The United Nations (UN) has named Olufunmilayo Abosede Balogun-Alexander, a Nigerian, as its Resident Coordinator in Timor-Leste.
The appointment was approved by the host Government and by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
According to a press release, Abosede Balogun-Alexander resumed her position
About Abosede Balogun:
At a senior level within the United Nations and international NGOs, Olufunmilayo Abosede Balogun-Alexander has more than 30 years of experience working on and managing humanitarian, peace, and development projects. The UN’s statement included the following description of her:
“Ms Balogun-Alexander served as Head, Humanitarian Normative and Coordination Action, UN Women, where she led UN Women’s global response to humanitarian crises and supported UN Women Country Offices to strengthen gender mainstreaming in UN-led Humanitarian Coordinated response in crisis-affected countries.
“Before that, she worked as UN Women Country Representative to UN Women, Deputy Representative, UN Women Ethiopia, Director, External Relations and Advocacy, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Africa Region and Kenya Programme Manager for the UN Development Fund for Women.
“Ms Balogun-Alexander led and supported multi-functional teams at the country level to be fit for purpose and to achieve impact and results, particularly on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
“She led UN inter-agency coordination to coordinate joint assessments, develop and implement joint UN programmes, including gender-based violence, governance and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.”
In order to ensure that no one is left behind in the achievement of the SDGs, the UN further stated that she has coordinated national support and government priorities for development and social policy funding, including co-creating and driving solutions on contentious issues of gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and minority groups.
Her bachelor of arts in English is from the University of Lagos in Nigeria, and she holds a master’s degree in gender and development from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.