United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed a Namagunga old girl Winnie Karagwa Byanyima of Uganda as the next Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
The appointment follows an open and wide-ranging search process.
Ms. Byanyima succeeds Michel Sidibé who was appointed as Minister of Health and Social Affairs of Mali.
Ms. Byanyima brings a wealth of experience and commitment in harnessing the power of government, multilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society to end the HIV and AIDS crisis for communities around the world. Ms. Byanyima has been the Executive Director of Oxfam International since 2013. Prior to Oxfam, she served for seven years as the Director of Gender and Development at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Through Knowledge to Virtue @Winnie_Byanyima @UNAIDS You are such a blessing to Mt. St. Mary’s College Namagunga. You have upheld Namagunga Bravo👏👏https://t.co/EHJG9wA1IX #namagungacollege @Prawlers @nogaug https://t.co/XKkhMvLtfI photo credit @AFP https://t.co/iex9qQemgQ pic.twitter.com/NWcBrH5CAu
— Mt. St. Mary’s College Namagunga (@msmcnamagunga) August 16, 2019
Ms. Byanyima began her career as a champion of marginalized communities and women some 30 years ago as a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Uganda. In 2004, she was named Director of Women and Development at the African Union Commission, working on the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, an international human rights instrument which became an important tool towards reducing the disproportionate effect of the HIV pandemic on the lives of women in Africa.
She holds an advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering (Energy Conservation and Environment) from the Cranfield Institute of Technology, and an undergraduate degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Manchester.