Our Team in Nigeria

Mr. Mohamed M. Malick Fall of Senegal is the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria.
Mr. Fall has more than 20 years of experience in development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding. Prior to his appointment, he served as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, where he provided oversight and guidance to 21 UNICEF Countries Offices, including on the formulation and implementation of the Country Programme Documents, the UN Reform process, and the engagement with the Regional and Economic Commission and African Union and the private sector. Furthermore, he has led the response to multiples and complex crisis with massive humanitarian needs and high security challenges, and managed the strategic review of the country documents, research and knowledge-management related activities, ensuring that the results are used to inform programme and policies.
Before that, he served as Unicef representative in Nigeria (2016-2019), Central African Republic (2014-2016) and Mongolia (2012-2014), as their Senior Education Adviser in Haiti (2010-2012), and as Chief of Education in Indonesia (2006-2010) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (2003-2006). He was also temporarily assigned as Education Officer (2001-2003).
Mr Mohamed M. Malick Fall has a master’s degree in Demography from Université de Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne – France and a B.A. Degree in History (Licence d'Histoire) from Université de Dakar – Sénégal.

Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo, a national of Niger, currently serves as the Head of Office for the UNESCO Abuja Office and the UNESCO Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS. With over 25 years of experience in development, humanitarian, education, and peacebuilding efforts, Mr. Diallo brings a wealth of expertise to his role.

His early career with UNESCO spanned working at Headquarters in Paris as a member of the permanent delegation of his country Niger to UNESCO, and then as a consultant (ICT, Communication and Information) in the UNESCO secretariat, before becoming a staff member in 2002 as programme specialist in the Africa department, responsible for monitoring cooperation with the African Union and the various sub regional and regional African organizations.
In 2006, he headed the Department’s Section for Regional Organizations and Post-Conflict Situations.
For the past 14 years, Mr. Diallo has been working in the field, first as Head of Office and UNESCO Representative in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo (2009-2013). He then moved to the Kinshasa (DRC) Office (2014-2018) and subsequently to Accra, Ghana (2018-2023) in the same capacity, before being assigned to his new position in October 2023.
Mr. Diallo holds a degree in Industrial Computer Engineering (1991 -Hautes Etudes Industrielles-HEI, Lilles ) and a Master of Business Administration in International Business Engineering (1994- Institut Superieur de Gestion, Paris).

Ms. Beatrice Eyong, a Cameroonian national, is the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria. She has over 35 years professional working experience in promoting gender equality and Women’s Empowerment. Prior to her current appointment, she was the Resident Representative of UN Women, Mali (office with the biggest UN Women’s portfolio in West and Central Africa); Head of UNWOMEN Office in Niger; and she established the Eastern DRC Office in Bukavu. Beatrice has also worked with the Canadian Cooperation Support Office in Cameroon, as a Gender Specialist/Adviser and with UNDP as an agronomist working with the Africa 2000 Network, a UNDP micro-programme in Cameroon. She holds a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Extension from the University of Reading, United Kingdom; a Diploma in Women, Extension workers and Agriculture from the Larenstein International Agricultural college – Deventer, the Netherlands; and a Diploma in Integrated Rural Development, from the Pan African Institute for Development West Africa, Buea – Cameroon.

Before his current assignment, Gomez was the Deputy Director of the Department of Water Resources and Permanent Representative of The Gambia with WMO. His current portfolio involves working with regional institutions and development partners to strengthen the capacity and capabilities of National Hydrological and Meteorological Services in 27 countries. This involves providing support towards timely exchange of data and the provision of weather, climate and water resources information services, to stakeholders in climate-sensitive sectors. He holds a MSc. in Applied and Agricultural Meteorology. He is married with children and his hobbies include reading, swimming and keeping abreast with current affairs.

Cheikh Ousmane Toure is the Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to Nigeria. Cheikh brings over two decades of experience in combating crime, corruption, and supporting drug control efforts globally. His appointment marks an important phase in the UNODC’s collaboration with Nigeria, enhancing its mission to promote security, justice, and development His extensive experience across diverse nations, including Chad, South Sudan, DRC, Palestine, Lao PDR, Gabon, Nigeria, and Cote d'Ivoire, has been instrumental in fortifying legal frameworks, bolstering law enforcement capabilities including in border management, and fostering community resilience. He holds a bachelor's degree from Institut Superieur de Management in Dakar and a master's in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, equipping him to tackle complex global challenges. His leadership is expected to introduce innovative strategies for drug control, anti-corruption, and criminal justice reforms, aligning Nigeria’s efforts with broader regional goals in West and Central Africa. Cheikh's extensive background positions him as a transformative leader capable of driving meaningful change in international development and criminal justice.

Cristian Munduate is the Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria. Prior to joining the Nigeria office, Cristian was the United Nations Resident Coordinator, based in Panama City, Panama where she was responsible for leading the United Nations Country Team, ensuring system-wide accountability and UN support to the national efforts towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially with respect to the broad engagement for Leaving No One Behind.
Cristian brings 30 years of experience in development work, including 18 years of service to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), where she served as Representative in Cambodia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Honduras and as UNICEF Deputy Representative in Pakistan.
Prior to joining the United Nations, she was Minister of Social Welfare in Guatemala. She also worked as the Executive Director of a consortia of national and international non-governmental organizations in Guatemala.
Ms. Munduate holds a master’s degree in technology and administration of resources and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

Mrs. Dede Ahoefa EKOUE, the new Country Director/Representative for IFAD in Nigeria, has over 20 years of experience in management and leadership positions with UNDP, UN-WOMEN, including interim leadership positions with FAO and UNIDO.
From 2018 until January 2022, she was the UN-Women Country Representative in Haiti. From 2007 to 2010, Mrs. Ekoue was Deputy Resident Representative Program and Operations for UNDP in Cameroon. Between 1996 and 2007, she served as Africa Relationship Manager of Women’s World Banking in New York, USA. She assumed several international leadership functions including co-Chair for the International Development Association (IDA-World Bank)‘s 18th Replenishment and Chair of the Organizing Committee of the 16th United States– sub Sahara African Trade and Economic Cooperation (AGOA) Forum. Mrs. Ekoue was a three-time Minister in the Republic of Togo between 2010 and 2015.
She holds a Bachelor degree in Economics with major in Business Management in 1986, at the University of Benin in Togo, a Graduate Degree in International Finance and Taxation in 1987 at the University of Lille, France, and a Master’s in Business Administration in 1993 at the Jackson State University, USA.

Dominique Koffy KOUACOU is a national of Cote d’Ivoire and an Agronomic Engineer with over 18 years of experience in humanitarian resilience and development program management in several sectors such as Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, Cash Transfer, Community Development, Peace and Emergency response. Having worked in complex Humanitarian – Development – Peace nexus settings, he has vast experience in strategic planning and managing country offices, monitoring and quality control of programmes, alliance building and UN System coordination, private sector engagement, partnerships and innovation.

Over the course of his career, he has worked in Sri Lanka, Yemen, Central African Republic, and several countries in the West African subregion.

He was FAO’s Head of Emergency and Resilience in Burkina Faso from 2019, before he was appointed as the Head of Emergency and Resilience ad interim (a.i.) at the FAO Sub-Regional Office for West Africa in 2022. He was appointed as the FAO Representative (a.i) in Nigeria and to ECOWAS effective from 1 August 2023.

Dr Gifty Addico is the UNFPA Resident Representative in Nigeria.
In her role as resident representative, she provides overall vision and leadership for the work of UNFPA in Nigeria and is accountable for the implementation of UNFPA’s country programme and operations.
A national of Ghana, Gifty brings over 25 years of experience in strategic leadership in international development and health programmes at global and national levels, with a focus on developing countries.
Prior to assuming her role as Resident Representative, Gifty was most recently Chief of the Commodity Security branch in the Technical Division of UNFPA, providing strategic direction and technical leadership for UNFPA’s work in family planning and reproductive health supplies.
Gifty has also served in several capacities in UNFPA including as Technical Adviser in the Technical Division, New York, and in the East and Southern Africa Regional Office, Johannesburg; Humanitarian Emergency Coordinator in Yemen; UN Reform Specialist and Policy Adviser in Rwanda, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Specialist in the UNFPA Country Support Team (CST), Addis Ababa.
Prior to these appointments, Gifty worked in various positions with the Government of Ghana at district level(s) and at the School of Public Health, University of Ghana. Gifty is a medical doctor by training. She has a Master of Public Health (MPH), from the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, and a Medical Degree from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana.

Dr Leopold Achengui, Zekeng brings 33 years of experience in the AIDS response, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, Global Health Diplomacy, and Development at various levels and capacities – Service Provider, Leadership and Management (National AIDS/STIs/TB) Control Programme Manager), Researcher, Strategist and Policy Maker, Advocate and Activist both in his native Cameroon and in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. He joined the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2005 and served as - Deputy Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team for West & Central Africa, Dakar, Senegal (2012-2017) overseeing programme implementation and support in 23 UNAIDS Country Offices in WCA, managing the UNAIDS Technical Support Facility for WCA based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, ensuring continuity of HIV services during the 2014/2016 Ebola Outbreak amongst others - UNAIDS Country Director and Representative in Sierra Leone and Liberia (2005-2007), Ghana (2007-2012) and the United Republic of Tanzania (2017-2022).
Dr ZEKENG is a Certified and Accredited Executive Coach, trained by the Academy of Executive Coaching (UK) with a passion in - giving back to the community – growing, empowering, and developing young people, junior professionals, colleagues for a better tomorrow. He is a graduate of the School of Medicine and Pharmacy (University Cheick Anta Diop, Dakar Senegal) and a trained Virologist and Immunologist (School of Medicine and Pasteur Institute Lille France).

Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo is the WHO Country Representative (WR) to Nigeria. A longstanding and well-respected WHO international expert. He is a public health epidemiologist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with over 30 years of progressive experience in clinical practice, management of primary health care, health policy dialogue, governance and coordination, as well as implementation. He held senior international positions in both English and French Speaking countries, including as WR to Burundi; Coordinator of the WHO Emergency Response to Artemisinin Resistance/Malaria Elimination; WHO Scientist Malaria & NTDs in Papua New Guinea; and Policy Advisor, Gates Malaria Partnership. He holds an MSc degree in Public Health from the London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. Doctor Mulombo carries with him, expertise in the management of primary health care, an important attribute in the Nigerian context with PHC as the bedrock of the National Health Policy and National Strategic Health Development Plan II in support of Universal Health Coverage and Health-related SDGs.

Mr. Edwin Faigmane is the Chief of the Mine Action Programme, representing UNMAS in Nigeria. He joined UNMAS in 2011 as the Senior Programme Officer in Afghanistan and has deployed to various peacekeeping missions. Before Nigeria, he was the Head of Project Unit in the UNMAS programme in MINURSO, the Territory of Western Sahara, where he also acted as the CMAP for almost half a year. Edwin joined mine action in 2005 with UNDP in Lao PDR as a programme advisor and was more recently, the Chief Technical Adviser of the UNDP mine action programme in Cambodia. Edwin has assisted the Royal Thai Government and the Royal Cambodian Government in developing their respective national mine action strategies as well as Cambodia's extension request under Article 5 of the AP Mine Ban Convention. For the services he rendered to Cambodia, he was awarded the Royal Order of Sahametrei by the Cambodian Prime Minister. He holds a master’s degree in Business Administration.

Mr. Trond Jensen, a Norwegian national, was until recently the Head of OCHA in Turkey. He was previously the Head of Office in Yemen for more than three years, as well as the Deputy Head of OCHA in Sudan. Mr. Jensen has also had short-term ad interim assignments as the Senior Deputy Director for UNRWA in Gaza, as the Head of OCHA’s Regional Office for the Syria Crisis in addition to a stint as the Head of OCHA in Somalia. Mr. Jensen has more than 25 years of experience in humanitarian and development work. He has worked for more than 15 years in the United Nations system, including for the Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO) with the mission in Liberia. Mr. Jensen has also been Country Director for Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council. He is also a former Senior Associate and Representative with the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO). Mr. Jensen holds degrees in management, policy and planning and environmental economics from the Universities of Bristol, Bath and the London School of Economics. He is married with three children. He enjoys the outdoors, hiking, as well as reading.

Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah is the UNDP Resident Representative for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Prior to this, she served as UNDP Resident Representative for Uganda from 2019-2023 where she led from the front and navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola outbreak and other development challenges of national and global significance.
Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah is a senior level United Nations executive and results-oriented development practitioner with over 25 years of global experience. She has led multicultural and multidisciplinary teams in Africa, Europe and America, engaging Governments, bilateral and multilateral organizations, civil society, private sector and research institutions at the highest levels across countries, particularly in Africa.
Her professional experience spans years of working with UNDP, the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Government Ministries, private sector, and civil society.

Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah holds a Masters Degree in International Affairs from the University of Ghana, a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in Education from the University of Cape-Coast. She is a certified partnership broker.

Ms. Vanessa Phala, a South African national was recently appointed Country Director of the ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Prior to this appointment, she worked as a Senior Specialist (Employers’ Activities) at the ILO Office for the Caribbean, in Port of Spain. Before that, she undertook several leading roles in the public and private sectors from 2004 to 2016. She was the Executive Director in charge of Social and Transformation Policy at Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), a non-profit company representing organised business in South Africa. She also served as the Director of the Ethics and Integrity Management Unit and Special Anti-corruption Unit of the South African Department of Public Service and Administration. Her professional career began in 2004, as an Assistant Director in the Policy Research and Analysis Unit of the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
Ms. Phala graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2004 where she obtained a Master’s Degree in International Relations and from the University of the West Indies in 2021 where she obtained an Executive Master of Business Administration. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration.

Paola is an experienced professional in migration policy, having worked on four continents to improve conditions for migrants. Over two decades, she has held key positions within the International Organization for Migration (IOM), including Interim Chief of Mission in Nigeria and Niger, and Deputy Chief of Mission in Tunisia, where she expanded the team from 40 to 200 colleagues and a more extensive portfolio. Her work includes leading migration health initiatives across East and Southern Africa and establishing a migration health course for training professionals. She has also promoted human rights law and advocated for diverse inclusion within IOM's policies. Paola authored the first migration health program for IOM in Europe, fostering a partnership with the EU. With degrees in Law and Public Health, she speaks multiple languages, including English, French, and Italian, with basic knowledge of Swahili; and is dedicated to amplifying the voices of migrants to help them exercise their rights and integrate into society.

Ronald David Kayanja, a Ugandan national, is the Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) for Nigeria. He has been Director of the Centre since 2015. Mr. Kayanja has worked for the UN since 1996 and has worked with the UN Peacekeeping operations in Timor-Leste, where he served as Governance Advisor working specifically on media and civil society; and UNESCO as Advisor for Communication and Information in West Africa based initially in Accra and subsequently in Abuja. He has also worked on projects with UNFPA, FAO and started his UN career as a national officer with UNDP in Uganda. Mr. Kayanja studied at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda where he obtained a BA in Mass Communication, went to the University of Cardiff, UK for an MA in Journalism Studies and the University of Malmo, Sweden where he studied Communication and Development at master’s degree level. He has also served as Director, Panos Global AIDS Programme (August 2005 to June 2007) in Lusaka, Zambia.