Liberian Sara Beysolow Nyanti, currently the Resident Coordinator of the UN operations in Nepal, has been appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as his new Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. The triple function role, which is at the level of Assistant Secretary-General, will put Mrs. Nyanti in charge of the UN’s entire development and humanitarian programmes in South Sudan, Africa’s youngest republic. She will be leading the UN’s efforts for the establishment and strengthening of systems and structures for development across all sectors of the country including recovery and stabilization strategies. Before her appointment, she served in various capacities of responsibility within the UN organization, including leadership roles in the UN agency, UNICEF.
By Joseph Cassell, [email protected], Contributing Writer
Mrs Nyanti played a mission-critical role in leading the UNICEF largest and most complicated humanitarian operations in the world in Yemen, which was in the throes of a civil war. Her appeal to the world’s conscience in helping the children and women of Yemen who were in dire straits during the civil war was carried live on Al Jazeera, MSNBC, BBC and a host of social media platforms.
Additionally, she established a system for paying cash benefiting almost 9 million people in Yemen and managed hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. This model is being replicated in Afghanistan.
In Liberia, Nyanti is a renowned Baptist Reverend who has implemented community activities in Montserrado, Margibi and Grand Bassa County. She has established Learning Huts for Adolescent girls, which ensure that female teachers and female counsellors are available to teach girls 10-19 years of age in their communities to provide them with a safe space to prevent rape and other forms of violence.
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