2011 fellow Ester Sumbana joins Plan International Mozambique
Ester has been building her professional career in Mozambique. She holds a degree in International Relations and Diplomacy at the Institute of International Relations (ISRI).
In 2009, Ester jo
ined the Ministry of Women and Social Action as the Head of the Central Division of Multilateral Cooperation, where she was in charge of coordinating and monitoring the collaboration between the Ministry and multilateral partners on social programs directly focus on vulnerable groups. She was also responsible for trainings in matters relating to gender and public health.
In 2011, Ester attended the UNU-GEST programme. Her research focused on addressing the gap in the implementation of several Mozambique's national plans and projects on domestic violence against women.
After her training at UNU-GEST, Ester was nominated Head of the Central division of Bilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action – formerly the Ministry of Women and Social Action. There, Ester was working more closely with issues such as gender based violence, gender equality and equity, gender and poverty, gender and climate change and women’s and children’s empowerment.
In 2016, Ester left the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action and joined the organization Plan International Mozambique, as the Gender and Advocacy Coordinator.
Plan International Mozambique is an organization working in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas, which seeks to champion the rights of marginalized boys, girls, young men and young women in Mozambique with priority on gender equality. In its efforts, Plan International Mozambique seeks to strengthen the capacity of communities, CSOs, CBOs and government’s capacity to ensure that the rights of the marginalized girls and boys and young women and young men are realized.
Ester’s role at the Plan International Mozambique involves helping the organization to implement and achieve their Gender Strategy goals, as well as to mainstream gender in all programs and other initiatives that enhance children’s protection and empowerment across the country.
The UNU-GEST team is pleased to see Ester’s significant endeavors towards Gender Equality. We would like to wish Ester all the best on her new position and encourage her to sustain her role as an agent of change for Mozambique.