Nabilah Safira
TechInAfrica – Mr. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong has officially chosen for the position of leadership for the African Risk Capacity (ARC).
He hailed from the Republic of Senegal with 30 years experience of professional leadership and management in Africa, USA, Europe, and Asia, holding a Master’s degree in International Affairs with a specialization in International Finance and Environmental Policy Management from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University, New York.
Fluent in English, French, Mandarin Chinese, Wolof, and a little Portuguese, the statesman will serve as the ARC Group’s Director-General (DG) in UN Assistant Secretary-General (UN-ASG) for the initial 4 years term.
“I fully comprehend and appreciate the incredible mission and outstanding work of ARC,” Mr. Diong said.
“With my professional and highly efficient colleagues, we will work relentlessly to not only consolidate the impact of ARC’s work in our current 34 member countries but to also to scale up our disaster risk management interventions to the rest of the African continent.”
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Chairperson of the ARC Agency said, “It is reassuring to know that the ARC Group is set for good continuity and even greater strides in the delivery of its continental mission.”
“We have gone from providing disaster risk coverage to a handful of countries at the beginning to the impressive number of countries we have in our pool today. We have also achieved remarkable governance reforms resulting in greater recognition of our work by various stakeholders.”
“Ibrahima is an astute statesman and well-rounded professional; and I speak for the Group that we could not have been blessed with a more accomplished African to take this institution forward.”
Dr. Diong, who took his bachelor of Civil Engineering at Hohai International University in Nanjing specializing in Water Resources Management, commended on the predecessor of the leadership.
“I celebrate a great human being, Mohamed Beavogui, who is always at the service of Africa, for the excellent job he has done at both nurturing and developing ARC into a viable and recognized continental disaster risk management mechanism.”
Mr. Diong also thanked the ARC Group Joint Board and the staff for the excellent transfer process, saying, “Never in my 30-year career have I experienced such a smooth, efficient, and highly professional handover process. This is a great example of a smooth leadership transfer in Africa.”
From now, Mr. Diong’s jobs together with the CEO of ARC Ltd Lesley Ndlovu are advancing the current Disaster Risk Management while improving Africa’s resilience to disasters so that an Africa that well-prepared, planning, and response to natural disasters and weather overall can be accomplished.
