Our Team in Zambia

Abigail Noko is the Regional Representative for Southern Africa at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). She has worked at the OHCHR for the past 19 years in various capacities. In her current capacity, she is responsible for overseeing the work of the regional office which covers 14 countries (Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe). This includes providing technical assistance and advisory services in human rights to States, United Nations agencies, sub-regional organizations, national human rights institutions, and civil society organizations.

Mr. Ambrosio Barros is the IFAD Country Director for Malawi and Zambia, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. After joining IFAD in 2010, he has mainly worked in operations leading the IFAD’s portfolios in various countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Haiti. Prior to IFAD, he managed a Master’s Programme at Sciences Po Paris, France, and served as a diplomat for the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Barros holds two Master’s degrees: one in History of International Relations from Paris-Sorbonne (France) and another in Public Administration from Columbia University in New York (USA).

Ms. Cissy Byenkya, a national of Uganda, has been serving as Representative and Country Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for Zambia since August 2021. She holds a master’s degree in financial economics from the University of London, a university degree in Economics, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Science from Makerere University. She speaks English and basic French.

Before her appointment to Zambia, she served as Head of WFP Eswatini since February 2019.

Ms. Cissy Byenkya has almost 20 years of working experience within WFP. Committed to the objectives of the Programme to save lives and improve the livelihoods of the most vulnerable populations, she worked in the Uganda Country Office, Nairobi Regional Bureau office and Headquarters in Rome. She has extensive experience in managing all aspects of WFP operations with expertise in the management of programme and resources; supply chain; budget planning and logistics operations. She is skilled in tasks necessary to establish and run effective, large-scale food and nutrition supported programmes.

Dr. Nathan Nsubuga Bakyaita has been WHO Representative to Zambia since 4 December 2017. Nathan is a medical doctor specializing in Public Health with experience spanning 26 years. He joined WHO as M & E Officer in the Malaria Program at WHO-AFRO (2005-2011); Medical Officer Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) at WHO-AFRO in Brazzaville (2011-2013); and WHO Malaria Adviser Kenya (2013-2017). Before joining WHO, he worked with the Ministry of Health, Uganda in the fields of HIV/AIDS control; Malaria Control and IDSR between 1994 and 2005. He holds a degree in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from Makerere University Kampala, Uganda and a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom.

Tharcisse Barihuta started his assignment as UNAIDS Zambia Country Director in August 2019. He has over 25 years professional experience in prevention and care of communicable diseases programming, oversight implementation, political advocacy, resource mobilisation and leading teams at regional and international levels. He spent four years representing Burundi in the Executive Committee of the Authority of Great Lakes initiative on HIV/AIDS involving Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, three years with the World Bank, Global Funds to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and three years as Special Advisor to the Minister of Health in Djibouti. He has worked with UNAIDS for 11 years and previously served as UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Djibouti, Middle East and North Africa Region, and UNAIDS Country Director in Namibia. Tharcisse is a Physician who worked in hospitals and also taught in medical school.

Ms. Eunice Kamwendo, is a Macroeconomist with a Master of Science degree in Quantitative Economics from the University of Southampton (UK), and a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree (Economics) from the University of Malawi. She also holds several postgraduate certificates in economic policy analysis and development. Ms. Kamwendo is also a graduate of Executive Leadership development programs of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and IESE Business schools.
Prior to this position, Ms. Kamwendo was a Strategic Advisor with the Strategy, Analysis and Research Team for UNDP Africa in New York. Eunice served as the acting Chief Economist (2019), overseeing a network of economic advisors in Sub Saharan Africa. Between 2012 and 2014, Ms. Kamwendo was UNDP’s Africa Lead for the Post 2015 Development Agenda with the UN Global Team (New York); UNDP’s Regional Economic Advisor for East and Southern Africa (2009-2012) and the Economic Governance Research Analyst for the NEPAD/APRM, Secretariats both based in South Africa.
Prior to her international career, Ms. Kamwendo worked as a Senior Economist in two central ministries of Finance and Economic Planning and Development (EP&D).

George Okutho has taken his new appointment, with effect from 1st January 2019, as the Director of the ILO Country Office for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique and Representative to COMESA. Prior to that, he was the Director of the ILO Country Office in Addis Ababa responsible for Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, South Sudan and Sudan. He was also the Special Representative to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). He holds a Master degree (M.Sc) in Human Resources Development from the University of Manchester, U.K; B.Stat (Upper second degree) from Makerere University, Kampala Uganda and has undertaken several courses in and led development cooperation work.

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.
With a health background, Gift holds a Master of Science Degree in Demography and Bachelor of Science Honors Degree in Sociology.

Prior to his appointment In Zambia, Isaac served for four (4) years in the Pacific region as the UNCDF’s Country Technical Specialist and was responsible for overseeing the financial inclusion programme for the Solomon Islands. He also earlier served as the Digital Finance associate for the UNCDF in Uganda, as well as working with the private sector, specifically from the FMCG, Telecommunication and financial inclusion consulting industries.
Isaac is a national of Uganda and holds a master’s in business administration (MBA) from Makerere University Kampala. He is married with two children.

Khaled El Mekwad, from Egypt, has devoted more than 30 years to public service. Prior to his current position as UNIDO Regional Representative for Southern Africa based in Pretoria covering 10 SADC countries, he represented UNIDO at two duty stations in the MENA region: Sudan and Lebanon. During 12 years in the UN system he addressed Inclusive Sustainable Industrial Development, Sustainable Economic Growth, Human Rights, Rule of Law, Peace-building and Humanitarian work in Middle and Low-income countries.
Prior to this, he pursued a Diplomatic career in his national capacity for 19 years where he served as Alternate Representative at the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the UN in Vienna, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Egypt in Dakar, and Political Officer at the Mission of Egypt to the EU in Brussels.

Ms. Lidia Brito has been appointed the new UNESCO Regional Director for Southern Africa (ROSA) based in Harare Zimbabwe. She took up her position on 1st December 2022
Ms. Brito joins ROSA coming from UNESCO's Regional Bureau for Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean based in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Ms. Brito has vast experience IN science policy, development plans and monitoring of science policies and instruments, the forestry sector, traditional energy (biomass and coal), management in higher, technical and vocational education, ICTs for development, university professor, researcher, consultant and main manager at national, regional and international institutions, combining academic and practical aspects to promote sustainable development.

Between 2009 and 2014, she was UNESCO’s Director of Science Policy and Capacity-Building at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. She has worked extensively in the advancement of STI for sustainable development. She was the first Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Mozambique (2000-2005) and Vice-Chancellor of the Eduardo Mondlane University (1998 to 2000). From May 2014, she was the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Science in Latin America and the Caribbean and UNESCO Representative in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, based in Montevideo.

Lionel Laurens has been UNDP Resident Representative in Zambia since 2019. Prior to this assignment, he served as UNDP Guinea Country Director. From 2014 till 2015, he was UNDP Sierra Leone Head of Programmes and supported in reprogramming its interventions to respond to Ebola.

From 2008 till 2014, he was UNDP Iraq Inclusive Growth and Area Based Development Cluster Team Leader and managed a portfolio of projects focussing on local governance, service delivery, economic recovery and poverty reduction. Prior to that, he worked in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2008 as UNDP Programme Manager engaging with communities to rebuild rural infrastructures, deliver basic services and promote economic development. From 2002 to 2005, he contributed to the launch of the World Bank supported CDD Poverty Reduction Fund in Laos as Senior Technical Advisor. From 1997 till 2002, he worked with the Laotian Government, ILO and UNDP in developing participatory and integrated planning approaches.

Lionel started his career in development 25 years ago, working with NGOs on a variety of humanitarian issues in Cambodia, Haiti, Georgia and Liberia.

Lionel holds a Master of Engineering and Management from the French Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers, and an MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility at Ashridge Business School, UK.

Miguel Fernando SILES is from Bolivia. He is the UNCTAD ASYCUDA Programme Regional Coordinator for East and Southern Africa. He joined UNCTAD in 1992 and has over 29 years of experience with leading roles in the automation of Customs and Trade Facilitation in several countries in Latin America (Salvador, Honduras, Bolivia, Venezuela), Palestine, the Caribbean and in Africa (Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Burundi, Uganda, and Zambia). He also joined the IMF on assessment and evaluation missions in the Caribbean. Since November 2015, he supervises and coordinates the ASYCUDA Programme in more than 18 countries in the Region. He holds a degree in Electronic Systems Engineering and a master’s degree in International Trade.

Mutinta Munyati is a Programme Management Specialist. Working in UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Africa in Nairobi, Kenya; responsible for Strategic Planning and Development Coordination. Mutinta Munyati is the UN-Habitat Task Manager for Zambia. She has worked for over 20 years on issues related to Policy & Programme Development, including developing youth programmes globally and in Africa. A Zambian National she holds a BA in Public Administration and Sociology from the University of Zambia and a Master’s degree in public policy from Erastus University in the Netherlands.

Nomagugu Ncube has over 12 years working with IOM in managing migration health, gender, and displacement programmes. Prior to that she served in various portfolios within the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe. Nomagugu holds a Master’s in Public Health and an Honours in Development and Gender Studies.

Pierrine Aylara, assumed her official duties on 4 August 2017. Aylara, a Benin-Swiss national, prior to her appointment to Zambia served in various field locations including DRC, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, Gabon, UNHCR’s Headquarters in Geneva in Geneva where she held several management positions;
She also served as UNHCR acting Country Representative in Mozambique and Angola prior to taking office in Zambia.

Rainer Frauenfeld is the Director of the UNOPS, Kenya Multi-Country Office (KEMC) covering East and Southern Africa. He established and led multiple UNOPS emergency and recovery operations in post/conflict and disaster situations. He managed several country and regional offices to provide UNOPS value adding services both in fragile and MIC settings. Prior to joining UNOPS, Rainer worked with multiple UN agencies and missions, NGOs and the private sector. He holds degrees in Law and Development Studies, is married and has two children.

Suze Percy Filippini was FAOR in the Republic of Congo before assuming the same position in Zambia. Having more than 25 years of multi-cultural leadership experience, Percy earlier held various prestigious positions under Government portfolios and represented her Country to the FAO in Rome, the UN in New York and the Organization of the American States (OAS) in Washington DC, enriching her professional experience in diplomacy, sustainable agriculture, strategic planning and programming. Percy Filippini holds Three (3) Master’s degree qualifications in International Service, Arts in Hemispheric Security and Defense, and in Science in Agricultural Engineering.