The United Nations System in Zambia has appointed Marsha Moyo as the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Advocate for Zambia. She was unveiled at UN House in Lusaka on 30th May 2008.

The United Nations System in Zambia has appointed Marsha Moyo as the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Advocate for Zambia. A popular Zambian artiste, Marsha Moyo is to be charged with supporting the United Nations MDGs Campaign with a view to increasing public awareness and inspiring public action in support of the MDGs.
The unveiling of the artiste the media and the public was witnessed by the Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign, Mr. Salil Shetty, and it comes against the background of increasing concerns over African countries’ commitment to meeting the MDGs by 2015. Ms. Moyo is the first Zambian national to be appointed by the United Nations to advocate for MDGs. Her contributions in using her professional skills to garner support for the MDGs from the various publics in Zambia is considered vital to driving greater momentum for attainment of the goals in Zambia.

Announcing the appointment, the UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Aeneas Chuma said that Ms. Moyo’s appointment would serve to help her fellow Zambians learn more about the MDGs and encourage them to contribute positively towards their attainment. He added that she would be contribute significantly to furthering the role of the United Nations System in Zambia and strengthening the Organization’s bonds with the local community.

Terming the designation timely, Mr. Chuma lamented that although the set of eight MDGs was endorsed as a blueprint by world leaders as far back as September 2000, substantive action on the pledges had increasingly assumed a more pressing urgency with the rising incidences of poverty and hunger, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Speaking at the event, The Millennium Campaign Director noted that some African countries had made remarkable progress towards achievement of the goals by 2015. He said that Zambia was on track in meeting most of the MDGs, but there was still need to scale up efforts to ensure that the remaining challenges are overcome.


He commended Ms. Moyo’s appointment, adding that more action was needed at the grassroots to ensure that all sectors of the population play a part in the drive for attainment of the goals by 2015.
The appointment has been bestowed on Ms. Moyo, in view of a demonstrated willingness to contributing to United Nations efforts to raise awareness of the aims, objectives and priorities of the United Nations with respect to the MDGs and her potential therefore, to extend the United Nation’s public outreach in this regard. Ms. Moyo has committed to utilizing her personal skills and professional fame to promote social mobilization and scaling up of efforts towards achievement of MDGs in Zambia and will be central to the UN’s advocacy efforts to this end.

Besides her experience and commitment to uplifting the welfare of Zambians, Ms. Moyo has held progressively responsible positions in various organizations and holds a degree in Marketing from Rutgers University in the USA and is Board Publicity Secretary of the Zambia Institute of Marketing. The author of Zambia: Women Celebrated, Ms. Moyo has also excelled in the World of Music, having earned various musical awards for performances in South Africa.

A collective appointment by all United Nations Agencies resident in Zambia, her engagement is expected to send a powerful message to Zambians and promote collaboration between the Organization and its various partners on the national scene.
Ms. Moyo’s visibility will henceforth be evident at United Nations events aimed at promoting national awareness of the MDGs such as the increasingly popular annual MDGs Race held in Lusaka. In this respect, it will be her role to support the United Nations Country Team in promoting national policies in support of the attainment of the eight goals. She will as such support the work of the UN Joint Team on AIDS to promote key national messages on HIV/AIDS.