Ms. Lydia Zigomo is the Regional Director for UNFPA, East and Southern Africa.

Ms. Zigomo provides strategic oversight, support and technical expertise to 23 Country Offices and partners in the region, who work on the ground to improve people’s lives by equipping them with policy advice, training and support.

A human rights lawyer and international development and humanitarian leader, Ms. Zigomo has 30 years’ experience in women and children’s rights, constitutional reform, health systems strengthening, sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, gender justice, women’s economic empowerment and economic justice, including in humanitarian settings.
 
She previously served with Oxfam International as Global Programmes Director in Nairobi, Kenya, and as Regional Director for the Horn, East and Central Africa. Before this, she was Regional Director in East Africa for Water Aid.

Ms. Zigomo began her career as a solicitor in Harare, Zimbabwe, before moving into the development sector in 1998. She holds a Master’s degree in Civil Liberties and Human Rights Law from the University of Leicester, UK, and a Bachelor of Laws Honours degree from the University of Zimbabwe.