{"id":18422,"date":"2026-06-20T13:05:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/cgiar-appoints-dr-namukolo-covic-to-lead-the-cgiars-liaison-office-for-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:47:10","slug":"cgiar-appoints-dr-namukolo-covic-to-lead-the-cgiars-liaison-office-for-africa","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/cgiar-appoints-dr-namukolo-covic-to-lead-the-cgiars-liaison-office-for-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"CGIAR Appoints Dr Namukolo Covic to lead the CGIAR\u2019s Liaison Office for Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"The CGIAR is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Namukolo Covic as Head of the CGIAR Liaison Office for Africa, effective 1 January 2026.\n\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-34043 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Namukoko.jpg\" alt=\"Dr Namukolo Covic\" width=\"820\" height=\"547\" \/>In this strategic role, Dr Covic will support the CGIAR Continental Champion for Africa\u2014a rotational role currently held by Dr Simeon Ehui, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)\u2014in advancing CGIAR\u2019s mission to deliver science and innovation that transform food, land, and water systems across Africa.\n\n<strong>Strengthening CGIAR\u2019s engagement in Africa<\/strong>\n\nThe CGIAR Liaison Office for Africa has been established to strengthen coordination and coherence across CGIAR Centers, regional partners, and continental institutions. Based in Addis Ababa, the Office will deepen CGIAR\u2019s engagement with the African Union (AU), FARA, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Sub-Regional Research Organizations (SROs), and national governments, ensuring that CGIAR\u2019s science responds directly to Africa\u2019s priorities and policy agendas, including AU Agenda 2063, the CAADP framework, and the CAADP Kampala Declaration.\n\n<strong>Role and responsibilities<\/strong>\n\nAs Head of the CGIAR Liaison Office for Africa, Dr Covic will:\n<ul style=\"margin-left: 50px;\">\n \t<li>Support the CGIAR Continental Champion in representing and advancing CGIAR\u2019s mission across Africa;<\/li>\n \t<li>Coordinate CGIAR\u2019s engagement with continental and regional institutions to ensure coherent, timely, and strategic interaction;<\/li>\n \t<li>Facilitate the development of a demand-driven continental research and innovation portfolio aligned with African priorities;<\/li>\n \t<li>Strengthen partnerships with national governments, regional bodies, and development partners;<\/li>\n \t<li>Enhance the visibility and communication of CGIAR\u2019s contributions to transforming Africa\u2019s food, land, and water systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<strong>A seasoned leader for Africa\u2019s food systems<\/strong>\n\nDr Covic brings a distinguished record of leadership in nutrition, food systems innovation, and policy engagement across Africa. She has previously served as CGIAR Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, held senior scientific and leadership positions at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and played leading roles in shaping African food and nutrition policy dialogues with the African Union and other continental institutions, linking science, policy, and implementation.\n\n<strong>Transitional arrangements<\/strong>\n\nIn addition to her System-level responsibilities, Dr Covic will, during the transition period (January-June 2026), continue to serve as the ILRI Director General\u2019s representative in Ethiopia, to ensure continuity while ILRI completes the recruitment of her successor.\n\n<strong>Envisquant l'avenir<\/strong>\n\nThis appointment reflects CGIAR\u2019s renewed commitment to strong partnerships, African leadership, and transformative impact, in line with its evolving System-wide integration and partnership model. Working closely with African institutions and partners, CGIAR will continue to strengthen its collaborative approach to advancing sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems across the continent.\n\n<strong>For more information on Dr Namukolo Covic:<\/strong>\n\nLinkedIn: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/namukolo-covic-070841189\">https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/namukolo-covic-070841189<\/a>\nX : <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/namukoloc\">http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/namukoloc<\/a>\nILRI profile: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilri.org\/people\/namukolo-covic\">https:\/\/www.ilri.org\/people\/namukolo-covic<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The CGIAR is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Namukolo Covic as Head of the CGIAR Liaison Office for Africa, effective 1 January 2026.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":18423,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[],"news-type":[],"hub":[],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[204],"class_list":["post-18422","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","item-year-204"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - 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