Reception Honoring UNFPA Deputy Executive Director and Regional Directors

The Universal Access Project is hosting a reception in honor of some UNFPA colleagues during their visit to Washington, D.C. We look forward to this opportunity for the community to meet the delegation in person and to envision opportunities for collaboration in the year ahead as we mark 30 years since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

Diene Keita, Assistant Secretary General, Deputy Executive Director, Programmes

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Diene Keita of Guinea as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as the Deputy Executive Director, Programme of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).  Ms. Keita succeeds Dereje Wordofa of Ethiopia, to whom the Secretary-General and the Executive Director of UNFPA are grateful for his dedicated service to UNFPA.
 
Ms. Diene Keita, who recently served as Minister for Cooperation and African Integration with the Republic of Guinea, brings to the position nearly 30 years of experience within the United Nations System.  She started her United Nations career in 1990 with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York as Programme Officer, and from this point held various successful programmatic leadership positions at country level, serving as UNDP Deputy Representative and Acting Representative for several years. 
 
Ms. Keita joined UNFPA in 2006 as Representative in Mauritania, and thereafter served in representative positions in Benin, as well as in DRC and Nigeria (two of UNFPA’s largest programmes globally) before joining the Guinean Government as a Cabinet Minister in 2018.  During this time, Ms. Keita successfully led large and complex public health programmes, expanded strategic partnerships and mobilized critical resources to support delivery.  While serving with UNFPA, Ms. Keita also acted as United Nations Resident Coordinator in Mauritania, Benin and DRC where she oversaw the United Nations system at the national level.  All throughout her career, Ms. Keita has worked extensively on the empowerment of women and youth, inclusive growth, demographic issues, sustainable human development, addressing sexual and reproductive health, as well as gender-based violence in humanitarian settings.
 
Ms. Keita, who is a fluent in French and Italian, holds a doctorate in Law, a DEA in International Economics and Development Law and a DESS in International Relations from the University of Paris 1 Sorbonne.  Ms. Keita is married and the mother of a young adult.

Dr. Sennen Hounton, Regional Director for West and Central Africa

A medical doctor by training, Mr. Hounton brings a strong humanitarian and development background, Mr Hounton is an expert of the West and Central Africa region. Prior to his position as Regional Director, Mr Hounton was UNFPA Representative in Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and served as Senior Emergency Coordinator in South Sudan, and Family Planning Team Leader as well as Maternal Health Advisor at UNFPA Headquarters.

Pio Smith, Regional Director for Asia Pacific

Prior to his role as Regional Director, Mr. Smith was the Chief of Staff of UNFPA based at UNFPA’s headquarters in New York. During his 18-year career with the United Nations, Mr. Smith has held key positions including working as Special Assistant to two UN Deputy Secretary-Generals and as Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Post-2015 Development Planning. He also served as Policy Officer in the UN’s Ethics Office and in the UN Secretariat’s Department of Management. Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Smith worked in the UK Home Office on regulatory reform and with the UK Regional Assembly focusing on European policy.

Susana Sottoli, Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean

Before joining UNFPA, Ms. Sottoli as the UN Resident Coordinator in Bolivia.

An expert of the Latin American and the Caribbean region, she has a demonstrated ability to navigate the sociopolitical complexities of middle- and upper middle-income countries, where she has consistently advocated for the rights of people disproportionally affected by exclusion and inequities. 
Prior to her appointment as Bolivia UN Resident Coordinator, she served in UNICEF as Deputy Director of the Programme Division and Associate Director for Gender, Rights and Civic Engagement in New York Headquarters; UNICEF Country Representative in Mexico; Social Policy Advisor in the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACRO) in Panama, and Deputy Representative/Senior Programme Coordinator in Paraguay. Before joining UNICEF, Ms. Sottoli worked for over a decade as a researcher and consultant in the US, Europe and Latin America advising governments and international organizations on development issues.

Lydia Zigomo, Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

A human rights lawyer and international development and humanitarian leader, Ms. Zigomo has 30 years’ experience in women and children’s rights, constitutional reform, health systems strengthening, sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, gender justice, women’s economic empowerment and economic justice, including in humanitarian settings. She previously served with Oxfam International as Global Programmes Director in Nairobi, Kenya, and as Regional Director for the Horn, East and Central Africa. Before this, she was Regional Director in East Africa for Water Aid.