DR. ALAA MURABIT

Two individuals speaking at a United Nations conference or event, standing behind a black marble podium with the UN emblem, against a green marble wall background.

Alaa Murabit is a physician, global strategist, and architect of systems-level change. She designs and scales solutions that reshape policy and rewire institutions to build people-centered resilience in health, equity, sustainability, and peace. 

She currently serves as Managing Partner: Sustainable Growth at 500 Global, where she catalyzes private-sector investment in sustainable, inclusive growth, bridging innovation, investment, and impact. Known for fluently connecting grassroots activism with high-level diplomacy, Alaa grounds global strategy in local realities. From reimagining health financing to advising the UN Security Council, she brings a deep conviction that the highest returns come from investing in people, particularly those who have long been excluded from power and capital. 

At 21, amid civil war, she founded the Voice of Libyan Women, pioneering a faith-rooted approach to security and gender equity that has since shaped international peace-building efforts alongside President Jimmy Carter, Leymah Gbowee, and others. Her groundbreaking "Noor Campaign" highlighted the crucial role of women's faith leaders in fostering a more accurate understanding of religion and promoting women's rights, particularly in conflict and fragile settings. Her leadership in bringing coalitions of faith actors together to challenge the suppression of women's rights, perpetuated by interpretations of religious texts, was cited as a “turning point in women’s rights globally” by Human Rights Watch. Alaa's TED Talk, viewed over seven million times, was selected as “TED Talk of the Day” and one of “4 moving TED Talks you should watch right now” by The New York Times and spurred inclusive security and religious peacebuilding efforts globally.

By the age of 25, she had successfully negotiated and passed numerous resolutions through the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly, including Resolutions 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), 2467 (2019), and 2493 (2019). Alaa's leadership was instrumental in shaping United Nations General Assembly Resolution 70/1 (2015), better known as the Sustainable Development Goals, including ensuring the inclusion of Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. The Goals have transformed the global agenda, driving policies across government and business, shifting public and private sector budgets in 193 countries, and impacting billions of people.

As a result, Alaa was appointed a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Advocate by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Antonio Guterres, speaking at the first-ever 'SDG Moment' during the United Nations General Assembly. In 2016, she was appointed as the UN High-Level Commissioner for Health, Employment, and Economic Growth. 

Alaa is also the architect and creator of For Mama (now Every Pregnancy), the first global, Muslim-led campaign & coalition for maternal and newborn health, which raised $13M in its inaugural year with 30+ partners. Alaa also conceived The Beginnings Fund, a groundbreaking $600 million collaborative philanthropic fund, the largest of its kind dedicated to maternal and newborn health in Africa, designed to save over 300,000 lives and reach 34 million mothers and babies by 2030.

Alaa is also a medical doctor, a graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Zawia, and a Harvard Radcliffe Fellow. She is an International Criminal Court Hague-certified sexual and gender-based violence investigator and founding member of the International Treaty on Gender-Based Violence at Harvard University's Carr Center. She advised 40+ countries at the Head of State and ministerial levels and held executive leadership roles at Phase Minus 1, IMPACT 2030, and the Omnis Institute. From 2020 – 2025, she directed a $350M+/year global portfolio as Global Policy, Program Advocacy and Communications Director at the Gates Foundation, where she led the Foundation’s fragile settings assessment and established its FCV community of practice.

Alaa is the recipient of more than 100 honors and awards, including a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, CNN Leader, New York Times TrustWomen Hero, Harvard Law Woman Inspiring Change, Lancet Profile, Wikipedia Global Leader, BBC Top 100, Forbes 30 Under 30, Global Citizen Awardee, WIRED World Global Thought Leader, 2018 Nelson Mandela International Changemaker, Aspen Institute Spotlight Scholar, Canada's 2021 Woman of Impact, YMCA Distinguished Community Service Awardee, MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow, and one of the 100 Most Influential Women in History by the Canadian government. She has been nominated to the Canadian Senate, received the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and received the Marisa Bellisario International Humanitarian Award from the President of the Italian Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Alaa has helped mobilize over $40B to improve health outcomes, advance gender equity, accelerate sustainable development, and support peacebuilding, impacting lives in 193 countries. As an SDG co-architect and UN SDG Advocate, she helped design the framework that guides how governments, companies, and multilateral organizations align trillions of capital with measurable sustainability outcomes. She also serves as the Georgetown/Lancet Commissioner on Health, Trust & Faith; Girls Not Brides Board Chair; Women for Women International Trustee; and has previously served on the boards of the Malala Fund, Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), International Alert, and others. 

Her work has been recognized by Forbes, the BBC, CNN, Vanity Fair, Al Jazeera, PBS, NPR, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Times of India, The Guardian, Bloomberg, YouTube, Wired, CTV, The Boston Globe, Jon Stewart, and more.

In her spare time, Alaa moonlights as a personal assistant to her two toddlers.

A woman wearing a hijab and black outfit is speaking on stage at a TED event, with a large screen behind her showing her close-up. The stage has a red TED logo and a circular red carpet where she stands, with an audience watching.

For media request and speaking engagements contact office@alaamurabit.com or Christine Lancman at CAA.

  • “Alaa’s record is exemplary and evidence of her service to the community. She is truly extraordinary, in every way. Her leadership is recognized and celebrated internationally for her unique abilities. ”

    — Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Laureate

  • “Alaa Murabit is a force for change and a global champion of women’s rights.”

    — President Jimmy Carter

  • “There are very few voices in the world like that of my sister, Alaa Murabit”

    — Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate

  • “Alaa truly embodies the spirit of a ‘Goalkeeper’ - this vital next generation of leaders who are going to ensure we keep making progress on the world’s largest issues”

    — Bill Gates, Founder, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

  • “As a Canadian, I am well aware of Alaa’s reputation as a leader. Alaa is often selected to speak alongside our Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Women, and others, both nationally and globally. Universities like the Rotman School of Business, which is a prestigious institution in Canada, regularly seek her as a speaker too. Needless to say, her reputation precedes her.”

    — Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Company

  • “Everyone who meets Alaa walks ways away with the firm conviction that she has dedicated her life to the vision of a world which appreciates the experiences of women and girls and respects, amplifies and intentionally protects inclusivity and justice in all spaces — making her one of the world’s most valuable voices for a sustainable and more peaceful future.”

    — Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin

  • “Alaa commands respect, and people look to her for wisdom, insight, and leadership. On a global scale, I have personally witnessed her consistent efforts to ensure that women leaders have access to mentors and the resources they need to increase their impact. Her commitment to social change is both practical and idealistic. Ultimately, everything she does is deeply rooted in her desire to help others reach their full potential.”

    — Jamira Burley, Apple

  • “To say she has succeeded in making both her own voice and the voices of other young women, heard is an understatement. As an adviser and the chair of a handful of different think tanks and organizations around the world, Alaa contributes daily to young minority women gaining an ever-widening local and global audience that is willing to listen.”

    — Margot Wallstrom, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs

  • “Alaa is a global leader with an inspiring voice and a truly unique range. Her life experience bridges east and west, science and literature, high-level diplomacy and grassroots peacebuilding. She has vitally important insights that must be heard in our troubled times.”

    — Lara Setrakian, NewsDeeply founder

  • “Alaa is incredibly effective in the way she can both teach and inspire other business leaders, shifting perspectives and broadening their range of possibility, all for the purpose of better business.”

    — Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever

  • “Alaa is a deeply remarkable woman, fearless and radical, wise and full of wonder at the possibilities of and need for change in the world. I feel there’s nothing she can’t achieve and when you’re with her, it makes you believe that the world can change, and together with her, we can make that happen.”

    — Richard Curtis, Filmmaker & Global Advocate

  • “I celebrate the commitment and outstanding work of Dr. Alaa Murabit, a woman who has shown her dedication to improving the lives of girls and women around the world.”

    — Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director

  • "Alaa is a true inspiration to us all. Her unwavering commitment to advancing gender equality and human rights has earned her a place among the world's most courageous and visionary leaders"

    — Emma Bonino, Former Minister of Foreign Affiars, Italy

  • " Alaa's work and unwavering commitment to creating a more just and equitable world serve as inspiration for all of us."

    — Jeff Sachs, Economist

PRESS

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