Our Team in Papua New Guinea

Mr Richard Howard is the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea.

Over more than 30 years, he has acquired an impressive portfolio in management and research, economic growth, gender equality and inclusion.

Before taking up his role in PNG, Mr Howard was the United Nations Resident Coordinator ad-interim in Nepal, where he also served as Country Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Mr. Howard worked as Senior Regional Specialist with ILO in Thailand. He was Chief Technical Advisor to Private Sector Partnerships on Health for Internal Migrants, in China.

A Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia with research focusing on gender, ethnicity, and national identity, Mr Howard is a Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology from the University of Illinois, Chicago and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Carolina.

On 7 December 2022, he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as the UN Resident Coordinator for Papua New Guinea.

Mr. Nicholas Booth formally commenced his duties as the new UNDP Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea on September 22, 2023. Mr. Booth, who is a national of the United Kingdom, has served as an international civil servant under different UN agencies for 20 years.

A barrister with law degrees from both Cambridge and Oxford Universities in the United Kingdom, Mr. Booth has devoted his career to solving issues surrounding rule of law, access to justice and conflict prevention. He joins UNDP Papua New Guinea from UNDP’s Regional Hub in Bangkok, where he most recently took charge of managing the Regional Programme and Global Policy Network.

Saira has been involved in the field of health and human rights for over 27 years, spending the majority of this time within the UN system. Prior to her appointment as UNFPA Representative to Papua New Guinea, she served for four years as the UNFPA Deputy Representative to Fiji and Deputy Director for the Pacific Sub-Regional Office, covering 14 island countries and territories, where she strengthened the delivery of results in a severely climate-affected context. She has also served as a Political Scanning Specialist with the UNFPA Asia Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok, and as the Programme Advisor and Head-of-Office of UNFPA Malaysia, contributing towards advancing the UNFPA agenda on the intersectionality of socio-political and economic barriers to sexual and reproductive health and rights. Before joining UNFPA, she was the Executive Director of the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), a regional non-governmental organization focused on improving the lives of marginalized women and girls, and their right to sexual and reproductive health. She has also served in various capacities, including as Officer-in-Charge, of a regional UNDP governance programme for strengthening local government authorities and civil society for good urban governance, across the Asia Pacific.

A Malaysian national, Saira holds a Master of Science in Public Health for Development from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Health Science and Occupational Health and Safety from Edith Cowan University in Australia, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics, from Otago University in New Zealand.

With a distinguished career spanning over two decades in international development and humanitarian assistance, Veera brings a wealth of expertise to Papua New Guinea. A national of India, she is dedicated to championing the rights and wellbeing of children and adolescents, particularly in the areas of education, health, protection, and development.

Before assuming her current position, Veera served as UNICEF’s Deputy Representative in Ukraine (2022-25), where she played a critical role in managing and overseeing emergency and long-term development programmes during a challenging period. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Representative in Bangladesh (2019-22), contributing to UNICEF’s impactful initiatives in a country marked by dynamic development needs.

Veera has also held key regional and country-level positions, including Regional Adviser for Adolescent Development Programs in the Middle East and North Africa (2013-19), Chief of Field Office in Suriname, and HIV Coordinator in Kenya. Throughout her career, she has been instrumental in providing technical support, formulating strategies, and strengthening partnerships to achieve sustainable outcomes for vulnerable populations.

Veera holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MPH from New York University, and an MS from the University of Missouri. Her commitment to innovative solutions and inclusive development makes her a dynamic leader in addressing complex challenges affecting children and families in Papua New Guinea.

Ms. Karin Takeuchi, has been assigned as FAO Head of Office ad interim to Papua New Guinea in November 2024. She joined FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific as Senior Field Programme Officer in July 2023, leading the Country Support and Field Programme team in providing overall oversight, quality assurance, strategic and operational planning, and capacity development for effective management action on the field programme across the region. She has worked in international development across countries and agencies in development, humanitarian, conflict and post-crisis settings, including inter-agency level.

Before joining FAO, she served with UNDP as Regional Programme Coordinator at Bangkok Regional Hub for Asia and the Pacific, as Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP’s Multi-Country Office for the Pacific in Fiji, and as Chief, Strategy, Planning and Results for UNDP Afghanistan. Prior to this, she served as Senior Evaluation Office/Chief M&E at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and various Monitoring & Evaluation, Programme & Planning roles with UNICEF in Haiti, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, the UN Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Tajikistan.

She is a national of Japan and holds a MA in European Studies (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium), BA in International Affairs in Economics (Vesalius College, Free University of Brussels VUB, Belgium), Post-Graduate Diploma in International Relations (KUL Belgium), PG Diploma in Laws (University of London, UK).

Mr Wandera debuted his career with the ILO in March 2024 with the posting in the ILO Office for PICs. He is responsible for supporting eleven ILO member States (Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, Tonga, and Cook Islands). In addition, the Office also provides technical support to non-member Pacific Island States.

Across the Pacific Islands Countries, Mr Wandera oversees a wide range of work including promoting international labour standards and social dialogue, employment creation and skills development, rural and labour-intensive infrastructure development, national employment policy, youth employment initiatives, elimination of child labour and forced labour, gender equality, labour law reform, labour migration and mobility, and social protection.

Mr. Wandera, hailing from Uganda, boasts of over two decades of profound expertise in the fields of labour, employment and public administration. Before assuming his current role in Fiji, he dedicated nearly a decade to serving as the Director of Labour, Employment, and Occupational Safety and Health at the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development in Uganda. Preceding this position, he held the role of Director at the Centre for Labour Research and Studies in Uganda. Mr Wandera also served as a Member of the Ugandan Parliament.

Mr Wandera holds a Master of Science in Applied Labour Economics for Development University of Turin (Italy), Executive Master of Applied Labour Economics, Sciences Politiques Paris (France) and a Masters of Economic Development (Social Economy and Labour Concentration) from State University of Campinas, Sao Paulo (Brazil). He also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics and Political Science) of Makerere University, Kampala (Uganda).

Mr. David Arnold has over a decade of experience in humanitarian action, early recovery, stabilization, and development, with a strong focus on migration management and driving solutions to displacement. He has successfully led large, multi-sectoral initiatives that drive peacebuilding, recovery, and sustainable development.

Most recently, he served as the Senior Coordinator for IOM’s Peacebuilding and Stabilization Division in Iraq. In this role, he managed a diverse and complex portfolio covering community engagement and policing, social cohesion and community-based planning, transitional justice and reparations, tribal engagement and dialogue, climate security, legal assistance, housing, land and property (HLP) issues, and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).

Prior to his time in Iraq, Mr. Arnold was based at IOM’s Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where he supported emergency and post-crisis planning and response systems across the region. His previous assignments include roles in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States, with additional short-term roles in Somalia and Niger among other countries.

A national of the United Kingdom, Mr. Arnold holds a master’s degree in public Affairs from Columbia University in New York and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Anthropology from SOAS, University of London.

Ms. Sirpa Jarvenpaa brings more than 30 years of development finance experience. An Economist from the Paul Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Ms. Sirpa Jarvenpaa has worked in Southeast Asia from 1990, initially with UNDP to implement the new economic management system in the Region’s transitional countries.

She has an extensive career with the Asian Development Bank of more than 20 years focused on infrastructure planning, implementation, policy and institutional strengthening, including in
energy and other infrastructure sectors as well as in corporate
roles, particularly in strategic planning, resource allocation and mobilization.

Ms. Jarvenpaa established and headed ADB’s South Pacific Subregional Office in Suva, Fiji and has past working experience in the Pacific, including in Papua New Guinea. She served as the
Director of the President’s Office at the International Fund for Agricultural Development and as a Strategy and Partnerships Director of the Global Green Growth Institute and prepared its global strategy for low-carbon investments.

Most recently, Ms. Jarvenpaa established the operations of the Southeast Asia Energy Transition in Southeast Asia as a premier partner to pursue SDGs and the Paris Climate Goals and currently supports UNOPS East Asia and Pacific Multi-country Office in the Philippines and in Papua New Guinea as the Officer in Charge and well as a Senior Partnership Advisor.

Regional Representative, UNHCR Multi-Country Office Canberra. Formerly UNHCR Rep in Montenegro; UNHCR Head of Global News & Media. Background in human rights policy and international journalism. Switzerland, Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, Sudan & Cambodia with the UN. Vietnam, Hong Kong, South Korea, China in hackdom.

Dr Sevil Huseynova engagement with WHO spans over 17 years where she previously held the posts of WHO Representative for the Solomon Islands from June 2016 until early 2022; WHO Country Liaison Officer for Northern Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Marshal Islands), Medical Officer for TB, HIV, Leprosy and
Communicable Diseases Control Programmes in Baghdad, Iraq and in Kabul, Afghanistan where she led and managed large TB and HIV/AIDS and Leprosy control programmes in complex environments.

A strong advocate for cooperation and action on public health issues at all levels of society, Dr Huseynova has worked extensively with governments, donor partners, service providers and civil society.

Prior to joining WHO, Dr Huseynova served in a number of non-governmental organizations. Among them were Project Hope, a US-based organization with a field office in Kyrgystan, as the country manager and where she worked with a team to establish and strengthen all essential health system components relating TB control including governance, health service delivery, financing, health information and access to essential medicines and technologies and Save the Children and Relief International, USA with a strong focus on capacity building in public health targeting refugee and internally displaced population settings.

Previously, Dr Huseynova has also been engaged in clinical work, research and programme management.

Trained as a pediatrician, Dr Huseynova holds Doctorate of Medicine from the Azerbaijan Medical University and a Masters degree in Public Health from the State University of New York.

Heike Alefsen has 30 years of human rights, legal, political and development work experience with the United Nations, the Council of Europe and civil society. Since October 2020, she has been the UN Human Rights Pacific Regional Representative, heading OHCHR’s Regional Office in Suva, Fiji, covering 14 Pacific Island Countries, Australia and New Zealand.

For the past decade, she has worked in senior human rights advisory positions with the UN Development Group Asia-Pacific based in Bangkok and the UN Country Team in Bangladesh and served as Deputy Head of the OHCHR Regional Office for South-East Asia, with a focus on Myanmar. At OHCHR HQ in Geneva, she coordinated policy, communications and information of the Human Rights Council’s independent special procedures. Ms. Alefsen has
worked with the UN Division for the Advancement of Women and UN Development Fund for Women in New York and with the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Legal and Human Rights Divisions in Strasbourg. Following the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, she established the CoE Office in Sarajevo, serving as Representative. She started her professional career with Amnesty International’s Legal Office and its Eastern Europe Research Department in London.

Heike Alefsen holds an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex in Colchester, UK, and an M.A. from the University of Mainz in Germany.

Ms Manoela Manova is the newly appointed UNAIDS Country Director for Papua New Guinea, and took up her assignment on 1st April 2022.
Ms Manova is a development and public health specialist with more than 20 years of experience in development assistance programmes, public health, and HIV, and has served in a variety of leadership positions both at regional and country level in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the Caribbean. She brings a wealth of experience in the areas of inclusive development and evaluation of National AIDS Strategic Plans, development of Investment Cases and efficiency studies for HIV response, National HIV Sustainability and Transition plans and roadmaps and mobilization of multisectoral partnerships for their implementation. She has worked on introducing Public-Private Partnership for increased access to treatment for PLH and piloting of Social Contracting as a tool to secure government Funding for HIV prevention services among key populations.

Ms Manova is Bulgarian and holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Management from the University of Economy in Bulgaria and Post Graduate Diplomas in International Business and Financial Management from London School of Economics, United Kingdom.

Peterson Magoola is the Country Representative for UN Women in Papua New Guinea. Prior to his reassignment to Papua New Guinea, Peterson served as UN Women's Country Representative in South Sudan, Tanzania a.i., Moldova also covering Belarus a.i

Peterson also served as the Deputy Country Representative for UN Women in Afghanistan (2017-2019) – which is UN Women’s biggest operation globally; Deputy Country Representative for UN Women in Liberia (2014-2017).

He held similar senior leadership, technical, and operational roles with other UN agencies and NGOs in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific regions, such as UNDP—Papua New Guinea and UNDP- Namibia; HelpAge in Sudan; IRC in Liberia; VSO in Bangladesh; and ACFODE in Uganda.

He is a gender equality champion, and a specialist in women peace and security, humanitarian and development. He has over 20 years of senior-level experience on country, regional and global policy issues and programmes advancing the rights of women and girls. Has managed larger operations in several contexts, providing strategic leadership and management, with a focus on women, peace and security; ending violence against women, women leadership; and economic empowerment.

Peterson holds a master’s degree in public health from State University, Bangladesh, and a bachelor’s degree in economics, and education from Makerere University, Uganda