Deputy Representative

Sandra Martins is the Deputy Representative (Programmes) of UNICEF in Guinea-Bissau since March 2025. She leads and oversees the overall UNICEF programmes and provides strategic guidance for their implementation, coordinating with the Government, UN sister agencies and partner organizations, including members of the private sector and civil society.

Sandra has over two decades of expertise in Early Childhood Development, Nutrition, and Health programme design and implementation, with a strong focus on monitoring and evaluation in resource-constrained settings. She has led and overseen multi-million-dollar UNICEF ECD initiatives and supported national strategies, including preschool policy, nutrition programmes, and vaccine introductions.

In addition, she has extensive experience in planning, monitoring, and evaluating development programmes, having successfully led these functions in the Cape Verde UN joint office.

Before joining UNICEF, Sandra worked with the government, other UN agencies, and the World Bank on development programmes across Africa. Her expertise in multi-sectoral collaboration, gender-sensitive programming, and evidence-based policy development will be instrumental in advancing our programmes, particularly in fostering inclusive opportunities for children in Guinea-Bissau, and UN joint programming.