United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Friday the appointment of Ahunna Eziakonwa of Nigeria as Special Adviser on Africa.
She succeeds Cristina Duarte of Cabo Verde, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the Organization.
Eziakonwa brings nearly three decades of UN leadership to her new role.
In her current position as UN Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator, and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she oversees support to 46 African countries in pursuing Agenda 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Since 2018, she has helped shape UNDP’s strategic approach to economic and political development across the continent.
Eziakonwa’s experience spans the full spectrum of UN work in Africa.
She has served as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator, and UNDP Resident Representative in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Lesotho, coordinating humanitarian action, development strategies, and political engagement.
As Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in New York, she managed humanitarian operations across 15 African countries and held senior roles in Liberia and Sierra Leone during critical periods.
At UN Headquarters, she contributed to peacekeeping, political analysis, and strategic communications related to UN engagement in Africa, collaborating with the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Political Affairs, and Public Information.
Before joining the UN, she worked in several African civil society organizations.
Eziakonwa holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs with a focus on African economic and political development from Columbia University, New York, and a Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy, English, and Literary Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.
She speaks fluent Igbo, English, and Yoruba, and has a working knowledge of French.
