Secretary-General Appoints Mohamed Ag Ayoya of Mali Deputy Special Representative, United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Mission in Central African Republic

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Mohamed Ag Ayoya of Mali as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and Resident Coordinator for the Central African Republic.  Mr. Ayoya will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator.

He succeeds Denise Brown of Canada who was appointed as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and also serves as Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine.  The Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated commitment to recovery, humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts in the Central African Republic.

Mr. Ayoya brings over two decades of professional experience and extensive knowledge of humanitarian affairs, with a particular focus on complex emergencies and child protection issues in field settings.  Mr. Ayoya served since early 2022 as the Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Afghanistan.  He has also served as UNICEF Representative in other conflict settings, notably in Somalia and South Sudan between 2019 and 2022, where he worked closely with United Nations peace operations, as well as in Guinea (2013-2016) and Zimbabwe (2016-2019).

Mr. Ayoya holds a medical degree from the University of Bamako in Mali and a PhD in nutritional sciences from Cornell University in the United States.  Mr. Ayoya is fluent in English, French, Tamasheq, Bamanan and Songhai.