Tuesday, June 14, 2016, Kinshasa, DRC - Today Christophe Tocco was sworn in as the new U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  With over 20 years of experience in managing and executing international development programs including most recently serving as Deputy Mission Director to USAID/DRC, Mr. Tocco will lead both the USAID/DRC bilateral mission and the Central Africa Regional Operating Unit, which includes the Central African Regional Program for the Environment, as well as programs that address Countering the Lord’s Resistance Army, and provide support to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. USAID/DRC also manages Agency programs in the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo.

Mr. Tocco assumes the leadership of USAID/DRC during a time when remarkable progress that has been made in the DRC needs to be sustained and expanded, such as the reduction in maternal and child mortality. According to the Demographic Health Survey, the nationwide child mortality rate dropped by 30 percent between 2007 and 2014 and more than 150,000 children’s lives were saved in health zones supported by USAID in the past three years.

“He is taking over the mission at an exciting time for the country and the mission is lucky because Christophe knows USAID’s portfolio in the DRC and he has a clear understanding of the complex political environment as he played a key role in policy dialogue with Congolese government institutions and on donor coordination” said Ambassador to the DRC James Swan.

Mr. Tocco has experience in the complexities, challenges, and potential of this region as he has spent most of his development career in Africa. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Morocco. He then joined USAID as an Education Officer in USAID/Morocco and as a Supervisory Program Officer in charge of strategy, project design, monitoring, budgeting and overall program oversight for the USAID Missions in Rwanda and Senegal. He also served as USAID Senegal’s Deputy Regional Director, developing and leading the USAID Sahel Joint Planning Cell. As Deputy Regional Director he managed bilateral development programs and USAID staff in Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Cape Verde, the Gambia and Guinea Bissau.

He graduated magna cum laude from the University of California at Los Angeles with a degree in economics. He regularly draws on his experiences living and working in countries such as Morocco, Rwanda, Jordan and Senegal.  He speaks fluent French, Spanish, and Moroccan Arabic.

About USAID

USAID is the International Development Agency of the Government of the United States. In the DRC, USAID works hand in hand with the Congolese people to implement a portfolio of more than 350 million dollars per year in the areas of health, education, good governance, humanitarian assistance, agriculture, human rights, and environment.