United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, announced on Friday the appointment of Nigeria’s Ahunna Eziakonwa as the new Special Adviser on Africa.
Eziakonwa succeeds Cristina Duarte of Cabo Verde, to whom Guterres expressed deep gratitude for her dedicated service and commitment to the organisation.
The incoming Special Adviser brings nearly three decades of extensive United Nations leadership experience to the position.
She currently serves as the UN Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator, and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In this role, she has overseen support to 46 African nations pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, helping shape strategic economic and political development across the continent since 2018.
Eziakonwa’s seasoned career spans the full breadth of UN operations in Africa, including deep field and headquarters experience.
She previously served as the UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator, and UNDP Resident Representative in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Lesotho.
Furthermore, her background includes managing humanitarian operations across 15 nations as the Chief of the Africa Section at UNOCHA in New York, alongside critical deployments to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and strategic roles within the UN departments of peacekeeping and political affairs.
Prior to her distinguished UN career, Eziakonwa worked with several African civil society organisations. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, focusing on African economic and political development, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Benin, Nigeria.
Reflecting the diverse continent she will represent, Eziakonwa is fluent in English, Igbo, and Yoruba, with a working knowledge of French.
