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Gianfranco Rotigliano - Regional Director, WCARO
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| © UNICEF/NYHQ2006- 0075/Josh Estey |
| Gianfranco Rotigliano |
Full credit must be given - see below.
Prior to being named Director of UNICEF’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa, Dr. Rotigliano served in 2005 as UNICEF Representative in Indonesia, and in 2002 as Representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As UNICEF’s country Representative, Dr. Rotigliano was in charge of overall planning, coordination, and implementation of one of UNICEF’s three most important programmes in the world, aimed at improving the situation of children and women. In the DRC, the largest country of the Great Lakes region, where UNICEF has a staff of more than 200, with 8 sub-offices and a complex aid programme, Dr. Rotigliano demonstrated exemplary leadership in managing this multi-million dollar program, and contributed significantly to resource mobilization efforts.
Before being appointed to his present position, Dr. Rotigliano served, beginning in 1998, as UNICEF Representative in Somalia, where he had full responsibility for implementation of the country programme, including planning, coordination and evaluation of a broad range of UNICEF programmes to foster the well-being of women and children in Somalia.
Dr. Rotigliano began working for UNICEF in 1995 as Special Representative to Albania, in Tirana. As the first person to serve in that post, he successfully implemented UNICEF’s programmes for children and women in Albania, and was instrumental in their rapid growth.
With more than 26 years of experience in developing health programmes, Dr. Rotigliano worked as a public health physician before joining UNICEF. From 1992 to 1995, he held various government positions, with increasing levels of responsibility, in Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Directorate General for Development Cooperation). During the same period he also directed research projects for the University of Rome in the area of public health. From 1987 to 1992, Dr. Rotigliano served as Representative of Italian Cooperation in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Between 1983 and 1986, he directed the Hiraan-Galgadud programme in Somalia and, from 1982 to 1983, served in Thailand as Head of the Humanitarian Emergencies Programme for refugees from Kampuchea (now Cambodia) and displaced persons of Thai origin.
Prior to working at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Rotigliano was a researcher at the Italian National Research Council, where he worked primarily in the fields of immunology, infectious diseases and malaria.
Dr. Rotigliano is an Italian national. He earned a doctorate in medicine and surgery from the University of Rome (Italy) in 1975, and has received specialized training in allergy and clinical immunology, as well as in infectious and parasitic diseases.
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