Vedaste Kalima

Vedaste Kalima brings more than 30 years of experience across the humanitarian, recovery and development sectors, having worked in diverse contexts affected by protracted crises and natural disasters. Until recently, Kalima was serving as OCHA’s Head of Office in Burkina Faso. He has also served as Head of Office in the Central African Republic and Eritrea. Kalima previously held positions as Acting Head or Deputy Head of OCHA offices in Haiti, Niger, Zimbabwe and Côte d’Ivoire. Earlier in his career, Kalima worked with the World Food Programme in Rwanda, Madagascar and Chad, and with Caritas International in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the International Catholic Commission for Migrants in Gabon. Kalima holds a PhD in Political Science (International and Diplomatic Relations) from Madison International Institute and Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Sciences (International Economy) from the National University of Rwanda. A Rwandan national, Kalima is bilingual in English and French.