Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene November 2018 Vol.13 No.5 | Page 24

People UN environment chief resigns after frequent flying revelations The audit found Erik Solheim spent almost $500,000 on air travel and hotels in just 22 months. Photograph: Natalia Mroz/Unep The UN’s environment chief, Erik Solheim, has resigned following severe criticism of his global travels and internal rule-breaking which led some nations to withhold their funding. The Guardian understands Solheim was asked to resign by the UN secretary general, António Guterres. Sources at the UN Environment Programme (Unep) said that countries unhappy with Solheim’s conduct were holding back tens of millions of dollars, threatening a financial crisis at the body. began her role today as Regional Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. In this role she will lead UNDP’s work supporting 17 countries and one territory to achieve Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Ms. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger Goals. This area spans Central Asia, the Western CIS and South Caucasus, and Western Balkans. Ms. Spoljaric Egger’s new role will be at the Assistant Secretary-General level. Ms. Spoljaric Egger’s succeeds Cihan Sultanoglu who is now the UN Representative to the Geneva International Discussions. A draft internal UN audit leaked to the Guardian in September found Solheim had spent almost $500,000 (£390,000) on air travel and hotels in just 22 months, and was away 80% of the time. The audit said this was a “reputation risk” for an organisation dedicated to fighting climate change. Ms Spoljaric Egger previously served as the Head of United Nations and International Organisations Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, where she was been instrumental in shaping Swiss UN policies and priorities in support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. A UN staff union leader called some of the revelations “mind-blowing” and a prominent climate scientist accused Solheim of “obscene CO2 hypocrisy”. Ms. Spoljaric Egger combines a strong policy background with field experience and has had several assignments in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, in New York, Cairo, and with the Office of UNRWA Commissioner-General. The audit said Solheim had “no regard for abiding by the set regulations and rules” and had failed to account properly for some of his travel. He also unofficially allowed chosen staff to work from Europe rather than at Unep headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Solheim told the Guardian he had already paid back money for instances of oversight and made changes where other rules had been broken. On Tuesday the Nov. 20, the UN secretary general’s official spokesman said Guterres had accepted Solheim’s resignation. Unep’s deputy executive director, Joyce Msuya, has been appointed acting head while a replacement is sought. Joyce Msuya New York – Ms. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger officially Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • November 2018 AHH Pope Francis and WHO Director-General: Health is a right and not a privilege The Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has met with His Holiness Pope Francis to discuss ways to ensure that all people can obtain the healthcare they need, whoever they are, wherever they live. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger begins new role leading UNDP’s work in Europe and the CIS 24 Ms Spoljaric Egger holds a Master’s Degree in Philosophy, Economics and International Law from the University of Basel and the University of Geneva. She is married and has two children. His Holiness Pope Francis and Dr Tedros have both reiterated that health is a right, and should not be a privilege, and share a commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable and marginalized – in both rich and poor countries. “I am honoured and humbled to have met His Holiness Pope Francis and to discover that we share so many of the same concerns,” said Dr Tedros.