Our Team in Eritrea

James Wakiaga is the UNDP Resident Representative in Eritrea since April 2019. He previously served as Senior Economist with UNDP in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Prior to this, he worked as Chief Economist/Director in Kenya’s Foreign Service and served as Economic Counsellor at the Kenya Embassy in Washington DC. He has contributed to several knowledge products on Poverty, MDGs, SDGs, Human Development and Economic Growth with a focus on Africa.

Dr Martins Ovberedjo (Nigeria) is the Country Representative of the World Health Organization in the State of Eritrea since August 2019. Previously, he served as the Country Representative of the World Health Organization in Botswana. He has over 30 years of experience in health systems and service delivery at both the national and international levels.
Dr Ovberedjo is a medical doctor by training. He holds a Master's in Public Health and Business Administration.

Aeneas Chapinga Chuma
A national of Zimbabwe took up his role as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Eritrea from 1st November 2022.

Mr. Chuma brings with him a wealth of development and leadership experience. Prior to this appointment, Mr Chuma served as Acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator of Ethiopia from 2018-2019.

Mr. Chuma has also served as the ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa from 2014 to 2017.

He also served as Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Liberia from 2012-2014.

Mr. Chuma also served as the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya from 2008 to 2012 and in Zambia from 2003 to 2008. From 2000 to 2003, he was the UN Deputy Resident Representative in Mozambique.

He also held various positions with the United Nations Development Programme in New York, Oman and Zimbabwe.

Mr. Chuma holds a master’s degree in applied economics from the University of California.

Bucyana Kawira is the UNIDO Representative a.i. to Kenya, Seychelles, Comoros, Eritrea, and South Sudan since (2019). She previously served as Industrial Development Officer with UNIDO in the HQ Offices in Vienna, Austria. She has over 20 years’ experience in Agro -Industry development. She holds a master’s degree in Food Safety and Quality Assurance from University of Guelph, Ontario Canada and speaks English and Swahili.

Prof. Hubert Gijzen holds a PhD in Biotechnology and has an established career of over 38 years in both academics and international cooperation for sustainable development. Throughout his career, he has lived and worked in various countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, in a range of senior functions as Full Professor and Chair in Universities, as a Diplomat, Team Leader, Regional Representative, and currently as UNESCO Regional Director and Representative.
Besides his current work for UNESCO, he holds academic positions as full Professor of Environmental Biotechnology at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (since 1995) and as Visiting Professor in other institutions. He has published over 400 articles and books and presented numerous keynotes in the fields of water management, microbiology, environmental sciences, biotechnology, and sanitary and environmental engineering. He also covered topics on international cooperation, sustainable development, the MDGs, SDGs, big data and climate change. He served in various international advisory functions and on Boards of prestigious Institutes and programmes.

Hubert Gijzen joined the UN in 2006 as the Director of the UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific based in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2015, he was appointed as the Regional Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe. As per July 2021 he serves as UNESCO Regional Director for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, and as UNESCO Representative to Kenya, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia and Uganda. He is the UNESCO Representative to SADC and COMESA, serves on the UN Regional Directors Team and is member of the UN Regional Coordination Platform for Africa.

Keita has more than 20 years working in the area of population and development with UNFPA. He worked for country offices in Senegal, Chad, and DRC. Keita also worked for NY HQ with Africa Division at the time. His most recent post was Representative in Gabon country office.

Keita has also working experiences with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and private sector. Keita is a national of Japan. He holds a Bachelor in Geography, a Master in Economics and has recently resumed Ph.D in Demography (Universite de Montreal).

Ishaku Maitumbi is the Senior Advisor in the Regional Officer for Africa, UN-HABITAT covering Eastern and Horn of Africa Region. He is a chartered urban planner (MRTPI) with over 20 years' professional experience in the sector, including more than 12 years with the United Nations. He previously served in Somalia, Iraq, Kosovo, Ethiopia and Nigeria, amongst other places. Prior to joining the United Nations, he was a United Kingdom civil servant in local and regional/central government. Ishaku specialises in urbanization, displacement and local government systems strengthening, unban resilience, especially in post-conflict and developing environments. This varied experience is backed up with an MSc in Urban Planning and International Development (Oxford Brookes, UK).

Ms. Margaret Oduk, an environment policy expert has been with UN Environment Programme for over 15 years in different capacities. Prior to her current post, she was UNEP’s Focal Point for global Biodiversity - Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) managing several high profile projects. Ms. Oduk is an Alumni of the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies. A Kenyan national, Ms. Oduk has a Masters and Ph. D in Resource and Environmental Management from the Australian National University in Canberra Australia.

Ms. Mama Keita is the Director of the sub-regional office for Eastern Africa of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) based in Kigali. She has worked in the field of development economics for over 20 years. Prior to her employment at ECA Ms. Keita held positions as Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Guinea and Poverty Economist at the World Bank in Burkina Faso. She has assumed various academic roles, conducted various international consultancies, and carried out several research studies and publications. She holds a Masters in Statistics and Applied Economics from ENSEA in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and a PhD. in economics from the University of Montreal, Canada.

Neil Walsh joined the United Nations in January 2016 and, since December 2021, is the Regional Representative for UNODC in Eastern Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the Head of Mission for 13 countries in the East Africa and Western Indian Ocean Region. He and his staff deliver the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s Strategic Vision for Africa's response to crime, terrorism, security, and health threats. From 2016-2021, Neil led UNODC's global Cybercrime, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism Department in Vienna. Prior to joining UNDOC, Neil served for over 15 years within the UK National Crime Agency countering international serious organised crime and terrorism including long-term postings to Europol HQ in The Hague and the British High Commission in Malta. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Psychology & Criminology and an M.Sc. in Criminal Investigation. He is also an experienced Emergency Medical Technician. In his spare time, Neil advocates for bowel cancer (colorectal cancer), brain haemorrhage, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, and Crohn’s disease awareness (having survived all of these conditions).You can follow him on social media (@NeilWalsh_UN) and listen to his podcast with Under Secretary-General Melissa Fleming here: https://www.un.org/en/awake-at-night/S3-E2-how-do-we-get-better-after-this

Eric Oechslin is a French economist holding a postgraduate certificate in mathematical economy and econometrics from the Pantheon-Assas University (Paris). Before joining the ILO, he had worked for more than 13 years as Senior Adviser for Europe at the International Organization of Employers (IOE) which is the largest business organization dealing with labour and social issues. He had, inter alia, managed two specific projects for the Western Balkans respectively on social dialogue and on employment. He was also the organizer of the IOE European Meeting which brings together, each year in a different country, national European employers’ organizations to discuss the main issues for business in Europe. He was also the IOE specialist on the administration, programme and finance of the ILO at its Governing Body and was also responsible for activities related to social security (including the social protection floor), human resources, and the fight against human trafficking and corruption. He was the IOE Sherpa for the G20 in France and participated in the G20 consultations and meetings on labour and employment issues.
In 2012, he joined the ILO as Senior Specialist for Employers’ Activities for the North African region. He has been in charge of providing technical and political support to employers’ organizations from 12 countries. Amongst the main achievements, human resources academies were established in Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and, soon, in Morocco as well the assessments of several business associations to guide them towards more members-oriented approach. In April 2019, he was appointed Director of the ILO Decent Work Team for North Africa and the ILO Country Office for Egypt and Eritrea.

Vincent Omuga has been the Head of Office of OCHA Eritrea since July 2021. He has 21 years of experience in the UN common system. Prior to his joining the Eritrea office, he worked as the Deputy Head of Office in OCHA Nigeria and the OCHA Regional Office for the Pacific Islands based in Fiji. Before this, he worked in OCHA Philippines and Zimbabwe Offices as the Head of Coordination. He has also served as the Head of Sub-Office in OCHA Nepal and as Humanitarian Affairs Officer for OCHA in Sudan and Geneva. Vincent’s further experience includes working with UNHCR in refugee settings in Kenya and Sudan.

He holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of London and a second Post Graduate degree in Diplomacy and International Relations. He is married with four children.