UNICEF Representative

Jalpa Ratna joins Turkmenistan from New Delhi, India from the post of UNICEF Chief Field Services for the past five years. In this role, she successfully managed 13 field offices, provided strategic guidance, and spearheaded workplace culture change initiatives. In her prior roles, Jalpa served as the Deputy Polio Team Lead in UNICEF Pakistan and as a Senior Advisor (Polio Resource Mobilization) in the Programme Division in New York.

Jalpa's career includes serving as an Emergency Specialist in UNICEF's New York office and Juba, South Sudan. She started her UNICEF journey as a supply logistics officer in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Beyond UNICEF, she has contributed her expertise to organizations such as Oxfam in Sri Lanka, IOM in the UK, Afghanistan, and Kosovo, and Mercy Corps in Tajikistan.

With over 20 years of global and country leadership and management experience, Jalpa, a Kenyan national, holds a bachelor’s degree in Development Studies and Political Science from the School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, a Master’s degree in Development Practice and Emergency Relief from Oxford Brookes University, and a Master’s degree in Public Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.