Jacqueline Musiitwa is a Deputy Assistant Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), the U.S. Government lead for international disaster response. With a mandate to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and reduce the impact of disasters, BHA monitors, mitigates, and responds to global hazards and humanitarian needs. The Bureau also promotes resilience by preparing communities for disasters before they strike, and by helping people recover and move beyond crises.
Before joining BHA, Jacqueline was the Senior Climate Finance Advisor in the Bureau for Resilience, Environment and Food Security leading the climate finance portfolio and led the team to mobilize $16.7 billion in 2023 compared to $4.7 billion in 2022. She co-led USAID’s Task Team on Access to Finance in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States, the blended finance collaboration between the U.S. and the Nordic governments through the Investment Mobilization Collaboration Alliance (IMCA), and supported partnerships for the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE).
Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Musiitwa practiced law focusing on business and human rights. She has experience in development finance having worked on transactions worth over $1 billion; nonprofit management, including having led Financial Sector Deepening Uganda and philanthropic consulting with ClimateWorks Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies; international trade policy from the World Trade Organization; and corporate relations and sustainability in the industrial sector. She has been an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and a non-resident fellow at the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council. She was a member of the board of directors for the International Rescue Committee UK, Crisis Action, and human centered-design firm, IDEO.org. She was selected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a Term member of the Council of Foreign Relations.
Ms. Musiitwa received a B.A. in Political Science from Davidson College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne.