Our Team in Somalia

George Conway of Canada is the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator (DRSG/RC/HC) for Somalia.

Prior to this role, George served as Deputy Director at UNDP’s Crisis Bureau in New York. His vast UN career includes serving as Strategic Advisor to UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa (2012- 2013), Country Director a.i. in South Sudan for the first year following its declaration of independence, and prior to independence as UNDP’s Head of Programmes in Juba (2007-2012).

He started his UN career in Indonesia (2001-2007) on UNDP’s crisis prevention and recovery portfolio, and recovery efforts in Aceh following the Indian Ocean tsunami. Before joining UNDP, George worked in Ottawa as an analyst on peace and conflict issues, and with the Canadian national stand-by roster of civilian expertise for rapid-response deployment to peace-keeping operations.

He holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs (Development / Conflict) from Carleton University in Ottawa, an interdisciplinary Master’s degree from the University of Western Ontario, and a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Winnipeg.

Mr. Gilabert is heading the UNIDO Sub Regional office in Cairo and is UNIDO Representative for Egypt, Djibouti, Libya, Somalia and the State of Palestine
Prior to this role, he served is a former UNIDO Representative in Madagascar, Viet Nam, and Brussels. He started his career in tech. Company Gemplus Electronics in France and at the French Embassy (Trade Commission) in Tokyo, Japan and Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 1993, he joined UNIDO for two years at the country office in Hanoi, Vietnam, before being appointed as industrial development officer - investment promotion expert at the Vienna headquarters in Vienna, where he worked mainly in the Maghreb countries, sub-Saharan Africa and China (1996-2006).
Patrick is a French national and development economist who has devoted 30 years to international public service, with increasing responsibility for managing complex development portfolios in Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan countries.

Mr. Ala’a Nemer, a national of Jordan is the Country Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) since July 2023.

Prior to this role, he served at the Middle East Regional Office as the Regional Management and Oversight Senior Advisor. In his previous years of professional career, he served as Head of Support Service for the Amman Multi Country Office, Regional Finance Advisor for IPAS in the UNOPS Headquarters, Acting Chief of Finance and Budget Section for UNMAS and Finance Analyst for the Peace and Security Cluster in New York.

With more than 23 years of experience, 18 of which are with UNOPS, Mr. Ala’a has built extensive experience in developing and implementing strategies, building, and supporting successful partnerships, enabling quality project delivery while managing efficient operations and offering innovative solutions for operational challenges. Over the years of his career, he gained a great exposure to different geographical contexts within which UNOPS operates.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration with concentration in Finance, he is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Mr. Ala'a is married and a proud parent of 9 years old twins: Karam and Qais, he enjoys Motorsports, hiking and cooking every now and then.

Crispen Rukasha, a Zimbabwe citizen and recently coming from OCHA Syria operation has over 25 years experience working in humanitarian, recovery, development, and peace building work. His experience covers operations in Zimbabwe, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia with UNDP focusing on reintegration of internally displaced persons and durable solutions. He also worked with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) as Returns, Recovery and Reintegration Officer. He served as Deputy Head of OCHA in Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen before taking position of Head of OCHA for Syria. He is well vested in the humanitarian-development-peace nexus including principled humanitarian assistance, programming and coordination and policy advise. He also brings experience of working for and with peacekeeping missions in conflict, post conflict and UN Integrated Mission settings thus bringing the political, humanitarian, human rights, and development arms of the UN together and the workings of the Interagency Standing Committee. He also fostered conditions for, and significantly improved the working relations with UN humanitarian and development agencies and NGOs leading to a more inclusive, joint and collaborative programming, and a more effective coordinated overall response. Crispen holds a Master of Science degree in Regional and Urban Planning from the University of Zimbabwe.

Dr Mohammed Ali Kamil is World Health Organization Acting Country Representative in Somalia, providing strategic leadership and oversight of the Organization’s health programmes, emergency response and operations.
With over 25 years of experience across the Mediterranean, East and Central Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, he is recognized for leading complex health and humanitarian interventions in high-risk and resource-constrained settings. Previously Deputy Representative in Somalia, he managed WHO’s core operations, including planning and compliance, ensuring institutional coherence and effective delivery.
He has also served as the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Manager for Emergency Operations, leading responses to major crises, including the Gaza emergency.

His career spans senior roles with governments, the United Nations and the World Bank Group, including Director of Prevention and Public Health in Djibouti and leadership positions in polio eradication and health systems strengthening across Somalia, Yemen and South Sudan.

A medical doctor with a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the Medical Institute of Leningrad, Dr Kamil combines technical expertise with strong leadership, partnership-building and operational acumen in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

Dr. Rukaya Mohammed joined UN Women Somalia as the Country Programme Manager, bringing over two decades of experience in gender equality, governance, economic empowerment, and peacebuilding across East and West Africa as well as at UN headquarters. She has served in both post-conflict and stable contexts—including Liberia, Ghana, Kenya, South Sudan, and the United States—leading high-impact programming and policy initiatives that advance women’s rights, political participation, economic empowerment, and peacebuilding. Her expertise spans gender responsive security sector reform, constitution-making processes, and women’s access to justice through her work with UN Women, UNDP, and international and local NGOs.

Prior to this role, Dr. Mohammed served as the Deputy Country Representative for UN Women in South Sudan and Kenya, providing strategic leadership in shaping national priorities on gender equality and supporting inclusive and gender responsive governance, humanitarian action, and peace and security processes. Her leadership is grounded in a deep commitment to amplifying women’s voices and strengthening institutional accountability to gender equality. Dr. Mohammed is enthusiastic about collaborating with government counterparts, women rights organizations, the UN Country Team, development partners, and civil society in Somalia to advance the gender equality agenda and deliver tangible results for women and girls across the country.

A dual national of Ghana and United States, Dr. Mohammed holds a PhD in Public Policy and Administration from Walden University, a master’s degree in international development and social Change from Clark University (USA), and a B.Sc. in Agricultural Economics and Extension from the University for Development Studies in Ghana

Mr Etienne Peterschmitt is the FAO Representative to Somalia. In his second experience working for FAO in Somalia he is also Head of Programme. He joined FAO in 2002. From technical to managerial positions, his vast experience with the UN specialized agency includes work in Haiti, Yemen, and several Eastern African countries (Burundi, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda). Previously, he worked for the private sector, NGOs and the ICRC in various locations worldwide. Mr Peterschmitt holds a MSc/Engineer degree in Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture by the Institute for Higher Education in Tropical Agri-Food Industry & Rural Development in Montpellier, France, and a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Development by the Institute of Economic and Social Development Studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Mr Peterschmitt is a French citizen.

Mr. Khumbula Ndaba has been serving as the Deputy Director General (DDG) for Corporate Support Services at the National Department of Social Development of the Government of the Republic of South Africa since 2019.
In the past, he held various positions in South Africa, including as Regional Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) from 1993 to 1995, and later National Negotiations Coordinator from 1995 to 1999.
Mr. Khumbula Ndaba joined the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) in 1999 as the Director of Labour Relations. In 2003, Mr Ndaba joined the South African Police as Major General. In 2010, he rejoined the DPSA as the Deputy Director General and held the position until 2016.
Mr. Khumbula Ndaba obtained a Bachelor of Admin Degree from the University of Durban Westville (now KwaZulu Natal) in 1993 and a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Economics from the University of London in 2004. Mr. Khumbula Ndaba was born on 21 March1968.
He was a former trade unionist and managed negotiations of salaries and conditions of service on behalf of the state in the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council. He was appointed as a Country Director of the ILO Country Office as of April 2024.

Kirsten Young, a national of the New Zealand, is the Chief of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS)’s Human Rights and Protection Group and the Representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) since 2017.

In 2020, Kirsten was seconded to the World Food Programme (WFP) to support its development of a Protection and Accountability Policy and Disability Rights Road Map. Prior to Somalia, Ms. Young served in Bentiu, Unity State, as a Protection of Civilians Advisor for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) as well as in Port-au-Prince in the UN’s Haitian mission. From 2010-2011, Mr. Young headed the Nepal programme in Kathmandu for the International Centre for Transitional Justice, focusing on reparations and truth and justice mechanisms. She worked for OHCHR attached to the UN mission in Afghanistan from 2008-2010 specialising in economic and social ????? and supported the establishment of the Ministry of Justice’s Human Rights Unit as well as Afghanistan’s National Independent Human Rights Commission.

From 2002 to 2007, Ms. Young headed the advocacy programme for Landmine Survivors Network, focusing on the UN Disability Rights Convention and the Cluster Munitions Convention negotiations. In 2000-2002, Ms. Young was a legal advisor at the Resident Claims Tribunal in Zurich and in the 1990s worked as a corporate lawyer in Chicago, Illinois.

She has a Doctorate in International Law and a Masters in International Law, both from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. During this time, she worked as a legal associate for Arnold and Porter, focusing on international law issues, including advocacy for the inclusion of victim assistance in the Mine Ban Treaty. She has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Otago, New Zealand. She is a member of the New York and New Zealand Bars.

Manuel Marques Pereira, a Portuguese national, assumed his role as Chief of Mission for IOM Somalia on 1 November 2024. Before this appointment, Mr. Pereira served as Chief of Climate Advocacy and Policy and as Head of the Division for Migration, Environment, Climate Change, and Risk Reduction at the International Organization for Migration’s headquarters in Geneva.

Mr. Pereira’s previous roles at IOM include Deputy Chief of Mission for IOM Bangladesh and Head of Office in Cox's Bazar; National CCCM Cluster Coordinator in Iraq; Regional Programme Manager for Displacement Capacity Building for governments in six Southern African countries; and Humanitarian Shelter Operations Field Coordinator in the Philippines. Earlier in his career, he worked on shelter, displacement management, and early recovery programmes in Pakistan and served in Timor-Leste with IOM, UNDP, and the Portuguese Embassy. His extensive experience in humanitarian settings — working with displacement-affected populations and collaborating with government and partners — informs his current role.

Mr. Pereira holds a master’s degree in Emergency Practice and Development from Oxford Brookes University and a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, and Tetum.

Mkhululi Ncube is the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Country Programme Manager/Head of Office for Somalia. He oversees all UNCDF activities in all the Federal Member States.

A firm believer in the power of fiscal decentralisation, Mkhululi has spent the past decade driving innovative ways of getting finance to subnational governments to accelerate positive change in the well-being of communities. Prior to joining UNCDF, Mkhululi was the Head of Local Government at the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) in South Africa. FFC is a statutory body that advises the South African government and parliament on the division of revenue and other intergovernmental fiscal relations matters. Mkhululi also spent several years teaching at various universities in Africa. He has published several articles on public finance.

Mkhululi, a Zimbabwean national, earned a PhD in Economics from Gothenburg University in Sweden, and MSc and BSc Economics degrees from the University of Zimbabwe.

Mr. Fran O’Grady currently occupies the role of Chief UNMAS Standing Capacity, in which function he recently provided strategic and technical support to UNMAS programmes in Sudan, DR Congo and Mali. With 25 years of management experience, including United Nations missions across Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, Fran has led large teams and implemented complex initiatives in emergency response, humanitarian, and development settings - involving stakeholder management, senior political engagement, and resource mobilisation. He also holds a master’s degree from Trinity College Dublin and is a Chartered Professional Engineer and professional mentor.
Previous UN appointments: Chief Mine Action Programme in South Sudan; Senior Programme Manager Rule of Law Reform in Ukraine; Head of Projects in Iraq; Programme Manger ai. UN Syria Response; Senior Programme Officer in DRC; Capacity Development Team Leader in South Sudan; Senior Military Officer in Chad; NATO Intelligence Officer in Kosovo; Military Platoon Commander in Liberia, and UNMAS Operations Officer in Eritrea/Ethiopia.

Mr. Hameed Nuru is a citizen of Botswana serves as the World Food Programme (WFP) Representative and Country Director to the Federal Republic of Somalia. Prior to this role, he served as the Director of WFP’s African Union Global Office and Representative to the African Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2021–2024). In this role, he positioned WFP as a key partner in African led initiatives addressing food security, conflict prevention, and sustain able development.

From 2019 to 2020, Mr. Nuru served as WFP Representative and Country Director in Sudan, supporting the transitional civilian administration and implementing programs focused on social safety nets, nutrition, and food access, including in the Darfur region. Prior to that, he served as the Representative and Country Director of India (2015–2019), where he introduced the first WFP Country Strategic Plan and supported significant government reforms in food distribution, fortification, and school feeding.

Preceding his UN career, Mr. Nuru served as the Senior Director for Policy and External Affairs at GALVmed, a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation initiative advancing livestock vac cines and healthcare in Africa. He also worked with the African Union–Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (IBAR) as Senior Policy Officer for Livestock & Fisheries, contributing to the first CAADP strategy. Earlier in his career, Mr. Nuru served as Principal Veterinary Officer for the Government of Botswana, focusing on livestock disease control. He began his professional journey in academia in 1987 as a lecturer and senior lecturer at universities in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe

Mr. Lauren, a national of France is the Resident Representative of UNDP in Somalia since June 2023. Before, assuming this role, he was the UNDP Resident Representative in Zambia since 2019 and served as the UNDP Country Director in Guinea from 2015 to 2019.

Between 2014 to 2015, he was the Head of Programmes at UNDP Sierra Leone and supported reprogramming UNDP interventions to respond to the Ebola virus outbreak. In the years 2008 till 2014, he was UNDP Iraq Inclusive Growth and Area Based Development Cluster Team Leader and managed a portfolio of projects focusing on local governance, service delivery, economic recovery, and poverty reduction.

Mr. Laurens worked in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2008 as UNDP Manager of the National Area Based Development Programme of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, engaging with Afghan communities to rebuild rural infrastructures, deliver basic services and promote economic development.

From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Laurens contributed to launch the World Bank supported Community Driven Development Poverty Reduction Fund in Laos as Senior Technical Advisor to empower villages in poor districts to plan, manage and implement their own public investments in a decentralized and transparent manner. From 1997 till 2002, he supported he Laotian Government, ILO, and UNDP in developing adapted participatory and integrated planning approaches and methodologies in remote mountainous areas.


Mr. Laurens holds Master’s Degree in Engineering and Management from the French Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers, and MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility at Ashridge Business School, UK.

Ms. Jing Song has been appointed as the Deputy Representative, UNHCR Representation in Somalia since January 2026. In this role, she will act as the Officer-in-Charge to manage UNHCR’s operation in Somalia, until the arrival of the Representative.

In addition to Somalia, Ms. Song has served in various capacities in UNHCR Offices across China, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Syria and Bangladesh. Her roles have encompassed public information, donor relations, reporting, programme and operations management.
Ms. Song holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Communication University of China, and a Bachelor’s degree in English Language from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China.

Ms. Lucy Ndungu, a national of Kenya is the Regional Manager East and Southern Africa region. She joined the UNV from the Resident Coordinator’s Office as the Peace and Development Adviser, UN Uganda. In that role, Lucy provided the UN Resident Coordinator, Country Team and Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and UNDP NY with strategic analytical and advisory support on politics, peace and sustainable development in Uganda and the region; implementation of the UN Reforms and in localization of the Sustainable Development Goals in Uganda; and with the Government of Uganda to develop a standing infrastructure for peace.
Prior to serving with the UN, Lucy worked in civil society in Kenya as the National Coordinator for Partnership for Peace and Security, a national civil society network in Kenya providing intellectual and strategic leadership to the organization. The organization is one of the founding members of Uwiano Platform for Peace which became a global reference point for infrastructures for peace. She also co-founded an NGO on women empowerment.

Ms. Ndungu holds a master’s degree in International Studies from the University of Nairobi and a bachelor’s degree in Management from Maseno University, and executive certificate in leadership and management from the Northwestern University, Chicago, USA. She is a Fellow of Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, Cape Town, South Africa; Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Norway. She also holds various post-graduate certifications in governance, peacebuilding, management, and leadership.

Ms. Sandra Lattouf assumed her role as UNICEF Representative in Somalia on 26 July 2025. Prior to this appointment, she served as Representative in Iraq (2023–2025), Burkina Faso (2020–2023), and The Gambia (2017–2020), following her tenure as Deputy Representative in Sierra Leone (2015–2017).

Throughout her career with UNICEF, Ms. Lattouf has held various positions at headquarters in New York and in several country and field offices, including Haiti, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Before joining UNICEF, she worked with the international NGO Solidarités (1999–2002) as a Nutrition Programme Coordinator, with assignments in Bujumbura (Burundi), Goma (DRC), and Paris (France).

Ms. Sandra is a national of Lebanon and holds an advanced university degree (Diplôme d’Études Supérieures Spécialisées) in Nutrition and Food Security from the University of Montpellier, France. She also holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Sciences and Techniques in Tours, France.