The UN Resident Coordinator Office
The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO) supports the UN Resident Coordinator in their roles to work with UN entities to improve the impact, efficiency and effectiveness of the UN’s operational activities for development at the country level.
As designated representative of the UN Secretary-General, the RC in Malawi leads and strategically positions the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in support of national priorities, development strategies, and plans.
The UNRCO in Malawi provides inter-agency coordination support to the UN Country Team (UNCT) and its various sub-groups (Programme Management Team - PMT, Operations Management Team - OMT and UN Communications Group - UNCG). The support includes strategic planning, programme and operations management, policy guidance, data management and results reporting as well as knowledge management, advocacy and communications – all seeking to enhance UN coherence and improve overall programme impact to better achieve development results.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Malawi
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Rebecca Adda-Dontoh of Ghana as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Malawi, with the host Government’s approval. She took up her post on 10 December 2022.
Ms. Adda-Dontoh is a peacebuilding and development practitioner with over 30 years of service in national public service, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations, focusing on fragile, transitional and humanitarian contexts in Ghana, Philippines, Nigeria, Malawi, Gambia and Bangladesh.
Prior to her appointment as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ms. Adda-Dontoh served for the past 10 years as a Senior Peace and Development Adviser to United Nations country teams in Bangladesh, Gambia and Malawi.
Before that, she was the Deputy Director at the Centre for National Culture in Ghana, the Conflict Prevention Programme Manager for Non-violent Peaceforce in Mindanao, Philippines; and the Peace Adviser for the German Association for Development Cooperation in Plateau State, Nigeria. Ms. Adda-Dontoh founded and led Mothers for Active Non-Violence, a women’s peace and development non-governmental organization. She also worked as a consultant with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Interior in Ghana.
Ms. Adda-Dontoh holds a Master of Arts degree in public relations and public communications from the University of Westminster, and a diploma in journalism and public relations from the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
Meet the Team in the UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Malawi
- Mickelle Hughes, Head of UN Resident Coordinator’s Office: mickelle.hughes@un.org
- Chimwemwe Msowoya, Development Coordination Officer (Partnerships and Development Financing): chimwemwe.msowoya@un.org
- Rudolf Nkhata, Development Coordination Officer (Data Management, and Results Monitoring and Reporting): rudolf.nkhata@un.org
- Jabusile Shumba, Development Coordination Officer (Economist): jabusile.shumba@un.org
- Siphiwe Banda, Executive Associate: siphiwe.banda@un.org
- Victor Sheki, Administrative Associate: victor.sheki@un.org
- Bennet Phunyanya, Associate Communications Officer: bennet.phunyanya@undp.org
UN Staff in Malawi
There are over 700 staff of the United Nations in Malawi, working with about 20 UN entities that are active in Malawi to contribute towards ensuring a better life for the people of Malawi. For more details about UN staff deployment in Malawi per agency and where they work, see this UN Staff Deployment Map for Malawi.
