Africa Region

RCP: Africa

Photo: © UNICEF/UNI197919/Schermbrucker

Regional Collaborative Platform

At the regional level, the Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP) unites all UN entities working on sustainable development to ensure full collaboration and coordination of UN assets in addressing key challenges that transcend country borders. The RCP provides policy support and access to expertise at the service of the specific needs and priorities of each region and in support of the work of Resident Coordinators and UN country teams at the country level. 

The RCP is chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General and co-chaired by two Vice-Chairs, the Executive Secretary of the Regional Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Regional Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

Members of the RCP for Africa are: UNECA (Vice-Chair), UNDP (Vice-Chair), FAO, IAEA, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOM, ITC, ITU, OCHA, OHCHR, UNEP, UNAIDS, UNDCO, UN DESA, UNDRR, UNESCO, UNFPA, UN-HABITAT, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNODC, UNOPS, UPU, UNV, UN-WOMEN, WFP, WHO, WMO, and World Bank.

Chair

Amina Mohamed portrait

Amina J. Mohammed

Deputy Secretary-General

Ms. Amina J. Mohammed was Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from November 2015 to December 2016, where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action, protecting the natural environment and conserving resources for sustainable development. 

Prior to this, she served as Special Adviser to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning, where she was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Before joining the UN, Ms. Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Advisor on the Millennium Development Goals, providing advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating programmes worth $1 billion annually for MDG-related interventions. 

She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and served on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the African Women’s Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect, 2016 African Union Reform and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project.

Ms. Mohammed began her 35-year career in the private sector with architects and engineers responsible for the project management of health, education and public sector buildings.

Vice-Chair

A man in a dark blue suit and grey tie smiles and sits against a light blue backdrop.

Antonio Pedro

Acting Executive Secretary of the Regional Commission (ECA)

Antonio M.A. Pedro is a mineral exploration geologist with more than 40 years of broad experience of and exposure to development issues and management at national, sub-regional, and continental levels. He joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in 2001, where he was (2016-2021) the Director of ECA’s Sub-regional Office for Central Africa (SRO-CA), based in Yaounde, Cameroon, until his appointment as Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme Support) of ECA in October 2021. For 7 years (2009-2016), he occupied the position of Director of the ECA Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa (SRO-EA), in Kigali, Rwanda. Prior to joining ECA, he was the Director General of the Southern and Eastern African Mineral Centre (SEAMIC), in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Managing Director of several companies in Mozambique and Deputy National Director of the country’s Geological Survey. Since 1 September 2022, he is the Acting Executive Secretary of ECA.

Vice-Chair

A woman wearing a blue-patterned headwrap and a matching dress smiles and faces the camera.

Ahunna Eziakonwa

Assistant Administrator, Director, UN Development Programme’s Regional Bureau for Africa

Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa officially began her role as UNDP’s Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa on August 15th, 2018. In this role she leads UNDP’s work supporting 46 countries in Africa to achieve Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to taking up this post, Ms. Eziakonwa-Onochie was UN Resident Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia (2015-2018), UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Uganda (2012-2015), and before that held the same position in Lesotho (2008-2012). She has also worked as Chief of the Africa Section for Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) where she managed over 15 country operations in Africa. Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Eziakonwa held a series of senior positions with civil society organisations in Africa. She holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, with a focus on Economic and Political Development, as well as a Bachelor’s of Education degree, English and Literary studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.

UN Country Teams for RCP: Africa
UN Entities in this Region