Khalid Malik is a development practitioner with extensive experience. Educated as an economist at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Essex and Punjab, he has held a variety of key managerial, technical and policy positions at the United Nations Development Programme both in the field and at headquarters and is currently serving as Head of Human Development Report to the United Nations Development Programme. Before he was assigned Special Advisor to UNDP Africa, after having completed his assignment as UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in China in March 2010, a position he has held for 7 years.
Besides Khalid has served as Director of the UNDP Evaluation Office and the Chair of the UN Interagency Group on Evaluation in New York, where he has been instrumental in the introduction of results-based management in UNDP, a critical factor in the reform of the organization. Together with the World Bank and key bilateral organizations, he has contributed to the global debate on development effectiveness of aid agencies initiating inter-alia an annual UNDP Development Effectiveness Report.
From 1993 to 1997 he has served as UN Representative in Uzbekistan covering both development and humanitarian operations where he encouraged cultural revival and social transformation efforts and specifically, supported new laws on the creation of NGOs and protection of women rights. He played a leadership role in securing agreement between the five central Asian states and their neighbors on a regional trade and transit agreement, and facilitating road link between Tashkent and Kashkar (China) as part of an initiative to revive the Silk Road.
During his appointment as UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in China Khalid has led numerous policy advocacy and practical efforts to protect ethnic and minority rights in China, as for instance raising the concerns of an unequal sex ratio at birth, helping launch campaigns against domestic violence and being an advocate of the rights of all citizens in China to clean air and clean water. He has established a partnership with the National Chinese Development and Reform Commission to introduce and popularize energy efficiency labeling in China and promoted the widespread adoption of energy efficient lighting, which worked towards the phase-out of 2 billion environmentally harmful incandescent lamps.
Later during his appointment, in response to the Sichuan earthquake crisis in 2008 where almost 90,000 people were killed and 5 million rendered homeless, he coordinated copious United Nations humanitarian operations.
Apart from working in Asia and the Pacific region Khalid has represented the United Nations in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Further Engagement
Khalid Malik is the Founder and Co-Chair (2005–2010) of the International Poverty Reduction Centre based in Beijing, and was one of the five distinguished personalities that launched the Lingshan World Philantrophy Forum as a way to promote emerging forces of society in China.
He has also been a guest/keynote speaker at regional and international fora on a broad range of topics and is currently completing a book on China’s development experience and its future prospects (with the title “Why has China grown so fast for so long?”).
Honours
In 2009, Mr. Malik’s was the only international person to be recognized for his commitment to the environment, when he was named as one of China’s 2009 ten Top Green Figures.