This appointment is part of the United Nations reform process and intends to strengthen the UNDP Mozambique role in a dynamic and complex development situation.

Under delegated authority from the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, the Country Director is responsible for the day-to-day management of UNDP.

In this regard, Ms. Coulibaly will assume overall responsibility for, and coordination of, the operational and programmatic activities of UNDP. She also has delegated financial authority, including project approval authority, as well as management and internal controls responsibilities.

Since Mozambique is a country prone to natural disasters, a situation exacerbated by the AIDS pandemic and is also a pilot in many initiatives including the implementation of the Paris Declaration, the appointment of the UNDP Country Director for Mozambique will enable the UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Marylène Spezzati, to focus more effectively on the increasingly demanding aid coordination functions not only among UN agencies but also with different development partners operating in Mozambique.

Ms. Coulibaly, who arrived in Mozambique on 25th March 2006, joined UNDP in 1983 as a JPO (Junior Professional Officer) in Guinea Conakry.

She assumed increasing responsibilities in several duty stations such as Deputy Resident Representative in Central African Republic and Burkina Faso, her last assignment before joining Mozambique.

Furthermore, in her capacity as Senior Programme Advisor, Ms. Coulibaly worked for the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa in New York, backstopping countries such as Angola, Burkina, Cape Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania and Togo.

Ms. Coulibaly holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Université du Maine (France) and a diploma in the same field from the Université de Paris X – Nanterre (France). She also holds a diploma in industrial management from the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (France).

The appointment of Ms. Coulibaly as Country Director for Mozambique was decided in the spirit of continuously reinforcing the effectiveness, accountability and customer-orientation of UNDP, which strives to become the Mozambican people's key partner in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

For more information, please contact Nelson Xavier, UNDP Public Information Officer.

Mobile phone: + 258 82 3140600

Office + 258 21 481438

E-mail: nelson.xavier@undp.org

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.