Abdifatah Osman Hussein – Former Programme Specialist with UNICEF (2015– 2024) (The picture is from Bentiu - S SUDAN in 2020 when I was on a mission. - Emergency operation management)
How old do you feel?
I feel grounded yet continuously evolving—somewhere between the curiosity of youth and the responsibility that comes with lived experience.
Where do you live?
United States (Minnesota), while maintaining strong personal and professional ties to the Horn of Africa.
What book do you currently read?
I am currently engaging with literature on leadership, resilience, and systems thinking—particularly works that connect governance, humanitarian action, and sustainable development.
If you could travel without restrictions, where would you go?
I would return across communities in Southern Somalia and the broader Horn of Africa—not just to visit, but to reconnect with people, listen, and learn how resilience continues to emerge from within.
Your best experience with UNICEF?
Working directly with communities where humanitarian assistance translated into real, immediate impact—especially when local systems were strengthened and communities were empowered to take ownership of their development pathways.
Your biggest challenge when working for UNICEF?
Navigating the balance between urgent humanitarian response and long-term sustainable systems—ensuring that interventions do not unintentionally weaken local capacities, but instead reinforce them.
What is your biggest fear, in relation to the future of children? What is your greatest hope, in relation to children?
Fear: That structural inequalities, conflict, and climate pressures will continue to disproportionately affect the most vulnerable children, limiting their access to basic rights and opportunities.
Hope: That the next generation will grow within systems that genuinely prioritize dignity, equity, and locally driven solutions—where children are not only protected but empowered to shape their own futures.
What is one piece of advice you would wish to give to the UNICEF Executive Director?
Continue to deepen the commitment to localization—not just as a policy direction, but as an operational reality—by trusting, investing in, and elevating community-led systems as equal partners in delivering sustainable impact for children.
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