Our Team in Ghana

Christoph Capelle is a Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer with a focus on penal and prison reform at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). In this capacity he works on technical assistance projects, including legislative reforms and prison staff training in line with international standards and norms.

Before joining UNODC, Christoph worked for two years as a lawyer in the field of migration law in a law firm in Hamburg, Germany. In the course of previous work assignments, he also worked for the German Institute for Human Rights and served as a law clerk at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, and for a Defence Team at the Khmer-Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

He holds an LL.M. in International Crime and Justice from UNICRI, a Licence en Droit from the University Paris X Nanterre, a Bachelor and Master of Laws from the University of Hamburg and passed both state exams in law and thereby is qualified to practice as lawyer, judge and prosecutor in Germany.

Dr Fiona Braka is a Public Health expert with over two decades of progressive experience in disease prevention and control, public health emergency management, strategic leadership and coordination.

Prior to her appointment as WHO Representative to Ghana, she served in different capacities at national and international levels with the World Health Organization in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda, where she led large and diverse teams to advance primary health care and health security. She most recently served as the Coordinator of Emergency Response Operations at the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) based in Brazzaville, Congo for four years. At AFRO, her role entailed leadership of response operations to acute and protracted health emergencies including disease outbreaks and humanitarian crises across 47 countries of the AFRO region; and coordination of support to member states to strengthen their local capacities for health security.

Dr Braka led the WHO effort to eradicate wild polio virus in Nigeria, which led to the certification of the African region as wild polio virus free in 2020. She has supported countries in sub–Saharan Africa particularly Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda where she served as Immunization Team Lead, to strengthen their national vaccination programs while expanding access to broader primary health services in advancement of Universal health coverage and health-related SDGs.

Dr Braka has published widely in peer-review journals and continues to strive to contribute to advancement of scientific knowledge and evidence through different platforms. She holds a Medical Degree from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and a Master of Public Health Degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland, USA.

Lihong Shen of China took up the role of Security Advisor & Representative of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security for Ghana on1 March 2024.

Ms. Shen has served at various UN security roles including FSCO and CSO for UNSMS in 9 countries across Africa, MENA and Asia Pacific regions since 2007. Her UN deployments include DPKO and DPA (UNMIS, UNIFIL, MINURSO, UNMISS, UNSMIL), UNDSS in ECA Ethiopia, and DSS/SSS in ESCAP Bangkok, Thailand.

Prior to the UN, Lihong served in the China Police for 15 years in two major capital cities: Harbin and Guangzhou. From 2005 to 2006, she was also deployed to Peacekeeping Mission at UNMIL in Liberia as Deputy Contingent Commander of Chinese Police.

Ms. Shen is a graduate from the Chinese People’s Public Security University in Beijing with a bachelor’s degree in science technology. She also holds a master’s degree in software engineering from Chongqing University, and a master’s degree in Human Resource Training and Management from Leicester University of U.K.

Mr. Osama Makkawi Khogali brings 28 years of international experience in both humanitarian response and development contexts, including with UNICEF and the Government of the Netherlands.

Prior to joining UNIC Ghana country office, he held the posts of UNICEF Representative to Tajikistan (2020 to 2023), Montenegro (2017 - 2020) and Oman (2013 - 2017). Mr Makkawi Khogali was UNICEF Deputy Representative to Iraq (2009 – 2013), Regional Emergency Specialist for UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office (2006 to 2009); and served as Principal Emergency Coordinator and in other positions with UNICEF Pakistan Office.

Originally from Sudan, Mr. Khogali holds a Master’s degree in Economics from MS University of Baroda, India, and a Bachelor degree in Arts, University of Udaipur, India, and has significant experience in programme design and management, fundraising and partnership building with local authorities, UN agencies, NGOs, and the donor community.

Abena Ntori has over 17 years of experience within the UN system and currently oversees and promotes UN-Habitat work in Ghana while maintaining close collaboration with advisers in regional and headquarters in thematic areas for effective overall coordination.

With over 20 years of experience and expertise in strategic development planning, management and finance that combines policy formulation, programme management and coordination, Abena offers high level advisory support to UN-Habitat and partners. She has knowledge in building strategic partnerships and leading teams of specialists and programme coordinators in the formulation of projects across different thematic areas and organisations.

Prior to joining the UN, she worked briefly in the private sector where she was mainly involved in strategic planning and development initiatives.

Abena holds an MBA (Finance) from the University of Leicester in the UK, and Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Development Planning from the Kwame Nkrumah University and Science and Technology in Ghana.

Ms Amal Elrefaei is a Programme Management Officer in the Division for Africa in the Department of Technical Cooperation at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), since 2017. Her role is to assist Member States in Africa to use nuclear Sciences and Technology to address their development priority needs.
From 2013 to 2016 she has been working for the Section of Radioisotope Products and Radiation Technology at the IAEA providing consultancy service in the area of Radiopharmacy.
From 1998 to 2013, Ms Elrefaei has held several positions: Lecturer of Radiopharmacy, Division of Radioisotope Production, Hot Lab and Waste Management Centre, Atomic Energy Authority, Egypt; Research Fellow, University of Vienna; and Research Fellow, Medical University of Vienna.
Ms Elrefaei is the Liason Officer between Women in Nuclear (WiN) Global and IAEA and is a member in the Executive Committee of WiN Global. She is also a member of the advisory editorial board and reviewer in several specialized international journals in the area of biotechnological and pharmaceutical research.
Ms Elrefaei holds a BSc in Pharmacy, Tanta University, Egypt; and MSc and PhD in Radiopharmaceutical Sciences from Cairo University, Egypt.

Madam Aurore Rusiga is a national of Burundi and has extensive experience in managing humanitarian and development programmes.

She brings 30 years of experience with the World Food Programme (WFP), comprising 9 years as a national professional and 21 years as an international professional.
She joins Ghana from Lesotho where she served as Country Director and Representative from 2020 to 2024. She also served as Deputy Country Director in Burkina Faso between 2016 and 2020 – where she ensured the overall management and leadership of the team. She supervised the Operations unit i.e. Programme, Supply Chain, and IT including playing an active role in resource mobilization, advocacy, and donor engagement activities.
Prior to Burkina Faso, Aurore worked as Programme Policy Officer (Purchase for Progress (P4P) Coordinator) in Zambia Country Office (2012- 2016), and as Regional Logistics Officer for West and Central Africa in Senegal (2008 - 2012), as Deputy Head of Logistics and Supply Unit in Malawi (2005-2008) and as Logistics Officer (Resource Management and Reporting) in same country from 2003 to 2004.

She also served in her home country Burundi from 1994 to 2003 in Reporting, Monitoring and Communication unit as database manager as well as in Logistics as Commodity Accounting Manager.

She graduated from the University of Burundi Institute of Commerce in Tax Systems; she speaks several languages including English and French among the UN official languages.

Dr. Fatima Denton is an accomplished senior leader in the UN system with a depth of expertise in natural resource management, research and policy development. Prior to joining UNU-INRA, Dr. Denton had worked with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as Director of the Natural Resource Management Division and as Coordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre. She also worked with the Canada based International Development Research Centre (IDRC), where she managed high-impact action research, as an energy scientist with the United Nations Environment Programme Risoe Centre (Denmark) and as an energy programme manager with Enda Tiers Monde (Senegal).

Dr. Denton has written more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, reports, and books. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Birmingham (UK).

Dr. Wilfred Ochan joins UNFPA Ghana Country Office with over 20 years of work experience having worked in peace, development, humanitarian and recovery contexts and with Government, NGOs and the UN system.

He joins the UNFPA Ghana Country Office from UNFPA Tanzania Country Office where he was UNFPA Deputy Representative for 3+ years. He previously served as UNFPA Deputy Representative in South Sudan (2016 - 2019); UNFPA Deputy Representative in Kabul, Afghanistan (2013 – 2016), he served on Detailed Assignment as Senior RH Adviser with the then UNFPA Africa Regional Office (August – November, 2013) in Johannesburg; and was an Assistant Representative with UNFPA Uganda Country Office from 2008 – 2013.

Prior to joining UNFPA, Wilfred worked with Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Uganda as Head of Strategy and Development leading a national programme for expansion of pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment and care, research and training in Uganda. He served as Regional Adviser with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Africa Region (2004 – 2007) and as National Programme Manager (Director of Programmes) with Family Planning Association of Uganda (2002 – 2004). He was National Programme Officer with the Family Health Department of the Population Secretariat in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (1997 – 2002). He started his work in clinical practice at Mulago National Referral Hospital and Complex as a Medical Officer with the Ministry of Health.

Dr. Wilfred Ochan is native of Uganda and holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from Makerere University in Uganda. He has a master’s degree in Community Health and Health Management from Heidelberg University, Germany.

Mr. Moukala, a Congolese sinologist, holds a master's degree in law, bachelor’s degree in design &
planning and a civil engineering degree. He is an expert in heritage preservation, sustainable tourism,
capacity development of local popula􀆟ons and dialogue among civilizations.

Mr. Moukala has been working for UNESCO for more than 25 years, 11 of which in Asia as part of the “Silk
Road” projects, more specifically in China, Mongolia, both North and South Korea and Japan. From 2004
to 2010, he worked in the Intercultural Dialogue’s Division where he initiated and organized the
commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade and slavery in the United Kingdom
2007 and in the United States 2008.

He developed with the Department of History of Harvard University, the first Atlas of Scientific and
Cultural Interactions between Africa and the Americas by Afro‐descendants. He also contributed to the
implementation of UNESCO's action plan for the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures
and the promotion of dialogue among civilizations.

From 2014 to 2020, as Head of the Africa Unit of the World Heritage Center he coordinated the
implementation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention in 46 African countries. It is in this context that
he initiated the African World Heritage Day.

He was the Head of the UNESCO Office in Bamako – Mali (2019‐2023).
Since 15 October 2023, he is the Head of Accra Office and UNESCO Representative to Ghana, and Head of
Bamako Office per interim and UNESCO Representa􀆟ve to Mali.

Mr. Moukala undertakes research in the fields of diplomatic relations between Africa and China, Africa
and its development potential and the comparative study of the case of Chinese economic development
and its added value for the development of Africa. He is the editor and co‐editor of several publications,
including the one on heritage preservation and sustainable development.

Fatou Diallo Ndiaye holds a master’s degree in Science of Local Development, a certificate in Administration Management and Diplomacy, and in Project Development/Implementation among others.

For the past 22 years, Fatou has occupied positions of Senior Operations Supervisor, Operations Coordinator, and Programme Manager. She has been Head of Office/Chief of Mission (CoM) since 2011 in Senegal, Niger, Guinea (Conakry) and Liberia/Sierra Leone, and most recently Norway.

In Norway, Fatou - the first female CoM in the country - strengthened collaboration with key partners, embassies, and the government in response to migrants’ needs and rights in the context of safe and voluntary return and labor migration.

Fatou has vast experiences and knowledge of the West and Central African region, which she has used successfully to contribute to migration governance, particularly in the areas of humanitarian post-crisis response, return and reintegration, and community stabilization - from the Libyan to the recent Mediterranean crisis. Fatou managed several migrant protection and reintegration initiatives focused on stabilizing migrants’ communities of origin. She also has vast experiences in joint initiatives as well as multi-agency, multi-partner, and multi-country programming which are key for the United Nation and important for migration management due to its transversality.

Fatou is a Senegalese.

Mr. Hector Sucilla Perez has 20 years of professional experience in public health, public policy, health and public management, HIV response, health governance, academy and research.

He joined UNAIDS in June 2014. Prior to his appointment to Ghana, he served as UNAIDS Country Director in Guatemala,
Multi-Country Office Director a.i. for Honduras and Nicaragua, and as Strategic Information Adviser for the mentioned Central American countries.

Mr. Sucilla Perez served the Federal Government of Mexico for more than six years in the National Center for the Prevention and Control of the HIV/AIDS, performing most of his time as Director of Operations, Research. He has represented his country of origin and the region of Latin America and the Caribbean in different high-level governance instances such as on the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board, the Global Fund Board, the United Nations
General Assembly Special Sessions on HIV/AIDS and the Technical Cooperation Group of HIV/AIDS Programmes of Latin America and the Caribbean. He also collaborated in the General Directorate for the Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS (DIGECITSS) in the Dominican Republic.

Mr. Sucilla Perez graduated as Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemist from the National University of Mexico (UNAM) and has a Master degree in Health Management and Direction of the National Institute of Public Health-Mexico (INSP).

Niloy is a Development Economist with expertise in effective institutions and capacity development. Before joining us in Ghana, he led the UN System Affairs Group in UNDP, based in New York. In this role, he managed UNDP’s interface with UN agencies, funds, and programmes, as well as with Member States in the realm of intergovernmental affairs. He also played a significant role in leading UNDP’s engagement in the recent round of UN reforms.

Throughout his career, Niloy has held various key positions, including Director of Knowledge, Innovation and Capacity Development Group and Team Leader and Policy Advisor for Asia-Pacific at the Bureau for Development Policy in UNDP. He has deep experience in the Asia-Pacific region, where he served as a regional policy advisor and was instrumental in establishing the Singapore Policy Center for UNDP.

Niloy was appointed as the Resident Representative for Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam in March 2019.

He holds a master’s degree in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and is a Fellow of the City University of New York.

Mrs. Needa Jehu-Mazou has been working for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency across Africa and in its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland for over two decades.

She has held several roles including as the Chief of UNHCR’s Private Sector Partnerships in Africa where she led teams in East, West and Southern Africa, to build partnerships with private philanthropists, businesses, foundations and faith organizations, in support of UNHCR’s work. With a creative background in film studies, she led the creation of the LuQuLuQu Tribe – an initiative that actualizes the Global Compact on Refugees to engage the whole-of -society and centred on changing the narrative of the African refugee. LuQuLuQu embodies her strong belief in the interdependency of humanity.

Prior to her arrival in Ghana, she was the Senior Strategic Planning Adviser in the Division of External Relations at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva. In this role she worked across the organization, liaising with External Engagement actors in the various Regional Bureaux, forging strategies to ensure cohesion and harmony in UNHCR’s external relations, leading multiyear planning, and advising the Director on programmatic and other matters, fundraising, interagency coordination, communications, and managing the emergency and external engagement team, among other functions.

Ms Priya Gujadhur is the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in Ghana ad interim, appointed to this position on 1 July 2024. She is performing this function concurrently with her responsibility as FAO Senior Regional Resilience Officer for Africa at the FAO Regional Office for Africa, which is also based in Accra.
Ms Gujadhur has served with FAO in different capacities for over 20 years, working in humanitarian response as well as the transition to efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.

She began her career with the private sector and moved to FAO in 2003 to work with the Technical Cooperation Department in FAO Headquarters, Rome. Between 2005 and 2010 she provided support to emergency and resilience projects in DPR Korea, Indonesia, Somalia, Sri Lanka and the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 2011, she moved to the FAO Representation in Kingston, Jamaica, to assist the Government in mitigating the effects of the food prices crisis. In 2012, Ms Gujadhur rejoined the Technical Cooperation Department in Rome, contributing specifically to FAO’s efforts to manage food chain crises in the Sahel and in Madagascar. From 2014, she led operations for FAO’s Coordination Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip Programme based in Jerusalem. From 2018, Ms Gujadhur engaged in the development and management of FAO’s programme of work in Uganda, first as FAO Representative ad interim and then as FAO Deputy Representative, until her current appointment.
Ms Gujadhur is a national of Mauritius. She holds a Master of Science in Local Economic Development from the Department of Geography and Environment of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Ms. Vanessa Phala, a South African national, is the Country Director of the ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Prior to this appointment, she worked as a Senior Specialist (Employers’ Activities) at the ILO Office for the Caribbean, in Port of Spain. Before that, she undertook several leading roles in the public and private sectors from 2004 to 2016. She was the Executive Director in charge of Social and Transformation Policy at Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), a non-profit company representing organised business in South Africa. She also served as the Director of the Ethics and Integrity Management Unit and Special Anti-corruption Unit of the South African Department of Public Service and Administration. Her professional career began in 2004, as an Assistant Director in the Policy Research and Analysis Unit of the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
Ms. Phala graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2004 where she obtained a Master’s Degree in International Relations and from the University of the West Indies in 2021 where she obtained an Executive Master of Business Administration. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration.