Fighting for and believing in change is in Jorge Moreira da Silva’s blood. Now Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the former Portuguese minister is helping to improve lives.
From restoring roads and repairing power plants to running health centres and constructing renewable energy mini-grids, UNOPS implements projects in more than 130 countries – often in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
“It's about providing social basic human needs. We have found a way to provide livelihoods to 15 million people in Afghanistan...rehabilitating roads, streets, water canals, paying men and women to do the job,” he says.
In this episode of the podcast Awake at Night, Jorge Moreira da Silva reflects on the practical and political challenges of delivering projects in complex environments, from funding gaps to lack of political will. He also shares how releasing an Iberian lynx and earning his pilot’s license have kept hope alive through dark times.
Since this interview was recorded, the Secretary-General has appointed Jorge Moreira da Silva to lead the . The Initiative aims to facilitate the delivery and movement of much-needed fertilisers and related raw materials to Asia and Africa. The urgent delivery of these fertilisers is crucial to avert more hunger and food insecurity. He has been engaged in extensive consultations with all parties involved to drive this initiative.
About Awake at Night:
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast Awake at Night is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their careers to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.
