Secretary-General Appoints Afshan Khan of Canada Coordinator for Scaling Up Nutrition Movement
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Afshan Khan of Canada as Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement. She will succeed Gerda Verburg of the Netherlands to whom the Secretary-General expresses his gratitude for her efforts and dedication in leading the Scaling up Nutrition Movement.
The Scaling up Nutrition Movement is a country-driven initiative led by 65 countries and 4 Indian states united in their mission to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Ms. Khan will lead the Scaling up Nutrition Movement Secretariat, as well as coordinate the network of Scaling up Nutrition Government Focal Points, the Movement’s stakeholders and supporters. In her new assignment, she will work to ensure the execution of the Scaling up Nutrition strategy at the global level by building partnerships, and galvanizing engagement and commitment to end malnutrition in all its forms.
Ms. Khan started her work for United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Mozambique in 1989 and is currently serving as Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. During this period, she has been Director of Emergency Programmes, Director of Public-Sector Alliances and Resource Mobilization, Associate Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the UNICEF Representative in Jamaica. She has extensive field experience including assignments in Kenya, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia. She has broad United Nations-wide expertise stemming from assignments with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee for Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, Executive Office of the Secretary-General and the United Nations Development Group. Ms. Khan also has extensive knowledge of international civil society organizations, having served as the CEO of Women for Women International.
Ms. Khan was born in India and has both Canadian and United Kingdom citizenship. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from McGill University. She is fluent in English and French.