WSSCC Names New Executive Director

GENEVA, 25 May 2020 – The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and UNOPS announce the appointment of Mr Dominic O’Neill as the new Executive Director of WSSCC. Mr O’Neill brings to the position a wealth of knowledge and an array of experiences in the development industry on a national and global level. He will commence this new assignment in September 2020.

Mr O’Neill currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for the World Wildlife Fund International. He is also a non-executive Director on the Board of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). Additionally, he has assumed the position of the United Kingdom’s Executive Director on the Board of the African Development Bank, where he chaired the committee on human resources, information technology and administration.

“WSSCC is at a critical point in its 30-year history as it evolves into the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund by 2021. Mr Dominic O’Neill’s understanding of both public health and environmental issues as well as his political acumen makes him the ideal candidate to lead the organization through this transformation,” said Ms Hind Othman-Khatib, Executive Chair of WSSCC.

The Steering Committee of WSSCC recently approved the new 2021-2025 strategy, under which the organization is evolving into a global financing mechanism, the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund, whose mission is to address the void in the global response to the sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health crisis. The new Fund will formally begin operations on 1 January 2021.

Mr O’Neill joined the World Wildlife Fund in 2017, after 15 years with the Department for International Development (DFID), the UK government’s foreign aid agency, most recently as head of the United Nations and Commonwealth Department overseeing the UK’s funding to various UN agencies. Prior to this, Mr O’Neill worked for DFID in Yemen, Iraq, Sierra Leone and Nepal and as an Environmental Health Policy advisor. Prior experience also includes serving as a District Environmental Officer for the Namibian Ministry of Health and as a Country Director for Raleigh International.

“I am very honoured to join WSSCC at this transformational moment,” Mr O’Neill said. “Sanitation and hygiene are key to so many things, including public health, environmental protection, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is time to scale up solutions, based on a multi-stakeholder approach, and ensure sanitation and hygiene for all.”

Born in the UK, Mr O’Neill has qualifications in environmental health and water.

- Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -

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Hind Khatib-Othman, Executive Chair of WSSCC