FEB. 15, 2024 BY ANDREW GREEN

Moving day is coming for a quarter of the U.N. Population Fund’s New York-based employees, who will begin transitioning to Nairobi next year. And many of the staff members slated to make that move are not happy about it.

Staff members found out via email last September after the decision had already been made. The logic is that the agency will be made more efficient and effective by moving its core functions closer to the people it is helping.

But some staff members, who spoke to Devex on condition of anonymity, are concerned the decision wasn’t fully thought through. The majority of the people moving to Nairobi are responsible for developing policy and maintaining interagency and intergovernmental relationships — something that’s tough to do remotely, they said. Only 10 members of the policy and technical programs staffers are slated to remain behind in New York, meaning that policy influence and advocacy work could fall disproportionately on that small group.

UNFPA officials, for their part, are emphasizing the opportunity the move offers to respond faster to the communities they are supporting. The agency prioritizes reducing maternal mortality, and it will now have a headquarters on the same continent as nine of the 10 countries with the highest rates of maternal mortality.

The move is also in line with a growing trend of agencies and NGOs relocating to the global south. Nairobi, in particular, has emerged as a major hub for the U.N., with UNEP and UN-Habitat also headquartered there.

Staff members aren’t just voicing their displeasure, though. People who don’t want to move are already looking for other jobs or taking voluntary early separation — moves that threaten to disrupt UNFPA’s work between now and next year’s relocation.