The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Tanzania welcomes Ms. Sarah Gordon-Gibson as its new Country Representative.
Ms. Gordon-Gibson has officially presented her credentials to the Government of Tanzania, and received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi.
"I am very pleased to be back in Tanzania and has seen that the country has made significant progress in key human development and economic indicators. We remain committed to working with the Government of Tanzania and partners in addressing national challenges around the environment, climate, social protection schemes, agriculture productivity and food systems, balanced and nutritious diets, as well as equality and women's empowerment," she pointed out.
A qualified lawyer, Ms. Gordon-Gibson has worked for WFP for over 20 years and in the past two years; she served as WFP's Representative in Jordan, one of WFP's largest operations.
Ms. Gordon-Gibson also served as Country Representative in Lao People's Democratic Republic for three years, where her most recent assignments included being the Deputy Country Representative in Tanzania, Myanmar and Niger.
In support of the Government's efforts to achieve middle-income status in Tanzania, WFP works in areas of nutrition, social safety net, supply chain and support to smallholder farmers.
WFP supports smallholder farmers to transition from subsistence farming to farming as a business and enables access to reliable markets with the aim to render farming communities more food secure, self-reliant and resilient to shocks.
WFP also provides food assistance for refugees and explores innovative solutions for sustainable development.
Additionally, WFP serves as a logistics hub for surrounding landlocked countries and is a key player in the East African region in enabling movement of life-saving food to people in crisis.
WFP works closely with the Tanzanian Government to strengthen the country's role as a maritime gateway and regional supplier of food.
However, Ms. Gordon-Gibson added that WFP highly values its partnership with the Government of Tanzania, saying: "An important part of our commitment is to support the Government to address the needs of the most vulnerable and food insecure Tanzanians, by bringing together our expertise, capabilities as well as resources, and collaborate more than ever before to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030."
The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. "We are the world's largest Humanitarian Organisation, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change."