UNICEF Representative to Cambodia
Ms. Maha Damaj
- English
- Khmer
UNICEF Cambodia welcomed Ms. Maha Damaj as Representative in July 2026.
Prior to her arrival in Cambodia, Ms. Damaj held the post of UNICEF Representative in Moldova (2021–2026) and brings over 30 years of extensive expertise in development and humanitarian work. Throughout her career, she has provided strategic leadership in complex contexts, including most recently overseeing UNICEF's response to the Ukraine refugee crisis in Moldova, and advanced the rights and well-being of children through strategic advocacy, partnerships, and engagement with governments, civil society, development partners, private sector, and communities themselves. As a champion for every child, she has driven national and regional programmes in disability inclusion, child protection, child and adolescent participation, child rights, and social innovation.
Ms. Damaj has held a number of senior positions with UNICEF, including in Tanzania, Oman, Sri Lanka, and Lebanon, and has provided expert leadership on disability inclusion and children’s rights through work with UNICEF in Sudan, the UNICEF Middle East & North Africa Regional Office, and the UNICEF East Asia & Pacific Regional Office. She has worked closely with UN partners as well as international and national organisations in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. From 2013–2015, she served as Assistant Professor of Public Health Practice in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut.
Ms. Damaj is a national of Lebanon. She holds a PhD in Social Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (United Kingdom), a Master of Public Health from the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), and a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University (USA).