The Resident Coordinator Office

The United Nations Resident Coordinator Office (UN RCO) operates under the strategic guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator. The Office supports the UN Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team (UNCT) in the development, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the UN Cooperation Framework (former UNDAF). The Office facilitates mechanisms that ensure the full participation of all members of the UNCT in consultations and decision-making processes. In line with the priorities of the UN Cooperation Framework, but also mandates of UN agencies, the UN Coordination Office supports coordination of common programming in relation to Agenda 2030, joint programmes, and development coordination work.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone

Ms. Seraphine Wakana (a national of Burundi) served as the UN Resident Coordinator for the Republic of the Gambia from October 2018 to December 2023 before transitioning to Sierra Leone in the same position, and she was the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Guinea (2014-2018). She was assigned as Senior Economist at the Regional Office of the African Development Bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2010-2014), and she acted as the Bank's Resident Representative (2011-2012). From 2005 to 2010, Seraphine worked as an international consultant with UNDP, the African Development Bank, and the World Bank. She served at the same time as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Korea in Burundi.



Ms Wakana was Minister of Development Planning and Reconstruction (2002-2005) and Chief of Staff with the same Ministry of the Government of Burundi (1997-1999). From 2000 to 2002, she worked as a professional researcher on poverty reduction, public-private sector interface, and gender with the Burundi Economic Development Institute in Bujumbura. She held a series of executive positions with the Institute of Statistics and Economic and Social Studies of Burundi, including as Deputy Director (1996-1997), Head of the Statistical Processing Division (1990-1996) and Head of the Household Statistics Section (1987-1989).



She holds a Master's degree in Development Economics from Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA and a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Administration from the University of Burundi, Bujumbura. She speaks French and English.