. She will be missed and remembered by all of us” – Robert Bilheimer
Academy Award Nominee, film director and producer, & co-founder of Worldwide Documentaries, Inc.
