LocationsPhoto credit: MFA Ukraine
16 April 2019, Kyiv – Today Ms. Dafina Gercheva presented her credentials, as United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative, to Mr. Serhii Kyslytsia, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Ms. Gercheva assumed her duties as the United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative to Ukraine on April 1, 2019.
In this role she will lead the work of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine, and will closely collaborate with national, regional and local authorities and other stakeholders, sister UN agencies, and development partners, to bring transformational change on the ground, accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and leave no one behind. UNDP plays the integrator role in the United Nations Development System, and addresses the root causes of complex challenges. The program of UNDP spans across all 24 oblasts of Ukraine, including conflict-affected areas in eastern Ukraine that are under government control.
“UNDP has a critical role in connecting the dots and inducing positive and transformative development impact and change,” Dafina Gercheva said today at an official meeting with Mr. Serhii Kyslytsia, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
“It is a development advisory institution, which has the capacity to link issues, agencies and partners and advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Transformation is about people! Therefore, our efforts are aiming at fulfilling people’s aspirations and improving livelihoods. Leaving no one behind is our mantra and guiding principle.
"Our team of over 200 dedicated and passionate professionals and practitioners is charting new grounds and leveraging the power of innovation for generating smart solutions to the complex challenges posed by the rapidly changing development landscape. We truly value the strategic partnership with the Government of Ukraine and we are firmly committed to continue supporting country’s transformation into a modern and prosperous state.”
Ms. Gercheva is a seasoned international development specialist, who brings to the job deep and rich knowledge and experience in areas such as: environmental management, capacity development, democratic governance, decentralization, confidence building, conflict prevention, and resilience.
Prior to joining UNDP Ukraine, Ms. Gercheva had served as the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to the Republic of Moldova (2015-2019), Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director of the Bureau of Management (2012-2015), and the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to the Republic of Armenia (2010-2012). From 2002 to 2009 Ms. Gercheva had worked at the UNDP Regional Center in Bratislava, the Slovak Republic. Ms. Gercheva joined UNDP back in 1994 as Sustainable Development Specialist at UNDP Bulgaria.
Ms. Gercheva holds a diploma in Executive Education of University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a diploma in Environmental Economics for Development Policy from the World Bank Institute in Washington, D.C. She was a visiting scholar in the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, University College London, and Oxford University colleges. Ms. Gercheva also has a Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia. She is married and has two children.
