Our Team in Lao PDR

Mr. Bakhodir BURKHANOV (Uzbekistan) has worked for the UN System organizations since 1998 in progressively responsible positions starting as National Officer with UNIDO.

Prior to his appointment as UN Resident Coordinator for Lao People’s Democratic Republic, he headed the RC System Business Management Branch at the UN Development Coordination Office (DCO) in New York, overseeing human resources, legal, financial and operational management support for the RC System globally.

In December 2018, he was designated as UNDP Resident Representative for 10 Pacific Island Countries based in Fiji (Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu). From 2016 to 2018, he served as Country Director for the Pacific Office in Fiji, and Head of UNDP’s Pacific Regional Policy and Programme (covering 10 Pacific Island Countries, with support to Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau).

Between 2011-2016, he was posted in Viet Nam as Deputy Country Director in a Delivering as One (DaO) context. From 2008 to 2011, he was Deputy Resident Representative in Bhutan, a self-starter DaO country. Prior to that, he served as a Donor Relations Adviser at UNDP Headquarters in New York (2004-2008), covering a donor portfolio including the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.

His other postings included Assistant Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea, and Programme Specialist at UNDP HQ in New York covering the Afghanistan desk.

Bakhodir holds an MA degree in Business Administration and a BA (Hons) in Political Sciences and International Relations. He is married with three children.

Avi Sarkar (India) is the Regional Advisor covering South-East Asia for UN-Habitat. Besides representing UN-Habitat in Lao PDR, Dr. Sarkar also heads the Urban Basic Services Programmes in the South-East Asian region. He has earlier worked as the Regional Coordinator for South-East Asian Region for the Norwegian People’s Aid and has also worked in the private sector as an analyst in a fund management group.

Dr. Sarkar has a PhD in Management and Master’s degrees in Business Administration and in Environmental Economics. He also has an Honors in Physics.

Bakhtiyor Kadyrov is a development and humanitarian aid professional, with 21 years of field experience, at different capacities, including leadership and programme management responsibilities with UNFPA in Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Tajikistan.

Bakhtiyor Kadyrov’s assignments with UNFPA Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Nepal and Tajikistan led to rewarding achievements in leadership roles, including change management, introducing evidence-based programme models and systems of accountability, resource mobilization, advocacy and partnership coordination.

Bakhtiyor has both extensive business development and high level program design and leadership experience.

He acted as Representative a.i./ Officer-in-Charge of UNFPA Syria for two years (2009-2010 & 2011-2012), and the Head of Puntland Field Office in Somalia for more than five years.

In his most recent assignments, he acted as Representative a.i. of UNFPA Pakistan over the period of June 2021-October 2022, spearheading the CO high-level policy advocacy, partnership coordination, the new CPD design and the CO flood response over the period of June 2021-Ocrober 2022. Prior to that he served as the Pakistan CO Deputy Representative for 3 years (2018-2021). This is in addition to the most recent short-term programme management and technical assignment with UNFPA Nepal in February-June 2023.

His hands-on experience, as evident by concrete results over the past years, reflect skill mix in development assistance, resilience building operations and expanding partnership base, advocacy, partnership coordination and policy development. In this respect, it is worth noting that he has significant experience in establishing and maintaining relationships with key internal and external stakeholders from a range of different cultures, from senior government through to community level. This includes hands-on experience in building long-term effective relationships and partnerships with governments, donors and private sector, particularly in areas of capacity development and policy implementation.

Prior to joining the UN System in 2002 Bakhtiyor Kadyrov served as a technical advisor for a non-governmental organization mandated to promote adolescent and youth reproductive health. This is in addition to practicing medicine prior to his technical assignment with the non-governmental organization.

Dr. Bakhtiyor Kadyrov is a Tajikistan national and holds a Medical Diploma with a specialization in General Medicine, as well as PhD Degree in Medical Specialties from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and Dissertation Council of the Tajik Medical University.

Dr Tim Armstrong is a global health diplomacy and noncommunicable disease (NCD) expert from New South Wales, Australia, with more than 30 years of experience. Following four years working in Australia for a range of health policy-focused organizations, Dr Armstrong joined WHO in 2002, with an emphasis on NCDs.

In his 22 years with WHO, he has served in its Geneva-based headquarters as a Technical Officer (NCDs), Program Coordinator (Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion), Unit Head (Global Strategy for Diet, Physical Activity and Health), Head of Secretariat to the WHO High Level Commission on the Prevention of Childhood Obesity, and most recently, from 2015, as Director of the Department of Governing Bodies. In this latter role, he was responsible for WHO’s World Health Assembly and Executive Board, overseeing strategic engagement with WHO’s 194 Member States at the highest levels, in addition to managing other high-level WHO governance mechanisms and structures.

Across his global health diplomacy work, Dr Armstrong has guided core governance and diplomatic interfaces to strategically shape the global health agenda. He has focused on ensuring that low- and middle-income countries have a voice in global health decision-making, and supported countries to achieve consensus on technical and political issues in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment. Over the past two decades he has worked with increasing urgency to address the acceleration of climate change and environmental degradation as the greatest threats to human health.

In the field of NCDs, Dr Armstrong has been responsible for implementing NCD risk factor research in more than 50 countries, as well as supporting childhood obesity prevention and physical activity strategies across all WHO regions.

Throughout his career Dr Armstrong’s priority has remained supporting Member States. With deployments to more than 80 countries (including within Asia), he has focused on supporting the development and implementation of practical, achievable and impact-focused strategies, policies and programmes. This has cemented his belief in WHO’s mission, and the effectiveness that WHO technical support can deliver when well aligned with national priorities.

Dr Armstrong has peer-reviewed numerous publications covering genetic epidemiology, disease surveillance, health diplomacy and global health governance. He holds a PhD in Genetic Epidemiology and a Bachelor of Science with 1st Class Honours (Population Behaviour, Genetics and Social Epidemiology) from the University of New England, Australia.

Bilal Aurang Zeb Durrani is serving as UNICEF Country Representative to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) since August 2024. In this role, he is responsible for providing leadership and vision to the UNICEF country team to realize the rights of children.

Prior to joining UNICEF Lao PDR, Mr. Durrani’s recent assignments included the UNICEF Country Representative to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, and the Head of UNICEF’s South Korea Office.

He brings to this role more than two decades of experience in international development, working with UN agencies and international and local NGOs at the Headquarters level in Europe and North America as well as in complex development, emergencies and post-conflict settings in Asia and Africa.

With strong evidence-based technical programmatic knowledge, He is experienced in leading and managing diverse and geographically dispersed teams and large-scale budgets, and specialize in partnership-building, fundraising, project management, and monitoring and evaluation – through innovative result-based programming, and human-centred approaches.

Mr. Durrani is the recipient of several national and international awards, including the Order of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the highest national award, by the President, in recognition of outstanding services and contributions to the children of Timor-Leste. He was also the recipient of the Republic of Korea National Assembly award, by the President of the Parliamentary Committee on Children, Population and Environment.

Mr. Durrani holds a Master’s Degree in International Development from the International Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands; a Master’s in International Public Policy from the Central European University, Austria; and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Bahria University, Pakistan.

A national of Pakistan, he is married and has two children.

Mr. Nthara joined the World Bank Group in February 2005 as Country Economist for Malawi. He has since held various positions across the World Bank, most recently as WBG Country Manager for Papua New Guinea in the East Asia and Pacific Region.

From 2019 to 2023, Mr. Nthara was the Bank’s Country Manager for Liberia in the West Africa Region. Before that, he served as an Economic Adviser in the Bank’s Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS) Vice Presidency in Washington D.C. where he was responsible for providing advice and guidance to senior management and task teams on the Bank’s strategic approaches to supporting its member countries as well as on specific financing instruments. Prior to this position, Mr. Nthara had held various field positions in the Africa and East Asia Regions, including as Program Leader and Lead Economist for Nigeria and as Senior Country Economist for Myanmar and Malawi.
Before joining the World Bank, Mr. Nthara was the Manager of Deloitte’s Development Consulting Practice, Manager of the UK-funded Malawi Trade and Poverty Program, and Economics Lecturer at the University of Malawi. During that period, he also consulted for many organizations and institutions, including the Budget and Finance Committee of Malawi’s Parliament, the Department for International Development (DFID), the European Union, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the World Bank.

Mr. Nthara is a Malawian national and holds a Ph.D. in Economics and a Masters’ Degree in Economics of Developing Countries, both from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He also holds a Bachelor of Social Science Degree in Economics from the University of Malawi.

Marc is a public health nutritionist with 20 years of experience in humanitarian and development settings in Africa and Latin America designing and implementing food security and nutrition policies and programmes. Prior to joining WFP’s operation in Laos, Marc was WFP’s Deputy Country Director in Haiti, Regional Advisor on nutrition, social protection and HIV for Latin America. Marc worked in protracted emergencies in D.R. Congo, Burundi, Somalia and transitional contexts in Sudan and Haiti. With WFP since 2009, Marc also worked with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and international Non-Governmental organizations. Marc also worked as an investigator at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on the aetiology of acute malnutrition. He is a graduate in human nutrition from Montpellier University (France) and in epidemiology from LSHTM (UK).

Mr. Sung Ho Hwang has been appointed as the Programme Coordinator for Transnational Organized Crime and Officer-in-Charge at the UNODC Programme Office in Lao PDR as of 1 October 2024.

Prior to his appointment, he served as an External Relations Officer at the Co-financing and Partnership Section, Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs at UNODC Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, responsible for resource mobilization as well as promoting and deepening strategic partnership with various partners/donors including Governments, IGOs, NGOs as well as public-private entities.

Mr. Hwang joined UNODC in 2014 as a Junior Professional Officer from the Republic of Korea and served as Associate Legal Officer and Associate Programme Officer for Policy Coordination in the Office of the Director-General/Executive Director of UNOV/UNODC.

Previously, he held positions in the legal sector, programme management at the international level and served as executive officer and liaison officer in the Korean armed forces. In addition to good understanding of UNODC mandates, Mr. Hwang also possesses an extensive experience in partnership building, programme coordination and management skills and legal background.

He holds a Juris Doctorate degree with international law focus, a Master’s degree in International Relations and Bachelors degree in Foreign Affairs and Economics.

Mr. Viengprasith has held the post of ILO Coordinator in Lao PDR since 21 July 2022. Prior to take this position Prasith join ILO as Safe and Fair National Project Coordinator since November 2018.

Prasith graduated from former Soviet Union (Ukraine)-as engineering on Machine et Chain Automobile and also completed his master from Lion (French) on Project Administration and Management, completed his fellowship at School International Training (SIT) in Vermont and Colombia University on project management and public advocacy in USA and has several esteemed degrees and certifications.

Prasith brings with him rich experience having worked in the government such as Ministry of Public Work and Transportation and Ministry of Defence, IOs, INGOs and local CSOs. First started with UN agency was Food Agriculture Organization; Handicap International as deputy director in Laos, National Regulatory Authorisation for unexploded ordnance; Danish Red Cross; The Asia Foundation, Care International and support other local CSO. He has been working on issues of GBC, women’s empowerment, especially specific to vulnerable women and children including women with disabilities, dignified work and migrant women, human trafficking issues in the last three decades. He has huge experience on liaison and coordination with government agencies.

Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé is the UNDP Resident Representative designate to Lao PDR from September 2026, with more than 25 years of international development experience across Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. She has worked in least developed, middle- and high-income, crisis-affected and transition contexts, leading work on governance, crisis response, climate action, resilience, inclusive growth and institutional transformation.

She has held research, teaching, advisory and UNDP leadership roles in Sri Lanka, France, Belgium, Bangladesh, Algeria, Morocco, Nepal and Iran. Her experience spans agriculture, youth and start-ups in Sri Lanka; library, documentation and research support in France; university research in Belgium; rural development, development effectiveness and UN coordination in Bangladesh; post-crisis recovery, economic diversification, financial sector and governance reform, migration and climate action in Algeria; governance, justice, cultural heritage, tourism, oasis ecosystems and climate action in Morocco; and, in Nepal, federalization and inclusion, peace and transitional justice, governance reforms with parliament and public administration, access to justice, mountain communities and tourism, glacial lake ecosystems, climate mitigation and adaptation, MSME development, business and human rights, and waste management. In Iran, her work has focused on programme delivery, risk management, humanitarian response and business continuity under sanctions and crisis conditions.
She has managed large national and international teams, contributed actively to UN Country Teams and collective UN work, and built partnerships with governments, IFIs, bilateral and multilateral partners, civil society, academia, the private sector and media. She holds an MSc in Agro-Economics, Sociology and Rural Development from the Agriculture University, Gembloux/Liège, Belgium, with a thesis on combating poverty in rural Viet Nam in collaboration with the Agriculture University of Hanoi; has completed executive education at IMD Lausanne and INSEAD Paris with UNDP; and speaks Sinhalese, English and French, with basic Arabic and Spanish.

Eda Kraja is the Country Manager for Cambodia and Lao PDR since October 2023. She has joined UNOPS South East Asia and the Pacific Multi-Country Office with 15+ years of professional experience in both the private and development sectors, the majority of it within UNOPS, focusing on financial management, infrastructure, partnership development, and technical assistance projects, especially in the areas of health infrastructure and project management. She has a proven track record of optimizing business operations, as well as leading cross-functional teams to execute complex projects in Asia, and the Pacific Regions.

An Albanian/Swiss national, Eda holds an MSc in Business Administration with a focus on Economics and Wealth Management from the University of Geneva.

Enika Basu is an international development professional with nearly 20 years of experience in multilateral and rural development, spanning Asia and the Pacific and corporate roles at IFAD Headquarters in Rome. In the region, she led IFAD project design and supervision missions, working with governments and development partners to advance inclusive rural economic development. More recently, she served as Senior Adviser to the Associate Vice President, Department of Country Operations (DCO), contributing to corporate processes including partnerships with multilateral development banks and vertical funds, and strategic oversight of IFAD’s portfolio and pipeline.

Before joining IFAD, Ms. Basu spent four years at a Rome-based research institute, supporting European Commission projects on labour market integration policies across the EU27. Earlier, she worked with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and with civil society organisations in India, focusing on incubating rural MSEs and developing microinsurance solutions for the informal sector.
Ms. Basu is a national of India. She holds an MA in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a BA in Political Science from Presidency University, Kolkata, India.

Ms. Kim has extensive experience in the field of agriculture and rural development. Her expertise focuses on the food industry and processing promotion policy, food safety and consumer policy, import tariff management, international agriculture commerce, multilateral/bilateral agriculture negotiation etc.

Prior to joining FAO, she served as a Head of K-Rice Belt Project division in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRA) in Sejong, Republic of Korea, overseeing rice-related ODA projects in 9 African countries. In the MAFRA, her portfolio included setting up food safety guidelines, consumer awareness project, promoting agriculture processing for local farmers, managing import tariff for foreign food products and so on. As a main agriculture negotiator, she successfully concluded 6 year-long WTO rice negotiation with major rice exporting countries. She is also involved with OECD Agriculture Committee, agriculture related activities in G20, APEC etc. From 2020 to 2023, she served as Senior Government Partnership Officer, Public Partnership and Resourcing Division at the World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome, Italy.

Ms. Kim started her career in 2002 as Deputy Director in MAFRA of Republic of Korea. She is a national of the Republic of Korea and has two master’s degrees in literature and public administration. She is married with a son.

Manithda Sithimolada is a Country Coordinator for the UNV Programme in Lao PDR since 2020.

She has many years of work experience in a wide range of sectors including international organizations, local NGOs, and private sector. She spent over 10 years (2003 – 2015) working for then Australian Agency for International Development (now Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) in the area of basic and higher education and in managing human resource development program. She worked as a Communications Consultant for the World Bank in 2017 – 2019. She became Vice President of Children’s Home Foundation in 2018 while also taking on a role of General Manager in a private sector.

She graduated in International Relations under Australia Award Scholarship and in Human Resource Development under Fulbright scholarship.

Patricia Ongpin is the UNAIDS Country Director of the multi-country office covering Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Malaysia since June 2022.

Ms Ongpin is an international development and public health specialist with over 15 years of experience spanning across Asia, Africa, and Europe. As a strong advocate for equality and leaving no one behind, she has a rich background in coordinating evidence-based decentralized programmes that focus on inclusiveness, partnership, and sustainability.

Ms Ongpin was most recently the Regional Fast Track Advisor for the UNAIDS Regional Support Team in Asia and the Pacific. Prior to this, Ms Ongpin served in UNAIDS as Fast-Track Advisor in Namibia and Strategic Information Advisor for Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Ms Ongpin is a national of Canada. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations, and Bachelor’s Degrees in Economics and International Relations.

Tanja Pacifico is the Chief of Mission of IOM Thailand and IOM Lao PDR. An Italian national, she joined IOM in 2009 and has worked across a wide range of migration issues, including labour migration, migration governance, border management, migration and development, and migration and environment. Prior to her assignment in Thailand, Ms. Pacifico served as Chief of Mission in Djibouti and Uruguay, and as Chief of Mission a.i. in Niger and Paraguay. She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Head of Policy, Governance and Liaison Unit in Egypt, and previously held positions in the Netherlands covering regional initiatives on migrant training, resettlement, and integration. Ms. Pacifico is a graduate of the Università degli Studi di Torino.