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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Ahunna Eziakonwa of Nigeria as Special Adviser on Africa, the UN announced on Friday.
Eziakonwa succeeds Cristina Duarte of Cabo Verde. Guterres expressed gratitude to Duarte for her commitment and dedicated service to the organisation.
Eziakonwa brings nearly 30 years of UN leadership 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.
In that capacity, she oversees the organisation’s support to 46 African countries in pursuing Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as 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 breadth of UN work in Africa.
She has served as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator, and UNDP Resident Representative in three countries – Ethiopia, Uganda, and Lesotho – where she coordinated humanitarian action, development strategy, and political engagement.
As Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in New York, she managed humanitarian operations across 15 African countries.
She also held senior posts in Liberia and Sierra Leone during critical periods in those nations.
At UN Headquarters, Eziakonwa contributed to peacekeeping, political analysis, and strategic communications related to UN engagement in Africa.
She worked with the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Political Affairs and Public Information.
Before joining the UN, she held positions in several African civil society organisations.
Eziakonwa holds a master’s degree in International Affairs with a focus on African economic and political development from Columbia University in New York.
She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy, English and Literary Studies from the University of Benin in Nigeria.
In addition to her native Igbo and English, she speaks fluent Yoruba and has a working knowledge of French.
