Daleep Mukarji is Director of Christian Aid, a UK faith-based NGO. He trained as a medical doctor at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India and began his career working in a leprosy hospital in Dichapli, Andhra Pradesh before moving to Medak, where he ran a 125-bed mission hospital. Becoming interested in public health issues in India, in 1977 he established a rural health and community development programme at the College in Vellore, and in 1985 was appointed General Secretary of the Christian Medical Association of India – the health agency of the National Christian Council of Churches in India. By coincidence, both the rural health programme and the Christian Medical Association were funded by Christian Aid. In 1994 he took up the post of Executive Secretary for Health, Community and Justice at the World Council of Churches in Geneva. His post as Director of Christian Aid began in April 1998 and as Director, Daleep represents Christian Aid on a number of national and international bodies. He was Chair of the Trade Justice Movement – the coalition of over 60 churches, agencies and other organisations working for justice in international trade – so that it can benefit the poor and poor countries. Daleep has been a member of the WTO Director General’s NGO Advisory Body (in Geneva) since mid 2004. He is presently a Trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). In July 2005 Daleep was nominated as one of the 100 most influential Asians in Britain. In July 2006, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Aberdeen for his work on poverty eradication and social justice.
