NEW UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR TAKES OFFICE

Nairobi, August 11, 2008 - Mr. Aeneas Chuma is the new UNDP Resident Representative, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Kenya. Mr. Chuma, accredited by the Government of Kenya today, replaces Ms Elizabeth Lwanga whose term of office ended on 30 June 2008.

A Zimbabwean national, Mr. Chuma brings to his new assignment in Kenya a wealth of experience having served in the same capacity with the United Nations 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.

Mr Chuma’s contributions will be strategic to realising the Kenya government’s new development Vision 2030, amongst other endeavours 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.

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 General Elections, and will remain committed to offering the government support towards national re-building efforts necessitated by the post-election events experienced earlier in the year. On the social development front, Mr. 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.

As he assumes office, Mr Chuma 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. As part of this endeavor was an initiative to overcome some of the obstacles to doing business with the poor, which the new Resident Coordinator addressed during the launch of a new groundbreaking report titled ‘Creating Value for All: Strategies for Doing Business with the Poor’, on 24 July 2008. This report launched forms part of the global initiative dubbed “Growing Inclusive Markets.