KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 8

The United Nations Department of Peace Operations has announced that Superintendent of Police Sangya Malla of Nepal, currently serving in the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will be awarded the 2021 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year.

Malla will be presented the award by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at a virtual ceremony on November 9.

Superintendent of Police Malla currently serves as the chief of the MONUSCO Police Health and Environment Unit, which she helped establish in the Congo's capital, Kinshasa. The unit is responsible for implementing policies and procedures concerning the health and well-being of personnel as well as United Nations Police environmental initiatives.

Her contributions have added direct significance to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and past outbreaks of Ebola virus disease, as well as natural and humanitarian crises such as the volcanic eruption in Goma last May, during which her unit alerted the local population and UN staff of precautionary measures.

'She helped establish and now leads MONUSCO's Health and Environment Unit, enhancing the safety and welfare of our peacekeepers by mitigating the risks from COVID-19 and other threats,' said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in a press release. 'And she represents something far larger - the many contributions of women police officers in advancing peace and security around the world. Through her work, Superintendent Malla embodies the best of the United Nations.'

A medical professional by training, Malla helped develop guidance for preventing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19. She has organised over 300 awareness sessions this year on COVID-19 prevention as well as environmental protection for the local population, Congolese authorities and UN staff. As the MONUSCO Police's focal point on COVID-19, she also been disseminating information about vaccines and promoting vaccination efforts.

'I am honoured to receive this award, and I hope it will encourage more young women in my country and around the world to pursue careers in policing, which is still too often viewed as man's work,' said Malla. The United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year award was established in 2011 to recognise the exceptional contributions of women police officers to UN peace operations and to promote the empowerment of women.

'Like many peacekeepers during this challenging time amid the pandemic, Superintendent Malla has gone above and beyond the call of duty to serve local communities,' said United Nations Police Adviser Luis Carrilho.

'Together with her team, her efforts to raise awareness about public health and natural risks have ultimately made her colleagues and the Congolese people safer - a core function of policing.'

She joined Nepal Police in 2008 as inspector.

About 7,300 UN police, almost 27 per cent of whom are women, are currently deployed in 14 United Nations peace operations around the world where they work to enhance international peace and security by supporting host countries in conflict, post-conflict and other crisis situations.

About 7,300 UN police personnel are deployed in 14 United Nations peace operations around the world

A version of this article appears in the print on November 09, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.