Florbela Fernandes

Ms. Florbela Fernandes has been assigned to Brazil as UNFPA Representative as of 1
February 2023. Since 10 July 2023, she also responds as Representative for Uruguay and
Paraguay Country Offices. Prior to that, she served as UNFPA Deputy Regional Director of
the Regional Office (Panama) for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ms. Fernandes brings to the position more than 20 years of working experience in
international development, collaborative partnerships, and strategic organizational
leadership and management in the UN system and beyond.

She joined Save the Children (USA) as a National Programme Coordinator for the Children
and War Project (1993-1994). Later, she worked as the Chief of Party of the State University
of New York, Center for International Development SUNY/CID (2001- 2002) and led the
implementation of a Parliamentary Strengthening Programme.

She served as UNFPA Assistant Representative in Mozambique (2002-2010). During this
period, she was the co-chair of the development partners’ Poverty Reduction Mechanism for
the period 2008-2009, and led the UN Joint Programme on Gender and Women
Empowerment. From (2010-2015) she was appointed as UNFPA Deputy Representative in
Brazil and was later reassigned to Angola (2015- 2020) as UNFPA Representative.

Ms. Fernandes has accumulated working experience in prevention and post-conflict
management, humanitarian response, legislative work as well as in leading diverse teams
for the attainment of development goals in developing and middle income countries.

She holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Wales, United Kingdom, in Social
Development Planning and Management and a Bachelor Degree in Social Work from the
University of Zimbabwe.