The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, on Friday announced the appointment of Nigeria’s Ahunna Eziakonwa as Special Adviser on Africa.
She succeeds Cristina Duarte of Cabo Verde, whom Guterres commended for her “commitment and dedicated service to the Organisation.”
Eziakonwa brings nearly three decades of experience within the United Nations system to her new role.
She currently serves as UN Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator, and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where she oversees support to 46 African countries in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Since 2018, she has played a central role in shaping UNDP’s strategic approach to economic, social, and political development across the continent.
Her UN career spans a wide range of humanitarian, development, and political assignments across Africa and at headquarters.
She has served as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator, and UNDP Resident Representative in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Lesotho, where she coordinated humanitarian response, development planning, and political engagement.
Earlier, she was Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in New York, overseeing humanitarian operations in 15 African countries. She has also held senior positions in Liberia and Sierra Leone during critical periods of transition.
At UN Headquarters, she contributed to peacekeeping, political analysis, and strategic communications within the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Political Affairs, and Public Information.
Before joining the UN, she worked with several civil society organisations across Africa.
Eziakonwa holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, New York, with a focus on African economic and political development, and a Bachelor’s degree in Pedagogy, English, and Literary Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.
She is fluent in Igbo, English, and Yoruba, and has a working knowledge of French.
NAN
