India's KR Parvathy appointed as UN Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan

UNITED NATIONS: India's Kavilmadam Ramaswami Parvathy, who has served in leading roles at the World Food Programme in Türkiye and Afghanistan, has been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan.

Parvathy took up her new post as Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan Wednesday, following the appointment by the Secretary-General and confirmation from the host Government, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said at the daily news briefing.

"We remain with full gender parity among our 130 Resident Coordinators," Dujarric said.

Parvathy brings more than 30 years of experience in development and humanitarian sectors, focusing on strategic planning, performance, risk management, people management, conflict analysis and humanitarian access negotiations, a statement issued here said.

Prior to her appointment as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Parvathy served as Representative and Country Director for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Türkiye, addressing the food and nutrition needs of the most vulnerable people. In this role, she led the emergency response of WFP, providing much-needed food assistance to hundreds of thousands of earthquake-affected people immediately in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in the southeast region of Türkiye.

Parvathy actively contributed to the UN multi-sectoral response in support of the efforts of the government to provide emergency assistance to the earthquake-affected people.

Previously, Parvathy has worked as Representative and Country Director for WFP in Liberia and as Deputy Country Director (Programme and Operations) for WFP in Afghanistan. In other career assignments, Parvathy has served in the Asia Pacific, West Africa, and the regional and global headquarters of WFP, further contributing to ending hunger in the world.

In her diverse roles, Parvathy has worked together with the national governments, United Nations agencies and other development and humanitarian actors for promoting sustainable actions towards building healthy, productive, and cohesive communities and societies, while advocating for responsible policies and legislations for safeguarding the environment for current and future generations.

She holds a master's degree in Organisational Performance Management from the School of Management, Cranfield University in England, the statement added.