Our Team in Myanmar

With 25 years of experience in international development, peacebuilding, and humanitarian affairs, Ms. Gwyn Lewis currently serves as the United Nations Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. in Myanmar. In this role, she leads the coordination of UN agencies, programs, and funds in the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Ms. Gwyn Lewis brings extensive experience within the UN system and beyond, combining operational expertise and strategic vision. Before assuming her current position in Myanmar, Ms. Lewis served as the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh. Prior to that, she served as Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the West Bank, where she led teams in providing essential services and humanitarian support across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. She also served as Deputy Director for Programs for UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Lewis worked with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), where she managed the Global Clusters Coordination section within the organization’s Emergency Division. Ms. Lewis has also held positions in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and has worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and NGOs in Albania and Tajikistan.

Ms. Lewis holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and European Studies from the University of Kent in Canterbury, and a Bachelors in Economics from San Francisco State University.

Daihei Mochizuki is the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Myanmar. A Japanese national, Daihei has over 16 years of experience with IOM in the humanitarian sector, development cooperation, advocacy, partnership building and management in a number of countries. He joined the Myanmar mission in July 2024.

Prior to joining IOM Myanmar, Daihei served as the Chief of Mission for IOM Japan, where he oversaw IOM programming as well as playing a key role in donor liaison and building the partnership between the Government of Japan and IOM missions throughout the world. Daihei has previously held policy roles at IOM Headquarters in Geneva, and has extensive field experience in IOM field missions, including in Iraq, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Prior to joining IOM, Daihei worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Japan, and prior to that for The Japan Center for Conflict Prevention.

Daihei holds a Master’s degree in International Relations form Syracuse University in the USA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Keio University in Japan.

Mr. Fukuya IINO, Ph.D., MBA, Japanese national, and chemical and environmental engineer, has devoted his career to the industrial and institutional capacity building of the public and private sector in emerging economies. He currently holds the position of Industrial Development Officer in the Montreal Protocol Division at UNIDO Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. He has developed and managed more than 80 projects in more than 50 countries (https://open.unido.org/ search Iino on the website)

He has worked for UNIDO since 2010 as an Industrial Development Officer in the Stockholm Convention Unit and then Montreal Protocol Division. He has managed projects funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.

Following his Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo in 1999, Mr. Iino started his career as a post-doctoral researcher at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, North Carolina, the USA (1999-2001) and then as a researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (2001-2004), the largest national research institute of Japan.

In addition to his Ph.D., he holds an MBA (TRIUM Executive MBA jointly organized by the London School of Economics, New York University and HEC, 2014). He is fluent in English and Japanese with working knowledge of French which helps him currently manage projects in more than 7 francophone countries.

After Mr. Iino worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Connecticut, Connecticut, USA in 2004, he was an Academic Programme Officer at the United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan (2004-2010). The public and private partnership project involved 11 Asian countries including the Environmental Research and Training Centre (ERTC) in Thailand (https://www.shimadzu.com/an/news-events/unu-ias_project/overview.html). The results were published (https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Osamu-Ito/dp/9280845578). He has served as an Implementation Officer of ISO 14001 for the UN House in Tokyo and a Managing Editor of Sustainability Science Journal (https://link.springer.com/journal/11625).

Since 2016, Mr. Iino took several key initiatives at the Department of Environment of UNIDO. He led the development of the SDG Impact Investment Programme. Mr. Iino organized the first TEDx event at the Vienna International Centre (VIC). He is also a Gender Focal Point of the Montreal Protocol Division since 2022.

Mr. Fukuya IINO is married and has two daughters.

Dr Thushara Fernando, WHO Representative to Myanmar, is a Sri Lankan national with over 15 years of technical and leadership experience at the WHO.

He is a medical doctor and a public health professional. Dr. Fernando graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Colombo and completed his post graduate studies with a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the California State University in Long Beach and a doctorate (MD, Community Medicine), from the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, in Sri Lanka.

Before joining the WHO, Dr. Fernando had nearly 20 years of work experience working at the National Institute of Health Sciences and the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka in many roles, including from 2000 to 2004 when he was the Director (Planning) at the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka.

Since 2004 he has been serving WHO in many capacities, being a National Professional Officer in the Country Office in Sri Lanka, Technical Officer in the Southeast Asian Regional Office and at the Country Office in Nepal. He also served as the Regional Planning Coordinator for WHO SEARO from 2010 to 2012.
In 2012 he became the WHO Representative in Bangladesh and in 2015 to mid-2019 was the WHO Representative in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

Dr. Fernando has over 35 years of accumulated professional experience in the areas of public health and health systems strengthening, including health policy assessment and analysis, health policy development and modification, health systems planning, monitoring and evaluation, health reforms, managing public health emergencies, and in health administration and management.

Ichiro Miyazawa is Head of UNESCO, a.i. and leads a dedicated team to support educational development and reform; media development for freedom of expression and right to information; and the preservation of cultural heritage and diversity in Myanmar. Prior to his current position, he was the Programme Specialist to promote inclusive and equitable education for the disadvantaged children and youth in Asia and Pacific at UNESCO Bangkok Regional Bureau.

He previously worked in Islamabad, Pakistan, as the Head of UNESCO Education Programme and the Education Focal Point of One UN in Pakistan. He also served the same function in UNESCO Dhaka, Bangladesh. He started his UN career in UNICEF Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Mr. Miyazawa holds the Master’s degree on Education from the Columbia University in New York, USA, and the Bachelor’s degree on Science and Technology from Keio University, Tokyo Japan.

Former UNFPA Representative a.i. in Afghanistan, he started his collaboration with UNFPA in 1996, joining the organization in 1999 as Programme Officer in the Latin American and Caribbean Division at Headquarters, which included assignments to Guatemala and Haiti. In 2004, he took up the position of Deputy Director for the English- and Dutch-Speaking Caribbean, Jamaica. He subsequently assumed the UNFPA Representative positions in Bolivia, Egypt, Brazil, Ukraine (and Country Director for Belarus), leading the respective UNFPA teams and acting as UN Resident Coordinator (a.i.) in Bolivia between 2012 and 2013.

Mr. Nadal brings more than 25 years of experience working as part of the UN system to advance the ICPD, the Agenda 2030, and responding to emergencies and humanitarian crises.

Prior to joining UNFPA, he was in the private sector, providing consulting services to private and public organizations on EU-sponsored regional development initiatives in Spain.

James Rodehaver has headed the Myanmar Team of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights based in the South East Asia Region Office in Bangkok since January 2020. A lawyer by profession, James has over 25 years of experience working on complex human rights issues in conflict and post-conflict situations, having previously served as the Coordinator of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria (2014-2020), Deputy Director of the Human Rights Unit of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (2010-2014) and Director of the Human Rights presences of the OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2005-2010) and Kosovo. James also served with the UN assistance missions in Sierra Leone (1999-2000), Kosovo (2000-2004) and Liberia (2004-2005).

Mr. Rodehaver graduated with high honors from Ohio University’s History Department and Contemporary History Institute. Thereafter he obtained his Juris Doctor from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia winning the Frederic L. Kirgis prize in Public international Law. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Human Rights Law Centre of Nottingham University and was recognized as a Notable Alumni of Ohio University in 2019.

Justin Brady is the Head of Office for OCHA Myanmar. He most recently served as Chief of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Secretariat from March to July 2025. Justin has held several leadership roles with OCHA, including as Head of Office in Sudan (interim from May to October 2022 and permanent from September 2023), Somalia (May 2012 to August 2023), and Libya (June 2020 to October 2022). He is also a member of the IASC Humanitarian Coordinator pool.

Earlier in his career, Justin spent nine years with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations’ Mine Action Service in New York, where he served as Director a.i. from 2011 to 2012 and received a UN Secretary-General’s award in 2008 for his role in mine and explosive remnants of war clearance in south Lebanon. Over his 17-year career in mine action, he also worked in Eritrea, Yemen, and with international NGOs including Norwegian People’s Aid and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation – a co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its contribution to the global campaign to ban anti-personnel landmines.

Ms. Marlene Nilsson joined UNEP, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in April 2023 as the Deputy Regional Director and will be serving as Regional Director, a.i. from 1 February to 31 May 2024. Previously, she held the position of Senior Programme Management Officer/Special Assistant in the Office of the UNEP Executive Director. She also worked in the Executive Office, Ecosystems Division and Policy and Programme Division at UNEP. Ms. Nilsson spent 13 years with United Nations Peacekeeping, working on crisis management, peace negotiations, and political affairs in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan as well as at United Nations Headquarters in New York. She holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science.

Michael Dunford is the WFP Representative to Myanmar since November 2024. Michael is a qualified lawyer and practiced in Australia and the UK before joining the United Nations. He has almost 25 years of experience working with the WFP in numerous roles and locations.

Prior to his appointment, Michael spent the past decade working with WFP in East Africa, most recently as the Regional Director of the WFP Eastern Africa Bureau in Nairobi. As Regional Director, he oversaw WFP operations and provided strategic guidance and support to ten countries, including some of the largest and most complex operations for WFP globally.

Michael has extensive management and operational experience, including as Country Representative in Tanzania, and WFP Deputy Country Director in Uganda, Bangladesh and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He was the WFP Emergency Coordinator at the onset of the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazar in 2017.

Michael was also the UN Resident Coordinator ai in Tanzania from August 2019 to February 2020.

He first joined WFP in its Headquarters in Rome as Head of the Commercial and Constitutional Law Branch and had assignments in Georgia, Russia (Ingushetia) after starting his career as a UN Volunteer on a stateless program in Crimea, Ukraine.

Michael holds a BA in Political Science from the Australian National University (ANU) and a LLB from the University of Technology (UTS), Sydney, Australia. An Australian national, Michael is married and has two children.

Ms. Noriko Takagi is the Country Representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Ms. Takagi has almost 30 years of experience in the field of humanitarian assistance and refugee protection. Her career with UNHCR spans 25 years in a variety of operational contexts. She started in Yangon, Myanmar as Associate Programme Officer (1997-2000), after which she served in Nepal as Programme Officer (2000 – 2002) and then in Kigoma, Tanzania as Field Officer (2004-2006) where she also served as Registration Coordinator. Thereafter, Ms. Takagi served at UNHCR Headquarters as Programme Training Officer within the Division of Operational Services (2006-2009). She then worked at UNHCR’s Regional Officer for Central Europe in Budapest, Hungary, as Senior Regional Programme Officer, overseeing UNHCR’s programmes and budgets in seven countries – Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria.

Ms. Takagi returned to Myanmar, initially as Senior Programme Officer (2013-2015) and then as Deputy Representative (2015-2016). She then served as Business Coordinator for UNHCR’s Results-Based Management (RBM) renewal project (2017 to 2021), at Headquarters. Most recently, she was the Senior Programme Coordinator, overseeing some 40 countries under UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mr. Norimasa Shimomura has started as UNDP Resident Representative in Myanmar on 23 August 2025. He has more than 25 years of experience at the United Nations, promoting sustainable human development in many countries.

Prior to his current assignment, he served as UNDP Resident Representative in Indonesia in 2020-2025. Before, he was UN Resident Coordinator for Kazakhstan in 2015-2020 and also UNDP Resident Representative for Kazakhstan in 2015-2018. Earlier, he spearheaded development initiatives as acting UNDP Resident Representative in Montenegro, UNDP Country Director in Tajikistan and Albania, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in the Republic of North Macedonia, and acting UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Georgia. He also served as Program Manager of Western Balkans cluster at UNDP headquarters Regional Bureau for Europe & CIS, and Special Assistant to the Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.

Prior to that, he was Economic Advisor at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations serving as delegate for the UN General Assembly Second Committee, ECOSOC and its subsidiary committees, and UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board. He started his career as UNDP programme officer in Turkmenistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He holds Master of International Affairs from Columbia University in the City of New York, and B.A. from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.

Rangaiyan Gurumurthy brings over 25 years of development cooperation experience to strengthen Health and HIV responses in varied political contexts including the Asia-Pacific; Eastern and Southern Africa; West and Central Africa and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regions.

As the Director a.i of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for the Middle East and North Africa for more than three years, Rangaiyan provided leadership support to countries across the region for an expanded United Nations system response in reaching the global AIDS targets by 2020 towards ending the AIDS epidemic at the regional and country levels. Helped countries in the region to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on broader development and humanitarian efforts to achieve and sustain the SDGs.

During his assignments in India, Ghana and Kenya, Rangaiyan provided intellectual leadership to guide policy decisions and programmes with effective use of strategic information for a sustainable AIDS response. Prior to joining UNAIDS, Rangaiyan managed a large and complex bilateral aid programme focused on designing, implementing and evaluating innovative operations research projects on gender, HIV and sexually transmitted infections.

Mr Gurumurthy holds a doctorate degree in population sciences with a specialization in reproductive health and HIV.

Before taking up her appointment as the Country Director and Representative for the Myanmar Country Office, Sara joined UNOPS in Myanmar as the Fund Director for LIFT in December 2021 from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). At WFP, Sara was responsible for establishing an in-country presence in Jamaica, supporting the Government of Jamaica to strengthen social protection programming during COVID-19, and overseeing a team based throughout the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean (Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Guyana).

Having worked in over 30 countries, Sara has been an implementer and donor, working in numerous fragile states as well as humanitarian and developing contexts across the world. She also served as Team Leader at USAID and Senior Director Emergency Food Security and Livelihoods at Save the Children US, where she led the team responsible for the provision of global support to country offices.

Sara holds a Master’s of Public Health and has 20 years of experience in the development and humanitarian sector.

Sarah Knibbs has been working in the Asia Pacific region for more than 25 years, with a range of organisations including UN Women, UNFPA, DFID China, Save the Children Fund, VSO and the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance (KHANA). Her work has focused on gender, violence against women, HIV, youth issues, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Sarah joined UN Women in 2014. Initially she was based at the Cambodia Country Office, moving to the UN Women Regional Office for Asia Pacific in June 2020 as Deputy Regional Director. She is currently the UN Women Country Representative ai for Myanmar.

Sarah is from the UK and studied History at Oxford for her first degree, later taking an MSc in Development Management specialising in Population and Reproductive Health at the University of Wales Swansea.

Sylvie Bétemps Cochin is the Chief, Office for Asia and The Pacific, at the International Trade Centre (ITC). Sylvie Bétemps Cochin has more than 20 years of experience in international trade, project management and trade-related technical assistance in Asia and Africa. She is responsible for a portfolio of 36 Asian and Pacific countries, including least developed countries (LDCs). She has managed and developed multi-disciplinary trade-related technical assistance projects in Asia, including in Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Previously, she was the Adviser for a large regional trade and economic integration programme in Africa. She was also responsible for managing regional projects, supporting south-south trade promotion, institutional strengthening and the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and Africa.

Mr. William Naing, Officer in Charge of UNCDF Myanmar, is a seasoned development professional with over 20 years of experience. During his seven-year tenure as a National Officer with UNCDF Myanmar, he spearheaded the development of the Myanmar Financial Inclusion Roadmap and the implementation process. His responsibilities encompassed providing vital policy support, forging strategic partnerships, managing project implementation, and facilitating resource mobilization. Collaborating closely with relevant stakeholders, the private sector, and key institutions, he made significant contributions in shaping Myanmar's financial inclusion landscape and digital financial ecosystem.

Before joining UNCDF Myanmar, he served as a Development Program Specialist at USAID Myanmar from 2012-2016. Prior to that, he held the position of Local Governance Officer with the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste from 2009 to 2012. During his tenure with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) from 1999 to 2004, where he contributed significantly to an alternative development project focused on sustainability as a Community Development Coordinator. In addition, during his earlier career, he worked with three different organizations in various capacities.

William holds a Master's Degree in Development Management from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany and a Postgraduate degree in Business Management Studies from the London School of Management.

Mr. Yasumasa Kimura was appointed as UNICEF Representative to Myanmar in June 2025.

Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Kimura served as UNICEF Representative in Syria from May 2023, providing strategic, programmatic, and operational leadership in one of the most complex and protracted humanitarian contexts globally. Mr. Kimura spearheaded the successful integration of the Whole of Syria architecture into a unified Country Office structure, enhancing coordination, operational coherence, and programmatic effectiveness. He also led the office through a strategic shift from life-saving humanitarian response to early recovery and development programming, positioning UNICEF as a partner of choice in the UN’s support to Syria’s historic transition.

Mr. Kimura has over 25 years of experience with UNICEF. He served as Deputy Representative (Programmes) for UNICEF India (2021-2023), supporting one of UNICEF’s largest country programmes and providing advisory and management support to 13 field offices, covering 23 states and two union territories. He has also served as the Director of the UNICEF Public Partnerships Division in Tokyo, Japan (2016-2020) and as the UNICEF Regional Chief of Private Fundraising and Partnerships (2012-2015) in the East Asia and Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok. Mr. Kimura held several positions at UNICEF Headquarters in New York as well.

A Japanese national, Mr. Kimura holds a Master of Arts in International Development and Social Change from Clark University in the United States.

Ms. Yatta Dakowah has served as Chief of the UNODC in Brussels and Chief of the Liaison Office (BRULO), since 5 September 2016. Before that, she served as Policy Coordination Officer in the Office of the Director‐General/Executive Director leading the Policy and Inter‐agency Coordination Team working across all UNODC mandates on significant policy, programme, and operational matters. Ms. Dakowah joined UNODC in 2007 as part of the core UN.GIFT team, working on multi‐stakeholder issues, donor relations, and partnership building. Prior to joining UNODC, Ms. Dakowah worked with the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa in New York, where she was involved in projects on the MDGS, gender mainstreaming, and capacity building.

A national of the United Kingdom, Ms. Dakowah is a graduate of the University of Kingston (2002) and the University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne (1995).

She took up her assignment as Country Manager of the UNODC Programme Office in Myanmar on 1 September 2023.

Yuka Makino was appointed FAO Representative to Myanmar on 2 July 2021. Yuka has more than 30 years of international experience in leading programs in natural resources management, rural development, climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. She has developed programs in 29 countries across East Asia, South Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa.

Prior to this appointment, Yuka was a Senior Forestry Officer and Team Leader for the Water and Mountains team in the Forestry Division at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. Before joining FAO, she was a Senior Natural Resources and Disaster Risk Management Officer at the World Bank in Washington DC, USA between 2001 and 2018 with field posting in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Tokyo, Japan. From 1997-1998 she was an Environment Officer for the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Tokyo, Japan and was posted to Kathmandu, Nepal as a Community-based Disaster Risk Management Expert from 1998 to 2000. From 1994-1997, she was the Natural Resources and Environment Officer for the United Nations Development Programme in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

A national of Japan, Yuka holds a PhD and MSc in Terrestrial Ecosystem Management from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan. Yuka spent 14 years of her childhood in India.

Mr. Yutong Liu, Liaison Officer/Representative, started his posting with the ILO Liaison Office in Myanmar in September 2023. He held the position of Project Manager and Coordinator of ROAP, overseeing ILO-China Partnership Project on Strengthening Skills Development in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar through SSTC since Nov 2019.

Between 2017-2019, he was posted in Geneva as Labour Counsellor. He represented the Asian and the Pacific Region as regional coordinator of ASPAG. He was selected as member of the Drafting Group for the Committee of the Whole in 2019. He delivered in channelling the position and voice of ASPAG in deliberating the ILO Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work. He also coordinated and spoke on behalf of ASPAG in endorsing the resolution of the Centenary Declaration.

During the ILC in 2018, he was selected as member of the Drafting Group for the Committee of Effective Cooperation to Support Sustainable Development Goals 2030. He later was elected as rapporteur for the Committee to report to the plenary session, ILC, 2018 for its successful adoption. He also participated in the Fourth Meeting of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group Meetings, and Future of Work initiative meetings in the ILO.

From 2005 to 2016, he was Division Director for Technical Cooperation, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, China. He participated in the work of the formulation of the MOU between the ILO and MOHRSS, attended from the 2nd to the 7th Joint Committee Meetings of the MOU Reviews between the ILO and MOHRSS from 2006 to 2016, started and implemented the long-term cooperation programs with the ILO. He served also as gender equality focal point, for MOHRSS from 2012 to 2016.

The ILO-China Partnership Project received positive recognition by ASEAN+3 Labour Ministers in their Joint Statement on 29 October 2022, “We noted with appreciation the support of China in the implementation of the ILO-China Project on Strengthening Skills Development in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar through South-South and Triangular Cooperation. We noted the establishment of the TVET networks among Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and China TVET institutions in October 2021.”

He has more than 20 years of international experience working with countries in Asia. He served as ASEAN+3 countries senior labour official for 16 years (2000-2016), participating actively in the ASEAN+3 Senior Labour Official Meetings.

He holds a master’s degree in MBA from Lancaster University in UK. He was a Visiting Scholar in the Oklahoma State University, USA in Oct-Dec 1996, and received a bachelor’s degree from Beijing Information Technology Institute in 1991 in Beijing, China.