‘Gumbonzvanda UN role an honour’
THE United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Dr Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda from Zimbabwe as deputy executive director for normative support, UN system coordination and programme results at the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).
Mr Guterres extended his appreciation to UN-Women director of policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Support, Ms Sarah Hendriks of Canada, who will continue to serve as UN-Women deputy executive director in the interim until Dr Gumbonzvanda assumes her functions.
Dr Gumbonzvanda is the founder and executive director of Rozaria Memorial Trust based in Zimbabwe.
Before that, she served as the general secretary of the World Young Women’s Christian Association and United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) regional programming director in the East and Horn of Africa.
She has also served in the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as a human rights officer in Liberia and national child rights adviser in Zimbabwe.
Before joining UNICEF, she served as the interim coordinator for the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association and assistant law officer at the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Constitutional Affairs of Zimbabwe, and was also appointed the first African Union goodwill ambassador on ending child marriage.
Dr Gumbonzvanda holds a Doctor of Laws degree (Honoris Causa) from the University of Massachusetts in the United States, a Master in Laws degree from the University of South Africa, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Conflict Transformation from Uppsala University in Sweden and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from the University of Zimbabwe.
She was born in Murehwa district and was educated in Zimbabwe.
She is the founder and executive director of Rozaria Memorial and the trust is a community empowerment which focuses mostly on women and children, focusing on the range of services in education, health and economic empowerment.
Dr Gumbonzvanda is a champion of ending violence against women and girls and she has served as the African Union goodwill ambassador on ending child marriage from 2014 to 2022.
She has worked closely with the SADC Parliamentary Forum on the SADC Model Law on Ending Child Marriage.
In addition, she participated and contributed to the formation of the Council of Traditional Leaders on ending child marriage in Africa, and, through her trust, supported the development of bylaws on this issue in Murehwa, Shamva and UMP.
In her work, she has worked closely with Government departments as she delivers on her mandate. And her appointment to such a high position in the UN is an honour to the country and Africa at large.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Monica Mutsvangwa was in Murehwa recently to bid farewell to Dr Gumbonzvanda.
Minister Mutsvangwa said this was truly a source of pride not just to Dr Gumbonzvanda’s family, the Murehwa community, and the womenfolk, but also to the Government of Zimbabwe for the excellent education she is a product of.
“As the Minister of Women Affairs, I am very grateful for the complementary work done by Rozaria Memorial Trust headed by Dr Gumbonzvanda in empowering the community focusing mainly on women and children ranging from education, health and economic empowerment, championing ending Gender-based violence and child marriages.
“The appointment of Dr Gumbonzvanda to such a high and responsible position in the UN is indeed an honour to Zimbabwe and Africa at large.
“We look forward to working with her as a Ministry as we carry out our mandate,” she said.