NEW YORK – USA – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Mohamed Yahya of Somalia as Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
He will succeed Joyce Msuya of the United Republic of Tanzania, to whom both the Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator are grateful for her dedicated service to the humanitarian cause.
Mr. Yahya brings over two decades of experience in development, humanitarian action and peacebuilding, gained at headquarters, regional and field levels across Africa and South Asia. In his current role as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan, he leads one of the largest UN presences in Asia and the Pacific and has coordinated the UN’s response to the 2025 floods. Prior to his appointment in Pakistan, he served as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Nigeria, where he led one of UNDP’s largest country offices.
He previously coordinated UNDP’s Africa Regional Programme, working with the African Union on conflict prevention and stabilization across the continent. Earlier in his career, he held positions with the United Nations and International Alert in West Africa and in Afghanistan.
Mr. Yahya holds a master’s degree in conflict and development and a bachelor’s degree in politics and history, both from SOAS University of London in United Kingdom. In addition to his native Swahili, he speaks English and Somali. Mr. Yahya is a Somali national who grew up in Kenya.
