The latest episode of Awake at Night features an interview with Yacoub El Hillo, Regional Director for Africa at the United Nations Development Coordination Office (DCO).
Mr. El Hillo has spent more than thirty years serving refugees and displaced people in some of the world’s worst conflict zones. But when cataclysmic war erupted in his hometown of Khartoum, Sudan, he had to help his own family flee the violence.
“I don't think there's any home in Khartoum that was spared […] the assumption is that everything is gone,” El Hillo shared.
Having served in more than 16 duty stations, from Liberia to Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan, El Hillo has rarely seen any conflict as devastating as the one currently decimating Sudan.
In this episode, he reflects on the scale of the human suffering there, looks back on a rich and varied career with the UN, and shares why all nations deserve a chance to strive for a brighter future.
About Awake at Night:
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast Awake at Night is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their careers to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.
