The New UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Hodan Haji-Mohamud, yesterday presented her credentials to the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ponts'o Sekatle, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

Educated in her native Somalia and in the United States of America, Ms. Hodan Haji-Mohamud has over 24 years of experience in international development work in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North America. She has worked with several UN Agencies including UNDP, the United Nations Office of Project Services and the UN Secretariat. Her last assignment was in New York as Deputy Chief of the Africa Division of the Office of Project Services for six years.  

Presenting her letters of credence, Ms Haji-Mohamud said she acknowledged and was greatly encouraged with the government’s efforts to scale up the national response to the HIV&AIDS pandemic and to bring transformation in the public sector for more effective delivery of services. The UN team in Lesotho will step up its support towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), she said.

The new Resident Rep congratulated government for recent achievements in relation to, among other things, formulation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the adoption of Vision 20/20 as well as increased access to education and basic services.

The forthcoming local government elections would represent a major milestone in deepening democracy at the community level, enabling the people to play an increasingly stronger role  not only in articulating their needs and aspirations but also in finding solutions to their challenges, many of which revolved around the twin scourges of chronic poverty and the HIV and AIDS pandemic.  

The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed government's commitment to maintain the warm and cordial relations that exist between the Kingdom of Lesotho and the United Nations. She emphasized the need for continued donor assistance in order to strengthen democracy in Lesotho and appealed to the international community to increase its support to the country’s broader development agenda.  

11 February 2005