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H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki has served as Chief Executive Officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency since January 2009.

A former Prime Minister of Niger, from 1997 to 2000, Dr. Mayaki has a master’s degree from the National School of Public Administration (ENAP), Quebec, Canada and a Ph.D. in Administrative Sciences from the University of Paris I, France. He has worked as a Professor of Public Administration in Niger and Venezuela.

From 1996 to 1997 he was appointed Minister in charge of African Integration and Cooperation and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger. In August 2000, he set up the Analysis Centre for Public Policy in Senegal. From 2000 to 2004. Dr. Mayaki was a guest professor at the University of Paris XI, where he lectured on international relations.

Dr. Mayaki also led research at the Research Centre on Europe and the Contemporary World. In 2004, he served as Executive Director of the Platform in support of Rural Development in West and Central Africa, the Rural Hub, based in Dakar, Senegal.

H.E. Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees has been Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations in New York since February 2018.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Edrees was the Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs from 2015 to January 2018. He served as Ambassador of Egypt to Ethiopia, as well as his country’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, from 2011 to 2015.

From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Edrees was Deputy Assistant Minister for Arab-Orient Affairs. From 2007 to 2010, he was his country’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He previously served as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Nations in New York from 2006 to 2007 and as Deputy Chief of Mission at Egypt’s Embassy in Damascus, Syria, from 2001 to 2005.

Prior to his diplomatic service, he was a resident doctor within the Ministry of Health. Mr. Edrees holds a Master of Arts in political science from the University of London and a Bachelor of Science in medicine and surgery from Cairo University.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIESUNITED NATIONS SYSTEM SUPPORT IN OPERATIONALIZING THE PEACE, SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS, HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT NEXUS IN AFRICA – WITH THE SAHEL REGION AS A CASE STUDY

H.E. DR. IBRAHIM ASSANEMAYAKI Chief Executive Officer,NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency

H.E. MR. MOHAMED FATHI AHMED EDREES Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations

SESSION IV

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Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has been Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women since August 2013. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this position, having devoted her career to issues of human rights, equality and social justice. Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka has worked in government and civil society, and with the private sector, and was actively involved in the struggle to end apartheid in her home country of South Africa.

From 2005 to 2008, she served as Deputy President of South Africa, overseeing programmes to combat poverty and bring the advantages of a growing economy to the poor, with a focus on women. Prior to this, she served as Minister of Minerals and Energy from 1999 to 2005 and Deputy Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry from 1996 to 1999. She was a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 1996 as part of South Africa’s first democratic government.

Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka began her career as a teacher and gained international experience as a coordinator at the World YWCA in Geneva, where she established a global programme for young women. She is the founder of the Umlambo Foundation, which supports leadership and education. She completed her PhD on education and technology at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.

H.E. Ms. Finda Koroma was appointed Vice President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission in March 2018. As Vice President, Ms. Koroma works to enhance coordination within the institution, including in the areas of monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning and relations with other ECOWAS institutions.

Before joining the ECOWAS Commission, Koroma worked as executive director of F.K. Consulting, Inc. She has more than 20 years of experience in both the government and development sectors, and in the extractive sector.

A lawyer by profession, Koroma holds a Master’s degree in international law and international trade from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts.

DR. PHUMZILE MLAMBO-NGCUKA Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women

H.E. MS. FINDA KOROMA Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission

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Mr. Gambari is a prominent African scholar and diplomat. He attended King’s College, Lagos, Nigeria. From the London School of Economics, he obtained his B. Sc. (Economics) degree (1968) with specialization in International Relations. He later obtained his M.A. (1970) and Ph. D. (1974) degrees from Columbia University, New York, USA in Political Science /International Relations. Prof. Gambari also co-chairs the Albright-Gambari Commission. He began his teaching career in 1969 at City University of New York before working at University of Albany. Later, he taught at Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State. From 1986-1989, he was Visiting Professor at three universities in Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University and Howard University. He has also been a Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Resident Scholar at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, the Rockefeller Foundation-run center in Italy.

A decorated Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) of Nigeria, Mr. Gambari was the Permanent Representative of his country to the United Nations in New York. After joining the UN in 1999, he chaired the Special Committee against Apartheid. He also served as the Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues for the Secretary-General, and previously as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA0. He was later appointed by the UN Secretary-General and the African Union Commission Chair as Joint Special Representative for Darfur. He also served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission to Angola. Mr. Gambari is currently the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Political Issues. He has also served the Secretary-General in pursuing the good offices mandate on Myanmar. In May 2018, the UN Secretary-General appointed Mr. Gambari as a member of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa was appointed Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa of UNDP in June 2018.

Ms. Eziakonwa has many years of distinguished service with the United Nations, most recently as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ethiopia since 2015. Before that, she served as Resident Coordinator in Uganda and Lesotho, and held several posts with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as Chief of the Africa Section in New York and in a number of field duty stations. She also worked for the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Public Information in New York.

Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Eziakonwa held a series of senior positions with civil society organizations in Africa. She holds a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, with a focus on Economic and Political Development, as well as a Bachelor of Education degree in English and Literary Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.

PROFESSOR IBRAHIM GAMBARI Founder and Chairperson of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy & Development and former United Nations Special Adviser on Africa

MS. AHUNNA EZIAKONWA Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

MODERATOR

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Ms. Bience Gawanas was appointed Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa to the Secretary-General in January 2018.

Her former positions include that of Special Advisor to the Namibian Minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare and Special Advisor to the Namibian Minister of Health and Social Services.

In other career achievements, Ms. Gawanas served as the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Social Affairs. She was elected to that position for two terms by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in 2003 and 2008. In that capacity, she developed policy instruments, projects and programmes on social development, including the Social Policy Framework and the Maputo Plan of Action on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

In partnership with Member States and UN agencies, she initiated pioneering activities such as the launch of the AU’s Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), a movement for maternal and child health that mobilizes global, regional and country-level support from governments, civil society, and community leaders.

Ms. Jennifer Abu is a 22-year-old Nigerian based in New York City. She is coined a Pan-Africanist, social entrepreneur and global health advocate with a passion for women and children’s development. A graduate from the University at Albany, Ms. Abu holds a bachelor’s degree in public health and Africana studies.

Ms. Abu is currently working on a project in Nigeria to end child abuse in seven states of northeastern Nigeria. She launched Women and Children’s Rights in Africa (WACRIA) following a campaign she led to discuss perceptions of the Boko Haram abduction at the University of Albany and raised funds to support girls in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. In July of 2018, she travelled to Zambia to gather data to create a Malaria Prevention Programme (MPP). MPP is WACRIA’s response to control malaria and reduce the rate of absenteeism amongst the students of the Chipakata Children’s Academy.

FIRE SIDE CHAT

MS. BIENCE GAWANAS Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa to the United Nations Secretary-General

MS. JENNIFER ABU Founder of Women and Children’s Rights in Africa (WACRIA)