Aeneas Chuma, a Zimbabwean national has been named to head UN Development Program (UNDP) operations in Kenya.
A statement from the UN Information Centre in Nairobi said Chuma who replaces Elizabeth Lwanga whose term ended on June 30 as the new UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Kenya was accredited by the Kenyan government on Monday.
Chuma brings to his new assignment in Kenya a wealth of experience having served in the same capacity with the UN System in Zambia.
His professional life spans years of increasingly responsible positions held within the UN System in both Eastern and Southern Africa, the Arab States and at the headquarters in New York., in addition to working as an Economist with his country's Reserve Bank where his professional life begun.
The statement said Chuma's contributions will be strategic to realizing the Kenya government's new development Vision 2030, amongst other endeavors in the wake of the new coalition government.
"The new UN Resident Coordinator will be looking to pursuing this unique opportunity to address social and economic development challenges in Kenya and to furthering the country's achievements on the Millennium Development Goals; of which the more immediate concerns will be food security and reversing the high HIV and AIDS prevalence rates in parts of the country." the statement said.
As a crucial partner to the government of Kenya, UNDP was central to the civic education efforts in the country prior to the December 2007 polls, and said will remain committed to offering the government support towards national re-building efforts necessitated by the post-election events experienced earlier in the year.
"Chuma acknowledges that although major milestones have been accomplished through the introduction of the free basic education policy, there will be need to ensure that school enrolment is not compromised by other factors, such as poverty, lack of adequate school places and the impact of HIV and AIDS," it said.
Chuma said he will be giving priority to forging partnerships with the public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and donors to address both the social and economic challenges facing the country.
Source: Xinhua
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