Pro Insider: UNOCHA’s new chief, and a comedy of errors

Well folks, the U.N. finally has a new relief chief, more than three months since the previous postholder Martin Griffiths stepped down. And it’s bad news for those who’d been holding out hope that the job might go to someone other than a British man. Griffiths is being replaced by Tom Fletcher, who is currently principal of Hertford College, Oxford, but who previously served as the U.K.’s ambassador to Lebanon and as a foreign and development policy adviser to the U.K. government. Fletcher could hardly be taking over at a more challenging time, with mounting crises in various parts of the world and a difficult funding environment. Some are concerned that while he has the diplomatic chops, his humanitarian experience is less strong. He’s also never led an organization anywhere near the size of UNOCHA. Lucky, then, that he appears to have bags of confidence, noting that despite being a “failed boxer” and “failed teacher,” he found his feet after entering diplomacy, becoming “Britain’s youngest ever ambassador” (an accolade that most sources actually reserve for another diplomat, Julie Chappell) and “youngest ever Oxford head of house.” Accepting the role, he said he wanted to “reset the relationship between the world and those in direst need” and “defend humanitarians, humanitarian values and … the people we are there to serve.” Coming up: Don’t forget, Devex Pro members enjoy a $400 discount on tickets for Devex World happening in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 24. This is an in-person only experience so make sure to be in the room for the fascinating conversations we’ll be having with global development leaders, from Enoh T. Ebong, director of the US Trade and Development Agency, to Priya Basu, executive head of the Pandemic Fund. We’ll also have a Pro Lounge where you can network and meet some of the speakers. If you’re interested in bringing people from your team, we offer discounted packages — let me know by replying to this email. Also in today’s edition: A peek behind the curtain at DFID, a landmark new CEO at British International Investment, and another African health conference is postponed. Bits and pieces Hello, BII. While UNOCHA might be sticking with British men, elsewhere change is afoot. The U.K.’s development finance institution, British International Investment, has appointed Leslie Maasdorp as its next CEO, replacing Nick O’Donohoe who’s retiring later this year. The South African national is believed to be the first African CEO of any European or North American development finance institution. He most recently played a key role in setting up the BRICS New Development Bank, where he was vice president. BII is charged with increasing its investments in the lowest-income and most fragile countries above the 50% mark by 2030 and with becoming “the most transparent” bilateral DFI in the world, under an inherited blueprint that the U.K.’s new Labour government appears to be taking forward. O’Donohoe told Devex recently that “the biggest question” facing his successor would be how to juggle poverty-fighting in the lowest-income countries with the rising demand for climate finance. Comedy of errors? Let’s stick with the U.K. for a moment. The country under a new Labour government is struggling to figure out its aid policy, as my colleague Rob Merrick revealed, so perhaps it’s no bad thing that Mark Lowcock (another British man who once led UNOCHA) has just published a book on the country’s development efforts in better times. “The Rise and Fall of the Department for International Development,” co-written with Ranil Dissanayake of the Center for Global Development, tells the story of the now-defunct aid agency, “distilling timely lessons for government aid institutions in the UK and beyond.” Among the book’s revelations, the authors claim that the new U.K. prime minister, Keir Starmer, rejected top-level advice that he could restore the agency with “negligible” cost and disruption. There are a lot of serious reflections in this book, especially for those who’ve been tracking U.K. aid for a long time. But don’t worry — at the launch event earlier this month, Lowcock also promised “comedic value” in the footnotes. Postponements. The Global NCD Alliance has postponed its forum, which was due to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, next week, due to an outbreak of Marburg, one of the world’s deadliest viruses. With 700 delegates expected to travel to the Rwandan capital for the conference, the organization said its board had assessed “that the risk is too high for us to proceed as planned.” Rwanda declared the outbreak late last month. At the time of writing, 58 cases and 13 deaths have been recorded, mostly in Kigali. The Global NCD Alliance commended the government’s swift response to the outbreak and that the forum would be rescheduled for February. It’s the second global health conference to be canceled recently due to disease outbreaks. Africa CDC postponed its flagship conference, due to be held in Morocco in November, in order to focus its efforts on the mpox outbreak in Central Africa. However, Rwanda’s health minister Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana told my colleague Sara that the decision was specific to the Global NCD Alliance and that other conferences are going ahead. "We don't see any risk to avoid travels or conferences,” he said. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden postponed what was set to be the first trip to the African continent of his presidency to deal with Hurricane Milton back home. From the ashes. Keith Kibirango, former CEO of Crown Agents International Development, has announced a new role after the charity’s parent company collapsed. The British-Ugandan is now CEO of New Global Markets Consulting, which connects businesses and philanthropists with people and organizations in the global south, especially Africa. U.K. development contractor Crown Agents Ltd launched CAID as its charity wing three years ago to diversify its income, but when the company went into liquidation in August it left the charity’s future in doubt. CAID had an income of £8.8 million a year according to the most recent accounts, but it appears to have been heavily dependent on its parent company, with Kibirango potentially its only employee. CAID’s last accounts date back to 2021, and show no employees at all. And while more recent accounts would shed some light on the situation, they are almost six months overdue and may now never see the light of day. ✉️ Do you have insights into any of this week’s bits and pieces? Let me know by replying to this email. Moving on USAID’s new mission director for South Sudan, David Thompson, has arrived in the country to take up his post. The African Development Bank has appointed Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade as senior vice president. Thomas Eriksson has joined the Green Climate Fund as regional director for Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Rebecca Hope is now director of the global health equity portfolio at Emerson Collective. Steven Were Omamo has joined International Food Policy Research Institute as the director of the development strategies and governance unit, based in Nairobi. Francis Kadiri is now SRHR regional manager at Chase Africa. Did we miss one? Is there a change on the horizon? Let us know at devexpro@devex.com. Up next The World Health Summit is making its annual appearance in Berlin, starting today. How to finance global health solutions is a key topic. The summit will feature an event in support of WHO’s ongoing investment round in a bid to secure funding for the agency’s new strategy. Other key pillars for the summit include artificial intelligence, climate change, antimicrobial resistance, youth leadership, and women’s and children’s health. Oct. 13-15. Disaster risk reduction. The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction is taking place in Manila, co-hosted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the government of the Philippines. It’s the main regional platform for monitoring, reviewing, and enhancing cooperation on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and key pillars are financing, inclusivity, and localization. Oct. 14-18. World Food Forum. Led by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Forum in Rome aims to inspire food systems transformation by focusing on youth engagement, science and innovation, and investment. Oct. 14-18. Green finance. The OECD Forum on Finance and Green Investment in Paris will feature a series of high-level panels and breakout sessions in a hybrid format, focusing on how to catalyze the shift toward transformative green economic investments. Oct. 15-16. Jobs of the week Your Pro membership includes access to the world’s largest global development job board. Here are some of the latest high-level opportunities: • Chief Operations Office, Polio at WHO. • Emergency Health Director at GOAL Global. • Counsel - Private Sector Investment and Treasury Operations at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.