Our team in Belarus

In April 2019, Ms. Solovieva assumed the role of UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus, where she works to strengthen the strategic partnership between UNDP and Belarus and contributes to the achievement of the SDGs. Previously, Ms. Solovieva led five global programmes and regional offices across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean as the Chief Programme Coordinator for UN Volunteers. Ms. Solovieva has held a number of positions with UNDP including Deputy Country Director in India, Programme Specialist in Asia and the Pacific region, and Head of the UN Resident Coordinator’s office in Lao PDR. Ms. Solovieva is a citizen of the Russian Federation and a graduate of Moscow State University (Russia) with a Master’s Degree in Oriental Studies. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver (USA). She is married with two children and speaks Russian, English and Lao.

Dr Masoud Dara is a physician and public health specialist from Belgium. In addition to his medical and clinical studies, he has completed several postgraduate courses at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health. He has more than 25 years of experience in public health programmes in forty countries across four WHO Regions, and mainly in eastern Europe and central Asia. Between 1998 and 2001, Dr Dara worked as a medical doctor and Programme Manager for Médecins Sans Frontières in Central Asia and as the Head of Belgian Red Cross in Kosovo. From 2001 to 2003, he served as a WHO Medical Officer in Moscow and from 2003 to 2010 as a Senior Consultant for the Royal Netherlands Tuberculosis Association. Between 2010 and 2014, he led the WHO/Europe’s TB and MDR-TB programme. From 2014 to 2016, based at the WHO Office at the European Union in Brussels, Dr Dara served as the WHO Senior Advisor for communicable diseases, health emergencies and humanitarian response. From October 2016 to October 2020, he coordinated the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Communicable Diseases Department and led the Joint Tuberculosis, HIV and viral hepatitis programme. Between March and October 2019, he acted as the Director of the Division of Communicable Diseases. Dr Dara has authored more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals and several WHO guidelines. He speaks Persian, English, French, Dutch and intermediate Russian.

Mr. Bouchardy, UNHCR’s Representative in Belarus since 2012, has more than 30 years of experience with the UN. Mr. Bouchardy has held managerial positions both at UNHCR HQ and in the field, such as Senior Operations Manager in the Russian Federation, Head of sub-offices in Iran, Senior Refugee Coordinator in Armenia, and Special Advisor at the Division of Human Resource Management. Between 1992 and 2004, Mr. Bouchardy also served at the Division of Operational Support at UNHCR’s HQ as Head of the Geography Unit, where he introduced the concept of geo-information management. During more than 10 years he covered over 40 operations worldwide, including humanitarian emergencies in the Great Lakes, Kosovo, and Sudan. Prior to UNHCR, Mr. Bouchardy worked for UNEP, UNITAR, and the Ministry of Transport of France - and as a visiting professor and researcher. Mr. Bouchardy obtained his Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Grenoble, France followed by a D.E.A. (post-graduate diploma). He holds a PhD in Sciences and Geography.

Mrs. Mahym Orazmuhammedova assumed her duties as Chief of Mission of IOM Belarus in February 2020. During the last two years (2018-2019), she served as Chief of Mission for IOM in Fiji, leading the national and multi-country migration agenda and being principal interlocutor with the Government of the Republic of Fiji. For seven years (2010-2017), she held the position as the Head of Office in IOM Turkmenistan. Prior to joining to IOM, she worked for UNDP (2006-2008) and USAID (2001-2005) managing projects and programs in environment and health issues. Mrs. Mahym’s main areas of expertise are civil society development, counter-human trafficking, migration, and climate. In addition, she leads the Belarus country programs on migration issues and supports the country on border management, emergency preparedness and response, and health issues.

Olga Atroshchanka was appointed UNFPA Assistant Representative for Belarus in April 2019. She joined the UN in 2007 as a member of the UNDP team implementing programmes targeting treatment and prevention of HIV and tuberculosis. In 2012, she became a UNDP Programme Officer for the Global Fund portfolio in Belarus. From 2014 her scope of work at UNDP expanded to include management of programmes on non-communicable diseases, gender equality, promotion of healthy lifestyles, social inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities as well as support to local development initiatives. While on temporary assignment with the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub in 2018, Olga supported the HIV/Health and Development Team with resource mobilization and coordination of HIV Legal Environment Assessments in the region.

Olga Shcherbina has been the Head of the IFC Office in Belarus since November 2012. She is responsible for designing and delivering the IFC country strategy, engaging with the Government, developing the investment program and overseeing IFC advisory operations in Belarus. Ms. Shcherbina, a Belarusian national, joined IFC in 2004. She has experience in delivering IFC investment operations in manufacturing, food retail, affordable housing, commercial estate and the banking sector, and advisory operations focused on improving business environment, promoting competition, supporting small and medium enterprises, improving competitiveness and developing export opportunities for Belarusian business. She has worked in Belarus, USA and Central Asia. Ms. Shcherbina graduated with distinction from the English Language Department of Minsk State Linguistic University. She holds a Master’s degree from the School of Business and Technology Management of the Belarusian State University. Also, she earned an MBA from the University of Mississippi, USA.

Omer Fisher is Senior Human Rights Adviser in the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Minsk since February 2020. Between 2003 and 2010, Mr. Fisher worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London as the Researcher covering Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia and as Senior Research Policy Advisor, developing and providing advice and guidelines on human rights fact-finding standards and methodology. In 2010 he joined the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) as Human Rights Adviser, focusing on freedom of peaceful assembly. Subsequently, he covered the positions of Deputy Head and Head of the ODIHR Human Rights Department. Omer Fisher holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK and a degree in Economics from Bocconi University, Milan, Italy. His native language is Italian and he speaks English, Russian, and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.

Before her post in Belarus, Ms. Radocaj served as UNICEF Representative in Armenia from 2015-2020 and Bulgaria from 2009-2015. From 2002-2009, Ms. Radocaj led the UNICEF team in Croatia, where the office successfully tested a new model of UNICEF engagement, mobilising support from Croatian citizens, companies and civil society for children in the country and abroad. She first joined UNICEF in 2000, during the Kosovo crisis. Prior to this, Ms. Radocaj assisted victims of war in Former Yugoslavia through her work with state social services (1991-1993), International Rescue Committee (1993-1997) and with a local civil society organisation (1997-1999), focusing on assistance to refugees and displaced persons, post-war reconciliation, community building and development of social services. Ms. Radocaj started her career as a family counsellor in public social services. She obtained an MA in psychology at Zagreb University. She has Croatian nationality, and her home is in Split, Croatia.

Before her appointment as UNAIDS Country Manager in Belarus in 2013, Dr. Vera Ilyenkova was a Professional Officer at the WHO Country office in Belarus since 2005. Before joining the UN, Ms. Ilyenkova worked as an infectious diseases doctor at the Republican AIDS Centre and Infectious Diseases Hospital and as adviser on HIV/AIDS to the Chief Infectious Diseases Specialist at the Ministry of Health. Ms. Ilyenkova is also Chair of the Joint UN Team on AIDS. Ms. Ilyenkova holds an Honors Diploma in Medicine from Belarusian State Medical University (1999). She also received post-graduate education on HIV at the University of Copenhagen in 2003 and on communicable diseases from Belarusian State Medical University (2005). Ms. Ilyenkova studied communicable disease control and health services management at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Currently, she is obtaining a Master's degree in public health at the University of Essex. She also has an honorary award for excellence in health care from the Ministry of Health, Republic of Belarus.