Our Team in Kuwait

Ms. Eltahir has more than 25 years of experience in #humanitarian and development affairs. Prior to her current appointment, she served on different positions at the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (United Nations OCHA) in New York, notably as Deputy Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division, where she was also Acting Director March to August 2022. She has also served as Chief of Eastern and Southern Africa and as Acting Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa, overseeing OCHA activities in those regions.

Before that, Ms. Eltahir served as the Executive Director of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Gulf Cooperation Council Regional Office in Abu Dhabi; Country Director of MSF in Yemen and Nigeria and Nigeria Country Director of SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL and of iMMAP.

Ms. Eltahir holds two master’s degrees in development studies, MA in Development Studies, from Erasmus University College - Institute of Social Studies, The Netherlands, and MSc in Gender and Development from Ahfad University, Sudan. She has also served on numerous international advisory boards and panels.

Dr Assad Hafeez was appointed WHO Representative in the State of Kuwait in March 2021. He previously served as Director-General of Health in the Federal Ministry of Health, Pakistan in addition to several senior policy and leadership positions in the government. He has been Professor & Vice-Chancellor of National Public Health University and held a Professorship in Global Health Department at the University of Manitoba Canada. Dr Hafeez remained Chair, Vice-Chair and member of the Executive Board of WHO for a number of years. He was also a member of many EMRO regional committees. He has also worked in various capacities with UNICEF, UNFPA, ADB and USAID.
Dr Hafeez has been trained in medicine and public health in Pakistan, UK and the US with a Masters degree in Epidemiology and a PhD from the UK.

Mrs. Ameera Alhassan is the Kuwait Country Programme Manager of the UN-Habitat since 2019. She joined UN-Habitat in 2010 and served for five years as Assistant Head of Office (2014-2019).
She holds a Masters degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury (UK) and a PhD in environmental architecture education from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK) 2010.
Ameera is a member of the UN Sand and Dust Storms Coalition, UNCT in the GCC countries and she currently works with UN-Habitat GCC and ROAS on preparing and implementing plans that translate the New Urban Agenda and Agenda 2030 into projects aligned with GCC and Arab region countries strategies.

Abdul-Majeid Haddad has been appointed as Officer-in-Charge of the UNEP West Asia Office. He has over 25 years of experience in sustainable development, environmental management, and climate change. He leads the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) work on environmental protection, pollution control, resource efficiency, and climate action in West Asia, including advancing climate finance and supporting countries’ commitments under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. Previously, he held senior roles with UNEP in Kenya and Saudi Arabia, served as a Sustainable Development Advisor with UNDP in Yemen, and was an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Sana’a. He holds a PhD in Biology from the University of York, UK.

Azhar Iqbal Hussain has served as the World Bank Group’s Country Manager in Kuwait since February 2026. He brings 30 years of investment and development finance experience, including 16 years with the World Bank Group, where he led major infrastructure and investment initiatives across the GCC, Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Prior to his current role, he held senior leadership positions at IFC and managed key regional engagements. He holds an MBA from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.

Eman Al-Einawi is the Associate External Relations Officer at UNHCR Kuwait and currently serves as Officer-in-Charge pending the appointment of a new Representative. Over nine years with UNHCR Kuwait, she has held roles in Donor Relations, Programme Management, and External Relations, strengthening partnerships with the Government of Kuwait, supporting resource mobilization, and coordinating high-level engagements. As Planning Coordinator, she also led strategic planning and reporting under UNHCR’s Results-Based Management framework. Her expertise includes stakeholder engagement, resource mobilization, strategic planning, and operational coordination

Ms. Morley was appointed as UNDP Resident Representative in Kuwait in January 2024. She has over 20 years of experience leading development policies and programme initiatives with UNDP, former UK Department for International Development (DFID) and civil society in Africa, Asia and Latin America with a focus on social development, governance and human rights.
Prior to joining UNDP Kuwait, Ms. Morley managed the Global Policy Team for United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and efforts to integrate volunteerism into the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, based in Bonn, Germany. Previous roles include Head of the Democratic Governance Team at UNDP in Myanmar, Senior Advisor on Governance in Somalia at the UK Department for International Development, and Head of the UK Department for International Development in the Andes (Bolivia, Colombia, Peru) based La Paz, Bolivia, and Social Development Adviser to the Ministry for International Development of Sierra Leone.
Ms. Morley, a British citizen, holds a master's degree in human Rights, from the University of London, School of Advanced Study and a Bachelor of Economics specializing in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Ms. Morley is fluent in English and Spanish and has a working knowledge of French, Japanese and Portuguese.

Judge Hatem Aly, a former Senior Judge and Chief Prosecutor in Egypt, has over 20 years of experience in the areas of criminal justice and crime prevention. He previously served as a Senior Crime Prevention Expert at UNODC Headquarters in Vienna. He was also a Representative for the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (SII) for the Middle East region and for Afghanistan. He holds a degree in International Criminal Law (ICL) from the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights in Italy as well as an ICL Diploma in International Cooperation in Penal Matters from the International Human Rights Law Institute in Chicago, USA.

Ms Inas Hamad (Egypt) was appointed UNV Regional Portfolio Specialist for Arab States in September 2020. She is based in Amman Regional Office. Before taking this regional position, Ms Hamad served as the UNV Country Coordinator for Egypt. Through her practical knowledge attained during 20 years of experience with the international world of nonprofits, including the World Health Organization, the World Bank, USAID, and Plan International, Ms Hamad has gained exposure in diverse capacities to several development fields. She has been involved in strategic planning, programme management, resource mobilization, and international cooperation. Ms Hamad holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the American University in Cairo and Columbia University in New York City, with focused studies on UN Management. She is a certified trainer in gender and development from the Royal Tropical Institute in the Netherlands.

Jocelyn Fenard holds more than 25 years of experience in development and multilateral affairs with UN agencies and Intergovernmental organizations, leading the development of strategic partnerships and in coordinating programmes.
He joined UNFPA in 2013 as Regional Strategic Partnership and Resource Mobilization Adviser for the West and Central Africa region. In this capacity he led the development and implementation of the regional resource mobilization plans and supported the region in achieving its objectives. Since 2021, he has held management positions as Representative in Sierra Leone and in Guinea Bissau.

Laila Tomeh is a humanitarian and development professional with over 20 years of experience across Syria, Jordan, Türkiye, and Sudan. She has held senior leadership roles with IOM and NGOs, specializing in emergency response, programme management, fundraising, donor engagement, border management, and migration governance.
Most recently, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Head of Programmes in Port Sudan, overseeing an USD 80 million+ project portfolio during the 2024 humanitarian scale-up. In 2025, she led an African Development Bank appraisal mission that contributed to securing USD 62 million in funding. Previously, she led the cross-border operation and 2023 earthquake response in northwest Syria.
Laila combines strong analytical skills with extensive field experience and inclusive leadership. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a postgraduate Diploma in Translation from Damascus University.Mazen obtained a BA in Psychology and Master’s degree in Psychosocial Support in war torn societies from the Lebanese University. He is also a holder of BA on Tourism and Travel Management and a Master’s degree in Cultural Management from the University of Perpignan in France.

Lina Wreikat was appointed UNICEF Director for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in July 2025, leading UNICEF’s engagement and partnerships across the region. Previously, she served as Deputy Director and Acting Director of UNICEF’s Office of Emergency Programmes and Operations in New York, overseeing responses to major humanitarian crises worldwide. With over 20 years of leadership experience across the UN system, she has worked at country, regional, and headquarters levels, managing programmes in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and the Gulf region

Mr. Mazen Shaqoura is currently the Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He has over 25 years of experience with the United Nations in human rights, rule of law, democratic development, good governance and program management.
In his previous incarnations, Mr. Shaqoura was deployed in Tunis, Bahrain, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Sudan.
Mr. Shaqoura is fluent in Arabic, English and French and holds a Master of Arts in Diplomacy.

Moez Doraid, the Regional Director of the UN Women for the Arab States (a.i.). He was the Director of the Division of Management and Administration (DMA), UN Women. Between May and November 2023, he was appointed as UN Assistant Secretary General a.i. and UN Women Deputy Executive Director for UN Coordination, Partnerships, Resources and Sustainability, a.i. He has progressively responsible positions across the UN system over three decades working in Arab States, Asia, Africa, and at headquarters in New York. A national of Sweden and Egypt, Susanne holds a master of arts degree in political science from the Uppsala University of Sweden.

Mr Akram has over 20 years of experience in the UN system, governmental and non-governmental sectors in humanitarian and development affairs. Before joining UNOPS in 2015 as the Regional Advisor on the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks for Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Mr Akram worked in the United Nations Development Operations Coordination Office in New York. Before that, he was the acting Head of the Resident Coordinator Office for Iraq while officiating the function of the Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor for Iraq. Before that, he worked as Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor for United Nations Development Programme serving the Arab States Region and the Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States.

Nour Alqattan is the Humanitarian Affairs Officer in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). She has previous project management and strategic planning experience working in UNDP Kuwait and Kuwait University. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature and an MA in Library and Information Science from Kuwait University.

Omar Al-Essa is the Partnership and Government Relations Officer of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Kuwait. His career within the United Nations began in 2012 as an intern for the UNDP. The following year, Omar joined the United Nations Assistant Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). In 2014, Omar was asked to lead in the establishment and operation of the WFP office in Kuwait. During his tenure, the office has become one of the contributors to the WFP, underscoring Kuwait’s pivotal role in humanitarian aid. He holds a BA in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Utah.

Dr Ruba Jaradat was appointed in this role in November 2015. Previously, she had managed a USAID economic growth portfolio exceeding US$ 300 million, leading a team of more than 250 multinational staff. Prior to joining the ILO, Dr Jaradat established the Jordan Strategy Forum, the most influential private sector-funded think tank in Jordan.
Dr Jaradat holds a PhD in Management and International Development from the UK.

Mr. Salah Khaled (Egypt) is appointed as the Director of UNESCO Doha Office for Gulf States and Yemen, and UNESCO Representative to Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, as of 1 May 2022. Mr Khaled’s career with the United Nations began in 1993, with the Operational Unit for Development Assistance (OUDA), a UNDP and Ministry of Foreign Affairs programme in Egypt, and subsequently at the UNICEF Office in Cairo from 1995 to 2001. He joined UNESCO in 2001 taking up several key positions in the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, including some post-conflict and post-disaster countries. From 2001 to 2003, he was Chief of the Iraq Liaison and Procurement Unit based in Amman (Jordan) facilitating the Organization’s operations in Iraq under the Oil for Food Programme. From 2003 to 2011, as Liaison and Administrative Officer in the UNESCO Iraq Office (Amman) where he contributed to the establishment of the extrabudgetary funded portfolio for Iraq and also participated in several UN System-wide joint programming for the restructuring of the education system, protection of cultural heritage, peace building and conflicts resolution. In 2010, Mr Khaled provided backstopping in the Port-Au-Prince Office in the aftermath of the devastating Earthquake, coordinating the response of the Organization in relief programmes. In 2011, he served as Officer-in-Charge for the UNESCO Office in Islamabad (Pakistan),
and then from 2011 to 2012 he served first as Officer-in-Charge at the UNESCO Office in Juba and then in 2013 as Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to South Sudan. Mr Khaled has also served in North Africa region from 2016 to 2018 as Regional Director a.i. of the UNESCO Office in Rabat and UNESCO representative to Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria and Tunisia. Before joining the UNESCO Doha Office for the Gulf States and Yemen, Mr Khaled latest post was Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Central Africa based in Yaoundé (Cameroon) and UNESCO Representative to Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome and Principe. A graduate of the American University in Cairo with a BA in Political Sciences and a MBA in Human Development from the Arab Academy in Alexandria, he speaks fluently
English, French, Spanish in additon to his maternal Arabic. Mr Khaled is married and has a son and a daughter

Dr. Sami Ben Naceur is a economist and Director of the IMF Middle East Center for Economics and Finance (IMF-CEF) in Kuwait, which supports economic policymaking and capacity development across 22 Arab League countries. Prior to this role, he held several senior positions at the IMF, including Mission Chief and Acting Division Chief. A prolific researcher, he has authored over 50 publications with more than 8,300 citations. He has also served as a professor at the University of Tunis and consulted for international institutions including the European Commission, the African Development Bank, and the European Investment Bank. Dr. Ben Naceur holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.