Secretary-General appoints Njoya Tikum of Cameroon as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Burkina Faso

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Njoya Tikum of Cameroon as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Burkina Faso, with the host Government’s approval. He took up his post on 18 July and will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator.

Mr. Tikum brings nearly two decades of leadership experience across the United Nations system, with recognised expertise in sustainable development, governance, peacebuilding, institutional transformation, human rights and strategic partnerships. He has led complex reforms, supporting countries in fragile and transition contexts, and advancing integrated solutions that accelerate sustainable development and strengthen resilience.

Most recently, he served as Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sub-Regional Office for West and Central Africa and Resident Representative of UNDP in Senegal. Before assuming this role, Mr. Tikum served as Director of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Regional Office for East and Southern Africa, where he led a major organizational transformation, expanding UNV’s presence and impact across 23 countries.

Earlier in his career with UNDP, Mr. Tikum held several roles, including Regional Policy and Programme Advisor on Anti-Corruption and Economic Governance at the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He also served with UNDP in Liberia, South Sudan, the Regional Bureau for Africa and the Bureau for Development Policy in New York.

Before joining UNDP, Mr. Tikum worked as an attorney and served as a Human Rights Fellow at Columbia University School of Law. He also served as a Legal Associate at the African Services Committee and as Co-founder and Director of the Centre for Public Interest Law in Cameroon.

Mr. Tikum is a World Fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University in the United States. He holds an LLM in Law from Columbia University School of Law, an LLM in International Business Law from the Central European University, and a Licence and Maîtrise en Droit from the University of Yaoundé II SOA.