The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has on January 4, 2022, appointed Edward Kallon from Sierra Leone as the new UN Resident Coordinator for Zimbabwe.

Kallon has over three decades of working experience in public services, both at the United Nations and externally, in complex emergencies, transition, and development contexts in conflict and non-conflict settings across lower- and middle-income countries.

Upon his appointment, he was the Humanitarian Coordinator in Zimbabwe after accepting the office on January 6, 2022.

Prior to his appointment, he was also serving as the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, following an assignment as Resident Coordinator in Jordan.

He has also held senior positions with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Bangladesh, India, Iraq, Somalia, and Uganda after starting his United Nations career as a United Nations Volunteer assigned to WFP in Afghanistan.

Upon joining the UN, Edward Kallon has worked in his home country, as a socioeconomist and community development coordinator for GTZMANR, a bilateral technical cooperation project, as well as an income generation project coordinator with a global non-profit Plan International.

He holds a master’s degree in development studies with a specialization in agriculture and rural development from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Njala University College of the University of Sierra Leone.