Our Team in Malawi

Bernadette Mazarura Mukonyora is the IFAD Representative and Country Director for Malawi, effective from 14 November 2022. Prior to that, Bernadette has served as IFAD’s Country Director for Eritrea and South Sudan, based in IFAD’s Multi-country Office in Addis Ababa. She has also periodically served as Officer-in-Charge for IFAD’s Multi-Country Office in Ethiopia.

Bernadette joined the United Nations family in 2007, and has worked in various capacities including as Project Manager, Portfolio Coordinator for Regional Programmes in East and Southern Africa, Institutional Focal Point for agriculture policy platforms African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and NEPAD/AUDA Rural Development Forum.

Bernadette brings extensive experience from her work in portfolio management across rural and agriculture projects in diverse contexts, including in fragile and post-conflict contexts. She has over 16 years of working experience in the design and implementation of policies, strategies and programmes with a focus on agriculture development, blue economy, community demand driven development, innovative rural finance and rural enterprise development in East and Southern Africa.

Bernadette holds two Masters Degrees - Masters Degree in Food Systems and International Agri-food Governance & Masters Degree in Applied Media Studies, and a Bachelors Degree in Media & Cultural Studies.

Mr. Kouame Cyr Modeste is the UNHCR Representative in Malawi since February 2021. He has 22 years of experience in protection and management. Previously, he worked as UNHCR Representative in the Republic of Congo from 2016 to 2020, following his rising through the ranks from a Protection Officer, through Head of Office in several operations. He started his career in Côte d'Ivoire working for a partnership project between CNCAR and UNHCR from 1997 to 1999. Kouame Cyr Modeste is a lawyer holding a Master’s in Legal, Administrative and Political Sciences.

George Okutho has taken his new appointment, with effect from 1st January 2019, as the Director of the ILO Country Office for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique and Representative to COMESA. Prior to that, he was the Director of the ILO Country Office in Addis Ababa responsible for Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, South Sudan and Sudan. He was also the Special Representative to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). He holds a Master degree (M.Sc) in Human Resources Development from the University of Manchester, U.K; B.Stat (Upper second degree) from Makerere University, Kampala Uganda and has undertaken several courses in and led development cooperation work.

Letty Chiwara is the Country Representative of UN Women in Malawi. She started her mission in April 2022. She has extensive leadership, representational and administrative experience. Previously, she was the UN Women Representative to Ethiopia, African Union Commission (AUC) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Letty has represented UN Women in several inter-governmental fora, including at the Africa Union, SADC, IGAD and ECOWAS. She has led various UN programmes in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Region, Latin America and the Caribbean and East and Central Europe. She possesses a Master of Science in Urban Development Planning from University of London, UK, and a Bachelor of Science in Rural and Urban Planning from University of Zimbabwe.

Dr. Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo is the Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Malawi since May 2022. She is a senior public health specialist and paediatrician with over 25 years of national and international experience. Prior to her appointment, she served as medical officer responsible for child and adolescent health at the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) since 2018. Between November 2019 and February 2021, she acted as the WHO Representative for Ghana. Before joining WHO, she served in several positions in Tanzania, including as the Director of Preventive Services (DPS) at the Ministry of Health of the Government of Tanzania. Dr. Kimambo is a graduate of Medicine and has a Master’s in Paediatrics and Child Health from University of Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania, and another Master’s in Public Health from London University - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Nomagugu Hanyana NCUBE is the Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Malawi. She has been working with IOM for more than 15 years in various capacities within the fields of migration health and migration management. She has previously served in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia, with her most recent posting in Zambia as Chief of Mission. Ms Ncube has over 20 years’ experience in community development and public health work covering aspects of public health, migration management, migrant protection and research spanning several countries in Southern Africa and beyond. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Zimbabwe, an Honours Degree in Gender Studies from the University of South Africa, a Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health from Pretoria Technikon and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Development Studies from the University of South Africa.

Nuha Ceesay, a Health Planner by profession, is the current UNAIDS Acting Country Director for Malawi. He was deployed to Malawi in 2019. He joined UNAIDS in 2007 as Country Officer for the Gambia and opened the UNAIDS office before taking up international duties as Investment and Efficiency Adviser for Swaziland and currently PEPFAR/Global Fund Implementation Adviser for Zambia. He holds a Master’s in Health Management, Planning and Policy, from the Nuffield Institute, University of Leeds.

Paul Turnbull is the Country Director and Representative of the UN World Food Programme in Malawi. He started his mission in Malawi in June 2021. Previously, he served as WFP Ethiopia’s Senior Deputy Country Director since July 2018 and WFP’s Deputy Country Director in Kenya from 2013‐2018 as well as Chief of the Programme Review and Support Unit at WFP’s headquarters in Rome from 2006 to 2013). He has worked for WFP for over 25 years. Paul holds a Master of Agricultural Science in Tropical Agricultural Development from the University of Reading and a Bachelor of Agricultural Science in Agriculture from Wye College, University of London.

Shigeki Komatsubara is the UNDP Resident Representative for Malawi. He started his mission in May 2019. Prior to his current assignment, he was Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD) programme advisor in the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA). He also regularly served as RBA officer-in-charge. Shigeki has also been Deputy Resident Representative in Ghana and Country Programme Advisor in the Regional Bureau for Africa. Shigeki holds a Master’s in International Relations from London School of Economics (LSE) and a Bachelor’s in International Relations from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

Zhijun Chen is the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative for Malawi. He started his mission as FAO Representative in May 2019. He has worked for FAO for about 15 years, serving in different capacities such as Irrigation and Rural Infrastructure Engineer at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Senior Irrigation and Rural Infrastructure Engineer and Investment Support Officer in Thailand. He joined the UN as the Irrigation and Water Management Officer at the UN Peace-Keeping Department in Timor-Leste in 2000. Zhijun holds a PhD in Farmland Water Conservancy, a Master in Fluid Machinery and Fluid Power Engineering, as well as a Bachelor in Irrigation and Drainage, from Wuhan University, China.