María Moita

Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean

In her most recent position as the Chief of Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan, Maria Moita successfully led a large country office through challenging emergency conditions. She worked closely with headquarters and regional offices to manage daily administrative, programmatic, and financial activities while prioritizing the welfare and safety of all staff. She has been instrumental in developing a strategic framework for program management, strengthening partnerships, resource mobilization, and advocacy efforts. Notably, she led the border consortium response to the influx of people from Pakistan and was a primary responder to the Herat earthquakes.  

Prior to her role in Afghanistan, Moita served as the Senior Regional Emergency and Post-Crisis Specialist for Asia and the Pacific in the Bangkok office, providing technical and programmatic guidance to enhance the capacity of IOM missions across the region. She has held various other leadership roles within IOM, including Chief of Mission (a.i.) in Bangkok and Head of the Preparedness and Response Division (a.i.) in Geneva.  

Originally from Portugal, Moita holds a Master’s degree in Development from Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa (ISCTE) in Lisbon and a Master’s degree in Architecture from Porto School of Architecture.