Cecilia Aipira is currently the Chief of the Disasters and Conflicts Branch within the Ecosystems Division. In this role, she supports member states and the UN system through the analysis of environmental consequences of disasters and conflicts and in proposing nature-based solutions for resilience building.
Ms. Aipira has over 20 years of experience in providing policy and programmatic support to local communities, national governments, and regional institutions in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, climate security, gender equality and agricultural development. She also brings international development experience from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific region.
She has led work on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and post-disaster and post-conflict response, recovery and reconstruction.
For the past 15 years, Cecilia has been working with the United Nations in different capacities at the national, regional and headquarters levels. Cecilia served as a team leader for disaster risk reduction for Africa in the UN Development Programme Resilience Hub in Nairobi, Kenya and Ethiopia. She has also served as regional advisor on climate change, disaster risk reduction for UN Women in Asia and the Pacific. Before joining the UN, Cecilia worked with smallholder farmers and grain traders in Malawi.
Cecilia has a master's degree in International Development and Management from Lund University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Malawi.
Staff Position Level: D1
Region: African Group
