Let’s introduce:

Naroesha Jagessar is humanitarian response officer for UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) in Harare, Zimbabwe.  She started her job in March 2010 and works for UNFPA  in the field of reproductive health.

 

Can you describe your job in a few sentences?

I work at the headquarters of UNFPA in Harare, Zimbabwe. In my work I focus on improving maternal health. Zimbabwe has a maternal mortality rate of 725 per 100 000, ( 7 per 100 000 in Western Europe, ed. ) of which twenty-five per cent is caused by HIV. Our main goal is to make sure a woman stays healthy during her pregnancy and gives birth safely.

 

Can you describe your career path?

I never planned to work internationally when I started my career, but I naturally rolled into it.. I studied Health Sciences in Maastricht, The Netherlands, from 1999-2003. My first job was as  a trainee at the ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation in the Netherlands. After that I worked in Geneva and Copenhagen.  I applied for my current job at UNFPA in Zimbabwe through the JPO programme of the Netherlands ministry of Foreign Affairs. This programme for Junior Professional Officers gives young people a chance to enter and develop a career within the United Nations. In three years you gain experience and get to know the organisation. Interestingly, I first applied for a job in Kabul, Afghanistan, but after a range of attacks on the UN office in Kabul, the post I applied for was moved to Zimbabwe instead.

 

Can you describe a normal day at work?

My work differs a lot day to day. We regularly  meet with colleagues of other local and international health organisations working in Zimbabwe. I am the coordinator for humanitarian activities regarding reproductive health in the country. This means I need to know what each organization does and in which part of the country they are active. Furthermore,  I support the implementation of the humanitarian activities of UNFPA in reproductive health, for example organizing trainings for health workers or making sure we deliver supplies and equipment at hospitals. The ministry of health is our main implementing partner, so we always plan our activities together with them.  We also go to the field to visit the hospitals and monitor and evaluate our activities.

 

What do you like most in your job?
The field work. We regularly visit the hospitals we work with. We monitor the projects and see if everything we arranged is working out well. We visit for example the maternity waiting homes that we support. These are houses for pregnant women next to the hospital in which they can stay the last weeks of their pregnancy. The women in these homes often stay in very poor conditions, sometimes sleeping on the floor and without proper sanitary facilities. What we do is procure beds, mattresses and building materials to make these homes more comfortable and safer for the expecting mothers.

 

What would be your message to students who want to enter your field of work?

For me it is very satisfying to work on the ground,  close to where the action is. I see the results of what I do in real life when we visit the hospitals. Still, in this job you have to be aware of the fact that the UN is a huge organization and the bureaucracy is sometimes frustrating. If we order for example new beds for a hospital, it  might take months before it actually reaches the people it is meant for.
If you want to work for an international organisation as the UN make sure to have some international experience on your CV. It is important to have good connections and a good network as well as to speak several languages. After about half a year working for UNFPA I can say I am enjoying my work very much and I live an interesting life in Zimbabwe. Although it can sometimes be hard and even frustrating, it is a unique experience from which you  definitely learn a lot.