The United Nations Millennium Campaign in Africa has named Mr. Charles Abugre as its new Deputy Director for Africa. 
The position of Deputy Director for Africa was formerly held by Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, who passed away in a road accident in Kenya on May 24.
At an awards ceremony in recognition of campaign partners who helped set a new world record of people mobilizing in support of the Millennium Development Goals during "Stand Up and Take Action," recently, Salil Shetty, Director of the UN Millennium Campaign, introduced Abugre to partners including civil society organizations, media, faith-based organizations and the government.
"On behalf of the UN Millennium Campaign and development partners in Africa, allow me to extend my warm welcome to Charles Abugre, as the new UN Millennium Campaign Deputy Director for Africa," Shetty said.
"There is no better person to lead our Campaign in Africa at this time of " economic crisis than Charles, a top Africa economist and policy expert with over twenty years of experience in international development," he added.
A Ghanaian development economist, Abugre comes to the campaign most recently from Christian Aid, where he was Head of the Global Policy and Advocacy Division, based in the UK.
He has also been a lecturer at the University of Wales, Swansea, an NGO activist and a development professional, working in several parts of the world. He is a co-founder of several development organizations around the world, including the Third World Network, ISODEC and the Centre for Public Interest Law in Ghana. He also writes on various aspects of Africa's political economy.
In his inaugural speech, Abugre said he was glad to be joining a team working for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals.
"I am pleased to be joining the campaign that drums support for a noble cause. Unlike other development interventions before, the MDGs are universal development aspirations. They encompass universally accepted human values and rights," he said. "Our challenge as campaigners is to exert unrelenting pressure on governments to fulfill their promises."
Abugre holds a Master's degree in development economics from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands; a Bachelor's degree in economics and geography from the University of Ghana in Accra; and is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Wales, Swansea, UK.
In his long history of development work, Abugre has been very vocal on the importance of making African states more responsive to the needs of their citizens.
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