Our Team

Volker Perthes

UN

Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNITAMS

Dr. Volker Perthes of Germany was appointed Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) on 7 January 2021.
He brings to this position over 25 years of experience in academia, research, international relations and diplomacy, including with the United Nations, as well as deep expertise in conflict resolution and regional geopolitics.
Prior to his appointment, from 2005 to 2020, Dr. Perthes served as Executive Chairman and Director of SWP (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik), the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in Berlin.
From 2015 to 2018, he served as Assistant Secretary-General, then Senior Adviser to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, including as Chairperson of the International Syria Support Group’s Ceasefire Taskforce for Syria on behalf of the United Nations.
Dr. Perthes also worked as Researcher and Head of Department at SWP from 1992 to 2005, and as Adjunct Professor for International Relations at Humboldt University of Berlin from 2007 to 2019. He began his academic career as Assistant Professor at the American University of Beirut (1991-1993). He holds a Master’s degree and a Doctorate in Political Science from the University of Duisburg in Germany. He is fluent in English and Arabic and has written extensively about foreign and security policy, international relations, and geopolitics, as well as regional dynamics and transitions in the Middle East.

Abdou Dieng

UN

Resident Coordinator / Humanitarian Coordinator a.i.

Mr. Abdou Dieng, a national of Senegal, served as Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in Mali from March 2021 to December 2022, Special Coordinator of the UN Emergency Ebola Response in DRC from 2019 to 2020. Mr. Dieng was the Regional Director of WFP for Western and Central Africa from 2016 to 2019. He also acted as the SG’s Special Adviser for the Sahel in 2019. Mr. Dieng previously served at ASG level as the Ebola Crisis Manager for Guinea from 2014 to 2015. He has previously fulfilled functions of the Senior Humanitarian Coordinator at ASG level in the Central African Republic from 2013 to 2014. Mr. Dieng also served as WFP Country Representative and Director in various countries such as Ethiopia, DRC, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea Bissau (2003-2015). Mr. Dieng started his humanitarian career with WFP in 1994 as Logistics Coordinator.

Adjaratou Fatou Ndiaye

UN Women

Representative

adjaratou.fatou.ndiaye@unwomen.org

Ms. Adjaratou Fatou Ndiaye, a Senegalese national, has held the position of UN Women Country Representative in Sudan since July 2018. Prior to moving to Sudan, she was the Deputy Representative of the UN Women Country Office in Nigeria. She has long time experience working on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and considers herself as a member of the Women’s Movement in Africa. She also worked as Program Manager with UN Women in Uganda, and before joining UN Women in Senegal as Programme Officer, she was working with national and international NGOs such as, Oxfam GB, CONGAD and Aid Transparency. Her academic background is in law, she holds a diploma from Facultés de Droit, Universités de Montpellier et Lyon, France.

Alexio Musindo

ILO

Director ILO Country Office for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan Special Representative to AU and ECA

musindo@ilo.org

Mr. Alexio Musindo, a national of Zimbabwe, has more than 20 years of experience of international development work across several countries in Africa. As ILO Representative, Alexio currently manages and leads ILO country programmes in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, and also serves as the ILO Special Representative to the African Union and Economic Commission for Africa. Having started his UN career in 1998 at the ILO Regional Office for Africa in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Alexio has represented the ILO across several countries in East and Southern Africa.

Atila Uras

UNEP

Country Programme Manager

atila.uras@un.org

Mr. Atila Uras has been UN Environment’s Sudan Country Programme Manager since July 2017. He started working for the UN in Turkey in 2006, then he worked as a Governance Officer in UNEP/MAP Secretariat in Athens, and as Assistant Resident Representative (Programme) of UNDP Turkey. Prior joining the UN, he worked with NGOs such as WWF. He holds a Master’s Degree in Coastal Engineering and Coastal Zone management with more than 20 years of experience in environmental governance, sustainable development, and climate change adaptation.

Axel Bisschop

UNHCR

Representative

bisschop@unhcr.org

During his 30-year UN career, Mr. Axel Bisschop has served in New York, Geneva as well as multiple field duty stations. Before his current position, Mr. Bisschop served as Head of UNHCR's Office in Copenhagen. Previously, he held the position of Deputy Director in the Regional Bureau for Africa situated in UNHCR HQ, Geneva. Mr. Bisschop has also served as UNHCR Head of Humanitarian Financing in the Division of External Relation. In earlier positions, he worked with UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as the Head of the Programmes in the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Prior to this, he served for UNHCR in Sri Lanka. During 1994-2000, Mr. Bisschop worked with UNHCR in various capacities in the Former Yugoslavia, in Bosnia. Mr. Bisschop is a Swedish national and holds a Master of Science. He is married and has two children.

Baha Sharief

UNV

Country Coordinator

Prior to her current position as the UNV Country Coordinator, Ms. Baha Sharief worked with UN Women on the women economic empowerment portfolio in Sudan and served many different international organizations besides UN Agencies such as UNDP as a Project Manager and Capacity Development Officer; DFID, FCO, and the British Embassy in Khartoum as a Program Officer; Care International USA as a Program and Information Officer; and Near East Foundation as a Program Coordinator.

Cristina Albertin

UNODC

Regional Representative

cristina.albertin@un.org

Ms. Cristina Albertin is the UNODC Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa. With a UN career spanning 28 years, Ms. Albertin joined UNODC in 1994, serving in different capacities in Peru and in Headquarters in Vienna before becoming a UNODC Representative in Bolivia, South Asia, and Nigeria. Before joining UNODC, she worked with the World Food Programme in Bolivia.

Eddie Rowe

WFP

Representative and Country Director

eddie.rowe@wfp.org

Mr. Eddie Rowe joined WFP in 1992 as an Emergency Officer in Somalia. Since then, Eddie has worked extensively in managing and coordinating complex Emergency and Natural Disaster operations in the Great Lakes, Southern Africa, Sudan, the Balkans, Kosovo South East Asia, and South Sudan in various capacities. Before appointed to serve as the Country Representative in Sudan in March 2021, Eddie served as the Director of Corporate Planning and Performance division at WFP Headquarters. Prior to this, he served as the Country Representative in Zimbabwe from 2015 to 2020. Eddie holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Geography from the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone and a Masters of Specialization in Environmental Economics from the International School of Tourism Science in Rome, Italy. He is married with a son.

George Papagiannis

UNESCO

Representative and Head of Office

Mr. George Papagiannis comes to Sudan with nearly 40 years of experience in international development, strategic communications, and journalism. He has been with UNESCO for the past 15 years where he has served in Iraq, the United States, and most recently at HQ as chief of all media operations since 2015. Prior to joining UNESCO in 2007, George was Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs at Internews, the international media development NGO. His career included work in post-conflict and transitional political environments including Iraq, Afghanistan, Afghan-Pakistan border, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, among others. George also served as the Communications Director for U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi during the 105th Congress.

Mandeep O’Brien

UNICEF

Representative

Over the past twenty one years, Ms. Mandeep O'Brien has served in the UN, across three agencies. Most recently she was UNICEF Representative in the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2019. Prior to this, she was Deputy Director for Inter-governmental Relations, Resource Mobilization, IFIs Partnerships in the Public Partnerships Division (2016-2019) and Senior Adviser and Team Leader for UN Partnerships (2013-2016) in UNICEF Headquarters. She was UNFPA Deputy Representative and Representative a.i. in Viet Nam (2011-2013) and Strategic Planning Specialist in UNFPA New York (2006-2010). Ms O'Brien holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs, a Master’s Degree in Sociology and Advanced Certification in Health Research Methods.

Masayuki Yokota

UN-Habitat

Head of Country Programme

masayuki.yokota@un.org

Mr. Masayuki Yokota has more than 18 years’ professional experience in urban and regional planning, urban development, housing, land and property rights (HLP), disaster risk management and emergency response including 6 years’ experience in Japan and 12 years with the UN-Habitat in challenging and/or crisis-affected field environment including Kosovo, Iraq, Libya, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Represented UN-Habitat HQ as a Sector Leader of Housing and Land in the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) team in Moldova and in Cape Verde. Ph.D. of Engineering (urban and regional planning/disaster risk management), Chartered Town Planner of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) in the U.K. and the First Class Architect in Japan.

Milena Stefanova

World Bank

Country Representative/Manager

mstefanova@worldbank.org

Ms. Milena Stefanova, a Bulgarian national, is the Country Manager for Sudan. She joined the World Bank in 2005 in the Legal Vice Presidency. She has since held a number of positions, including Governance Specialist with the Justice Reform Group in Washington, D.C. and Vanuatu, East Asia and Pacific Region, and Senior Operations Officer with the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group in Washington, D.C. Her most recent assignment was as Conflict Prevention and Resilience Adviser for Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan, based in Addis Ababa. Stefanova holds a LLM degree in Public International Law from the of University of Helsinki, a post-graduate degree in English and European Law from University of Cambridge, and a Master of Laws from the University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Mohamed Elsayed Abdelmomen

UNIDO

Country Representative

m.abdelmomen@unido.org

Mr. Mohamed Elsayed Abdelmomen currently serves as UNIDO’s Country Representative for Sudan and brings in more than 20 years of professional experience in international development and humanitarian assistance. Prior to joining UNIDO, Mohamed worked for ACORD (UK based Charity) Ockenden International (UK based Charity), UNMIS and UNDP. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Entrepreneurship Development) from Sudan University of Science & Technology, MBA from University of Juba, Sudan and B.Sc. (General) in Management Studies from the University of Khartoum, Sudan.

Mohamed Salem O Moujtaba

UNFPA

Resident Representative

Mr. Mohamed Salem O Moujtaba is the UNFPA representative in Sudan. Mohamed Lemine has extensive experience in the field of statistics and held the position of Head of Social Statistics at the National Bureau of Statistics in Nouakchott, Mauritania. Prior to his current position, he served as the UNFPA Representative in Congo-Brazzaville. From 2014 to 2018, he served as UNFPA Deputy Representative in Sudan. Mohamed Lemine joined UNFPA in 2003 as Regional Advisor to the Office of Population and Development. He holds M. Phil degree in Demography and a Special Diploma in Population and Development from Cairo Demographic Center, B.A. in Human Sciences, Tetouan, Morocco, and a certificate of Oversight and Monitoring and Evaluation, East Anglia University, Norwich, UK. He is fluent in French, English and Arabic. He is married and has three children.

Mohammad Sediq Rashid

UNMAS

Programme Manager

sediqr@unops.org

Mr. Mohammad Sediq Rashid is a humanitarian mine action practitioner since 1989. Since then he has continuously offered mine action services by working in various roles through the UN in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Sudan. He has joined the UNCT in Sudan as an UNMAS Programme Manager in July 2019. Sediq has come to Sudan with an over 30 years of relevant experience. He is specialized in managing mine action programmes, strategic planning and capacity development of national mine action institutions. Sediq holds a master’s degree from Cranfield university in resilience.

Mohammed Zaher

IMF

Representative

MZaher@imf.org

Mr. Mohammed Zaher is the IMF Resident Representative for Sudan. He joined the IMF’s Executive Board in 2010 as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director. In 2014, he became the lead desk on Yemen, and later on Bahrain. Between 2006 and 2010, he was Senior Manager at the National Bank of Kuwait. Prior to that, he worked for 15 years at the Central Bank of Jordan. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Kansas State University in 2004.

Munier Gaafar

UNOPS

Country Manager

MunierM@unops.org

For the last three decades, Mr. Gaafar has been actively working as an organizational leader and strategic change manager at the international level with diverse and multi-cultural working environments in both development and humanitarian sector, most of it in complex and fragile situations. He has worked in different countries with different organizations including ILO, UNDP, IRW, HelpAge International, NRC, Plan International and UNOPS. He is a holder of an MSc. in Managing Rural change from University of London, Peace and conflict reconciliation certificate from University of Coventry, certificate in humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster from Harvard Humanitarian Initiatives, Harvard University, as well as many other professional courses and certificates in Disaster Management from University of Wisconsin, (US), PMD Pro certificate and Partnering skills for strategic engagement (United Nations System Staff Colleague).

Nima Saeed Abid

WHO

Representative

abidn@who.int

Dr Nima Saeed Abid is a physician in the field of epidemiology. He previously served as the representative of the World Health Organization, the polio team leader in Syria and Pakistan, and deputy senior coordinator of the polio programme in Pakistan. He also held the position of Director General of Public Health and Primary Health Care at the Iraqi Ministry of Health. Dr Nima holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from "Basra University", and a fellowship in Community Medicine (Iraqi Board).

Peter KIOY

IOM

Country Director

pkioy@iom.int

Mr Kioy, a Kenyan national, recently came from IOM Niger, where he worked for five years on a varied range of migration and forced displacement challenges in support of the Niger government. His background with IOM includes working in Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) as well as a Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Officer with IOM Haiti, as an Emergency Coordinator and most recently as Senior Programme and Policy Liaison Officer with IOM Niger. His experience includes humanitarian response and coordination, migrants’ assistance as well as resilience programming in line with Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus. With the current complex climate in Sudan, Mr Kioy aims to support the Sudanese government in collaboration with other key stakeholders in meeting the objectives of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM) on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, as well as building resilience for the affected populations from the crisis around forced displacement in Sudan.

Rasha Omar

IFAD

Country Director

Ms. Omar is an agricultural economist and has been working in the field of agricultural and rural development since 1992. Prior to joining IFAD, she worked in the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research as Research Assistant and in the Center for Development Services in Egypt as training and technical assistance manager. She joined IFAD in October 2001. She has served as IFAD Country Director in several countries, based in Sudan (from 2009 to 2011), Democratic Republic of Congo (2012-2015), and India (2016 to 2020). She also served as Head of the South Asia Hub of IFAD from 2018 – 2020 with the Hub covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Ms Omar holds a Diplôme d’Ingénieur Agronome from the Institut National Paris-Grignon, France and a MSc in Rural Environment and Planning from Wye College, London University. Ms Omar is Egyptian.

Yuri Afanasiev

UNDP

Representative

yuri.afanasiev@undp.org

Mr. Yuri Afanasiev is UNDP’s Resident Representative in Sudan, having spent his 32-year development and crisis-response career addressing critical needs around the world. Prior to his current position Mr. Afanasiev served as the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. Earlier, he served in UNDP’s New York Headquarters as Senior Advisor at the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS covering 24 countries in the region including Central Asia. Mr. Afanasiev has led large-scale crisis response efforts as UNDP Coordinator for the Response to the Asian Tsunami in 2004-5, Somalia in 2012 and as the Typhoon Yolanda Response Coordinator in the Philippines in 2013 – and coordinated the UN response to the 2014 Balkan floods, and 2018 Kerala floods in India. Mr. Afanasiev has also served as Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the conflict and Deputy Director at Inter Agency Procurement Services Office. Additionally, across a range of UN entities and development organisations, Mr. Afanasiev has undertaken roles in the United States, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Cuba, and holds an MA in International Economics and Finance from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

Our Team in Sudan

Volker Perthes

Abdou Dieng

Adjaratou Fatou Ndiaye

Alexio Musindo

Atila Uras

Axel Bisschop

Baha Sharief

Cristina Albertin

Eddie Rowe

George Papagiannis

Mandeep O’Brien

Masayuki Yokota

Milena Stefanova

Mohamed Elsayed Abdelmomen

Mohamed Salem O Moujtaba

Mohammad Sediq Rashid

Mohammed Zaher

Munier Gaafar

Nima Saeed Abid

Peter KIOY

Rasha Omar

Yuri Afanasiev