Our Team in Uganda

Antonio Querido has been the FAO Country Representative in Uganda. Since November 2018. Prior to that he served as Chief Technical Advisor at the FAO Representation in Angola, 2016 to October 2018. From 2008 to 2010, Mr. Querido was the Dean of the Science and Technology Department at the University of Cabo Verde, Praia. He joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as Head of the Environmental, Energy and Disaster Prevention Unit, in Cabo Verde. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science-Agronomy from the University of California, Davis, USA; a Master’s Degree in Environmental System Analysis and Monitoring, ITC, Enschede in the Netherlands; and a PhD in Tropical Plant and Soil Science, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA.

Mohamed El Munir A. Safieldin (Munir Safieldin) has been UNICEF Representative in Uganda since January 2021. He is a public policy analyst, economist, and strategist with over 30 years of experience in the UN and with NGOs. Recently, he served as UNICEF Representative to the Maldives and to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and as UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria. Within the UN system, he has also served in Sudan, Yemen, Oman, Pakistan, Jordan, Tanzania, and Turkey (for Syria cross-border operations). He holds a doctorate in public policy analysis from Walden University in the United States, a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, and a Bachelor’s in Economics and Social Studies from the University of Khartoum in Sudan.

Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam (Ethiopia) is the WHO Representative in Uganda. He has over 30 years of experience in general medicine, disaster management, project development, donor relations at different technical and managerial levels. His international experience includes working with Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA) in Rwanda from 1994-1995, WHO Geneva from 1999-2005, WHO South East Asia Regional office from 2005-2009, WHO India from 2009-2011, as WHO Representative to D.P.R Korea from 2011-2013, and as WHO Representative to Thailand from 2013-2015. Before his reassignment to Uganda, he served as Planning Officer at the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, in New Delhi, India from 2016-2018. Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam holds a Doctorate degree in Medicine.

Abdirahman Meygag, a national of Somalia and Great Britain commenced his tour of duty in Uganda on 1st August 2021. He has worked in the humanitarian and development field for almost 36 years in a wide variety of roles. Mr. Meygag began his career with WFP in 1991, where he was the Head of Sub-Office, Erbil, Iraq. In this position, he was responsible for coordinating and monitoring food aid assistance to Iranian refugees and Iraqi displaced people. In January 1997, Mr. Meygag moved to the Country Office in Baghdad, working as a Programme Officer. Subsequently, Mr. Meygag worked in several Country Offices (Sudan, Namibia, Liberia) and the Regional Bureau in Uganda and Kenya working in programme and management roles. In June 2016, Mr. Meygag assumed the position of WFP Deputy Country Director (Operations) in Syria, Damascus, where he supervised the supply chain and programme units of the operation, which provided assistance to over 4 million Syrians. In July 2019, Mr. Meygag was appointed as WFP’s Representative and Country Director for Iraq. In this role, he was overseeing WFP’s transition from implementing to enabling role, gradually phasing out of the direct provision of assistance, while building people’s resilience and strengthening the capacity of national institutions. Mr. Meygag holds a Bachelor of Arts (History), LAFOLE University, Mogadishu, Somalia. He is married, with five children.

Ms. Gift Malunga is a development practitioner with over 20 years’ experience in strategic management, policy and programme development in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). She has led and provided strategic guidance to teams at various levels with Government and international organizations in executing key initiatives aimed at promoting the rights, health and development of women and young people, including access to quality sexual and reproductive health services, especially for adolescent girls.

She was previously UNFPA Country Representative in Namibia and Zambia; UNFPA Deputy Country Representative in Kenya and Malawi; and Assistant Representative in Zimbabwe with UNFPA. She also worked with UN Women, then UNIFEM, and held senior positions with International Organisations.

Ms. Malunga has a health background and holds a Master of Science Degree in Demography and Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Sociology.

Ms. Jacqueline Makokha has served the UNAIDS Country Director for Uganda since June 2022. Overall, she has over 30 years of experience in senior management roles within the UN and civil society. Prior to her assignment in Uganda, Ms. Makokha served as the UNAIDS Country Director for Lesotho from June 2019 – June 2022. Before that she worked as Senior Policy and Strategy Adviser with the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa from September 2018 to June 2019 and as Senior Community Support Adviser from June 2013 to August 2018. Ms. Makokha has also worked with the UN in Zambia and Kenya in various technical roles.

Prior to her career with the UN, Ms Makokha worked for projects under the University of Nairobi including the Regional AIDS Training Network and the Network of AIDS Researchers of Eastern and Southern Africa. She provided technical assistance to over 18 AIDS training and allied institutions in this role. Ms. Makokha is currently pursuing a PhD and holds an MA in Rural Sociology and Community Development from the University of Nairobi and a BA in Sociology and History from Kenyatta University. She is a citizen of Kenya and mother to four children.

Mr. Matthew Crentsil, a National of Ghana with over 28 years work experience in UNHCR took his appointment as UNHCR Representative in Uganda on 1 July 2022. Prior to this appointment, he was Director of UNHCR’s Business Transformation Programme at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva. He also served as UNHCR’s Representative in Venezuela from August 2018 to May 2021 and as Deputy Representative in Rwanda and Ethiopia (2013 – 2018).

Crentsil has also worked for UNHCR in different capacities in finance, administration, programme management in Several countries in Africa (Guinea, South Sudan, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria); Latin America – as Regional Programme/Admin Officer for Central America and based in Mexico City); Europe (UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva as Snr. Desk Officer for Central Africa and the Great Lakes Region); Asia (Admin/Finance Officer in Kandahar, Afghanistan).

Before Joining UNHCR in 1994 Mr. Crentsil served as Principal Liaison Officer of the National Disaster Management Organization (erstwhile National Mobilization Programme) in Ghana. He holds a Masters’ Degree in Agronomic Engineering from the University of Ciego de Avila, Cuba, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He speaks English, French and Spanish and is married with three children.

Ms. Nwanne Vwede-Obahor is the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Resident Representative for Uganda. In this position she represents, leads, and is accountable for harnessing and directing the full potential of UNDP’s capabilities and associated partnerships, in support of national development goals and strategies in Uganda.

Prior to this, Ms. Vwede-Obahor served as the Director Program and Team Leader of the Implementation Support Unit for the UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) in the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Development in the Sahel. She has also served as the Regional Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for East Africa, as well as the OHCHR Representative to the African Union and UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Ms. Vwede-Obahor has over 20 years of progressive working experience in various sectors, UN Sierra Leone Resident Coordinator’s Office, UN Mission in South Sudan, UN Afghanistan Assistance Mission, UN-African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur, UNDP Liberia, international organizations, private sector, and non-profit sector. She has expertise in development, governance, peacebuilding, humanitarian issues, resilience, stabilization, human rights, gender, conflict prevention, and provision of basic and social services.

Ms. Vwede-Obahor has extensive experience in management, business operations, coordination including of multi-agency activities/programs within and beyond the UN System, organizational leadership, policy development, results-based programming, including joint programming, advocacy, partnership building, and resource mobilization.

Ms. Vwede-Obahor holds a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature, an LLB in Law, an MPA in Public Policy and Administration and an MSc in Political Science.

Mr. Paulin Djomo joined the United Nations Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE) on 18 December 2017.

Mr. Djomo had previously served the United Nations for 21 years in a variety of UN entities; the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the UNV programme, the UN Secretariat (MONUC - FPD/DFS) and as the Chief of Mission Support for the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY) in Amman. He is a national of Cameroun, where he studied and graduated in Law at the University of Yaoundé.

Mr. Djomo has extensive experience in Human Resources, Administration, Budget and Finance. At UN Headquarters, he contributed to several working groups, strategic and technical assessment teams that provided strategic guidance to field operations. He assisted in the establishment of the RSCE under the Global Field Support Strategy (GFSS) initiative. He was responsible among other undertakings for identifying non-location dependent Human Resources transactions that form part of the shared services and develop the rationale for an economy of scale.

Ms. Paulina Chiwangu became the UN Women Country Representative in Uganda in August 2022. Paulina has a Doctorate in Philosophy and over 20 year’s extensive experience in development and humanitarian work. Paulina has served as Deputy Country Representative with UN Women in South Sudan and as Deputy Country Representative for the UN Women Iraq Country Office, as well as Head of KRG Sub-Office. Before joining UN Women Iraq, she worked with UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Head of Gender Coordination for the UNDAF. She worked with UN Women in Serbia as interim Head of Office. Prior to that she was heading the UN Inter-Agency Joint Programme on Gender Equality and she was the Acting Country Representative for UN Women office in Uganda for one year. Before joining UN Women, she was the Head of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, as well as Public Relations Unit for UNDP’s Police Reform Programme in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Other positions Paulina has held include Technical Advisor (Planning and Monitoring - consultant) for UNFPA, Southern Sudan; Coordination and Monitoring Advisor for UNDP, Zambia; Programme Coordinator for the Centre of Economic Governance and AIDS in Africa, based in South Africa; Deputy Course Director for the Department of Applied Social Studies, at Cork University College in Ireland; Programme Manager in Portland, Oregon, USA for Cascadia Behavioural & Development Healthcare Organisation. Paulina also worked as the head of a Multicultural Radio Programme for the Irish Broadcasting Company in Ireland.

Sanusi Tejan Savage has been the IOM Chief of Mission in Uganda since March 2020. From 2012 to 2019 he was Head of Office of IOM in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He has been with the Organization since 2001 and has acquired extensive experience in migration issues and IOM's programmes. He served as Operations Officer/ Interim Head of Sub-Office, IOM Liberia from 2011 to 2012. Prior to that from 2004 to 2011 he served as Operations Supervisor, IOM Sierra Leone in charge of United States Refugee Admissions Program, resettlements to Canada, Australia, and to European countries, and the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme.

Ms. Sophie De Coninck brings over 20 years of international development, environment, and climate change experience to her role as the Head of the UNCDF Office in Uganda. Prior to becoming Head of Office, Sophie worked as the Manager of Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL).

Before joining LoCAL, Sophie worked on climate issues for the European Union and the United Nations Environment Programme in Kenya for five years and with the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative. Sophie also has government experience, working in various ministries in her native Belgium as well as in the private sector.

Sophie holds two master’s degrees, one in engineering and applied economics and the other in environmental science and management from the University of Louvain, Belgium. She has worked in over 30 countries worldwide.

Amjad Abbashar is the Chief, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Regional Office for Africa, joining in 2016. From 2010-2015 Mr. Abbashar was the Chief of the UNDRR Regional Office for Arab States in Cairo, Egypt. He began his career with the UN, in the early 1990’s, with UNDP as a Programme Officer in Sudan. In 1995-1997 he served as a Field Coordinator in the Department of Humanitarian Affairs in Monrovia during the Liberian civil war, and from 1998 to 1999 he was assigned as Deputy Head office in OCHA Sierra Leone. From 2004-2005, Mr. Abbashar was the Chief of Staff of OCHA, and in 2006 was the Chief of the Policy Planning and Analyses Section. In 2006, he helped establish the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Ashish Shah has worked at ITC for 21 years in different capacities and currently serves as Director, Division of Country Programmes. He previously held the post of Acting Deputy Executive Director. Prior to joining ITC, he worked first at the International Labour Office in Geneva and then at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Mr. Shah has almost 30 years of international and United Nations experience in the field of trade promotion and development.He has extensive experience both in operations and strategic planning, project design and management, client-relationship management and negotiations. An Indian national, Mr. Shah holds a master’s degree in cooperative economics and a PhD in economics from Philipps University of Marburg, Germany. He is fluent in seven languages.

Bruno Otto has been the Head of UNIDO Operations in Uganda since October 2009 having joined the United Nations System as a UN Volunteer in December 2004, where he served as the Institutional Development Advisor for the Private Sector Development programme, at UNDP. Prior to joining the United Nations, he served as a Lecturer of Accounting and international management at Kampala International University and CEO of Marie Stopes International Uganda. He also worked with Action Aid, Save the Children Denmark and the Refugee Law Project of Makerere University in various capacities in Finance, Programme Development, Managing Organizational Growth and change, and Marketing. He holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales, UK, a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) from Makerere University Kampala.

Prof. Hubert Gijzen (The Netherlands) holds a PhD in Biotechnology, and has an established career of over 38 years in both academics and international cooperation for sustainable development. Throughout his career, he has lived and worked in various countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, in a range of senior functions as Full Professor and Chair in Universities, as a Diplomat, Team Leader, Regional Representative, and currently as UNESCO Regional Director and Representative.

Besides his current work for UNESCO, he holds academic positions as full Professor of Environmental Biotechnology at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (since 1995) and as Visiting Professor in other institutions. He has published over 400 articles and books, and presented numerous keynotes in the fields of water management, microbiology, environmental sciences, biotechnology, and sanitary and environmental engineering. He also covered topics on international cooperation, sustainable development, the MDGs, SDGs, big data and climate change. He served in various international advisory functions and on Boards of prestigious Institutes and programmes.

Hubert Gijzen joined the UN in 2006 as the Director of the UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific based in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2015, he was appointed as the Regional Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe. As per July 2021 he serves as UNESCO Regional Director for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, and as UNESCO Representative to Kenya, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia and Uganda. He is the UNESCO Representative to SADC and COMESA, serves on the UN Regional Directors Team and is member of the UN Regional Coordination Platform for Africa.

Isabelle Durant, took up the position of Deputy Secretary-General on 3 July 2017. Former Minister and Senator of Belgium as well as Vice-President of the European Parliament, Ms. Durant has solid experience in public affairs and intergovernmental processes. Ms. Durant served as Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Transport and Energy for four years. She was in charge of the direct supervision on Mobility, Infrastructure, Energy and Sustainable Development policies between 1999 and 2003. As Vice-President of the European Parliament for the period 2009 to 2014, she chaired different permanent delegations (e.g. EU- ACP countries following the Cotonou agreement and Economic Partnership Agreements). She holds a Masters of Science in Economic and Social Policy from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL).

James Grabert has worked for the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) for more than 20 years. He heads the Mitigation Division of the UNFCCC. Prior to 2006 he served as a greenhouse gas emissions specialist and worked in numerous expert groups of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Before joining the United Nations, he was an industry and regional analyst for the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr. Grabert holds a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Wheaton College, Masters of International Economics from the Institut de Hautes Études Internationales in Geneva, and has undertaken post-graduate studies in management at Stanford University, University of Navarra (IESE) and London Business School, and in development at Harvard University.

Mr. Neil J. Walsh, a national of the United Kingdom, has 21 years of relevant substantive and managerial experience in national and international positions of increasing responsibility, including work in various countries on transnational organized crime and counter terrorism issues.

Within UNODC, Mr. Walsh has led programme development, partnership building and resource mobilization efforts both as Chief, Cybercrime and Anti-Money Laundering Section (since 2018), as well as Senior Expert, Cyber and Emerging Crimes, (2016-2018) with UNODC’s Division for Treaty Affairs (DTA).

Before joining UNODC, Mr. Walsh held various positions with the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, including: Law Enforcement Representative to the Republic of Malta and MENA Regional Director (2015-2016), Representative to Europol in The Netherlands (2011-2015); Special Assistant to the Chief & Deputy Chief Executives with the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in London (2010-2011); and Staff Officer to the Director of Covert Operations (2009-2020). With the National Criminal Intelligence Service, he served as Team Manager Covert Human Intelligence Operations (2005-2009); Team Principal, Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants teams (2004-2005); Intelligence Officer - Special Operations International (2002-2004); and Intelligence Analyst (2000-2002).

Mr. Walsh holds a BA in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Criminal Investigation from the University of Teeside, United Kingdom.

Eugene Owusu Afrifa (Ph.D) has been UNDSS Security Adviser in Uganda since September 2022. Eugene is a security professional with over 30 years of experience. Eugene is a retired Army Officer, having served with the Ghana Army as an Airborne Infantry Officer for almost two decades where he also served as a Personal Staff Officer to the Presidential Security Coordinator at the Office of the President of the Republic of Ghana (2003 – 2006). Eugene has a military UN peacekeeping experience in Southern Lebanon, Sierra Leone, DR Congo, and Liberia.

As a UN Security Officer, Eugene served in Liberia as Chief of Close Protection Unit; Regional Security Coordinator (2011- 2013). He also served as Deputy Security Adviser in Haiti (2013-2014); Regional Operations Coordinator in Liberia during the Ebola Pandemic (2014). Eugene also served in Darfur Sudan as Field Security Coordination Officer and Senior Information Analyst (2015 – 2018). Prior to his deployment to Uganda, he was the UN Area Security Adviser of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja Nigeria (2018 -2022).

Eugene is a UNDSS certified Hostage Incident Manager and Security Information Analyst. Eugene holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Policy and Administration (Focus on Emergency Management) from the Walden University (USA); Master of Arts International Affairs from the University of Ghana; Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with Sociology from the University of Ghana; and a Diploma in Military Studies (Regular Career Course) from the Ghana Military Academy.

Eugene is also a graduate of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (both Junior and Senior Divisions).

Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, Director and Regional Representative for UNEP, Africa Office Prior to joining UN Environment in September 2015, Ms. Koudenoukpo was with Canadian Crossroads International (CCI) where she was the Director of Programmes, and with Canadian Center for International Studies and Cooperation where she was the Regional Director for Africa. From 2007 to 2008 she held the position of Minister of Environment and Nature Protection for the Benin government. She also used to be Acting Minister of Family and the Child. She has 26 years of experience in environmental projects and programmes management from international organisations, including UNDP and IUCN and Stockholm Environment Institute. She holds an MSc. degree in Forestry Economics, a PhD. degree in Public Policy and Administration, and an expert diploma in Renewable Energy.

Mama Keita is the Director of the Sub-Regional Office for East Africa of the of the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Rwanda. She has worked in the field of development economics for over 20 years. Prior to her employment with UNECA, Ms. Keita held the positions of Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Guinea and as a Poverty Economist with the World Bank in Burkina Faso. She has also assumed various academic roles including as a lecturer in public economics and development economics in Canada and has conducted various research in the field of development. She holds a Master in Statistics and Applied Economics from ENSEA in Abidjan, cote d’Ivoire and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Montreal, Canada

Mohamed El Ghazaly is the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Country Director in Uganda. With over 22 years of professional experience in development and having worked in more than 20 countries he brings proven experience in programme management, rural development, research and monitoring and evaluation. Prior to this he served as the Acting IFAD Country Director for Egypt, the largest IFAD portfolio in Near East, North Africa, Europe & Central Asia (NEN) for almost two years. El Ghazaly also served in various positions in IFAD including country programme officer for Egypt and Syria and a Monitoring and Evaluation consultant. Before joining IFAD, El-Ghazaly was vice president of El-Zanaty & Associates a private sector firm in the field of research, consultancy and evaluation. He led the firms work on evaluating the agriculture sector in Egypt.

El-Ghazaly holds a MBA in Business Administration from the Arab Academy of Science and Technology (Egypt) and B.Sc. in Foreign Trade from Helwan University, Egypt.

Mr. Toily Kurbanov (Russian Federation) took up his assignment as the Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in January 2021.

Prior to this, Toily worked as the Deputy Executive Coordinator of UN Volunteers since 2016 and played an important role in positioning UNV in the context of the 2030 Agenda and UN reform.

With over twenty-five years of leadership experience at the international and national level, his expertise includes a range of critical areas, including sustainable development and public policy in countries in transition and fragile contexts, as well as strategic partnerships and organizational transformation.

In his role as Executive Coordinator of UNV, Toily is advocating for volunteerism as a powerful and cross-cutting means of implementing the 2030 Agenda and providing strategic leadership of UNV as a global system-wide service in the United Nations. Before joining UNV, Toily worked at UNDP as Country Director in Myanmar (2012-2016), Deputy Resident Representative in Fiji and Pacific Island Countries (2007-2012) and at the Headquarters (2004-2006). Prior to that, he had a distinguished career in banking, government, and diplomacy in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Toily holds master’s degrees in Public Administration from Harvard University and in Economics from Russian Economic University. He speaks English and Russian. Toily is married and has three children.

Rainer Frauenfeld is the Director of UNOPS Kenya Multi-Country Office (KEMC). He was previously Adviser for Risk Reduction and Recovery at UNOPS Head Quarters in Copenhagen. He began his career with the UN, as a JPO at UNDP in Sri Lanka in 1996. In 1998, he joined UNOPS and subsequently he worked with number of UN agencies in East Timor, Ethiopia, Haiti and Afghanistan. In early 2005, he moved to Sri Lanka to re-establish and then run the UNOPS office after the Indian Ocean Tsunami struck. In early 2010, after the earthquake in Haiti, he led the first phase of the UNOPS emergency response in Haiti. He has also supported UNOPS in Afghanistan, Indonesia and the Maldives.

Ishaku Maitumbi is the Senior Advisor within UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Africa, covering Eastern and Horn of Africa Region. He is a chartered Urban Planner (MRTPI) with over 25 years' professional experience in the sector, including more than 15 years with the United Nations. He previously served in Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Somalia, amongst other countries. Prior to joining the United Nations, he was a United Kingdom civil servant in local and regional/central government. Ishaku specialises in urbanization, displacement and local government systems strengthening access to basic services and urban resilience, especially in post-conflict and developing environments. This varied experience is backed up with an MSc in Urban Planning and International Development (Oxford Brookes, UK). As of January 2023, He was appointed as the new Portfolio Manager responsible for Uganda.

Wellington Chibebe was appointed the Country Director for ILO Office for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in 2018. Prior to that, he was Deputy Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). His has been a steady growth, including working as apprentice fitter, then as mechanical engineering technician and on to become Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of South Africa