Toupta Boguena (died 4 August 2021) was a Chadian scientist and administrator. She served as Chad's Minister of Public Health between 2010 and 2011. Since 2016, she had served as the executive secretary of the Niger Basin Authority.
Toupta Boguena | |
|---|---|
| Died | 4 August 2021 |
| Nationality | Chadian |
| Alma mater | University of Arizona, Brigham Young University |
| Occupation(s) | Scientist and administrator |
| Known for | Minister of Public Health |
Early life and education
editBoguena spent some time in a refugee camp in Congo for people fleeing a civil war in Chad. She was awarded a United Nations funded scholarship to attend the University of Arizona, where she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy in 1991 and Master of Science in agronomics and plant genetics in 1994. She then moved to Brigham Young University to do doctoral work in botany. Her work there focused on studying ways to control cheatgrass, invasive to Utah, using a locally found fungus. Cheatgrass is considered a problem for its potential to serve as kindling in wildfires.[1][2]
Political and administrative work in Chad
editBoguena returned to Chad after completing her doctorate in 2003, founding a grassroots NGO, the Organization for Community Supported Sustainable Agriculture in Chad, focusing on improving agriculture in local villages.[1]
Boguena was appointed Chad's Minister of Public Health in 2010 in the administration of President Idriss Deby.[2] She was removed from this post in December 2011, and was replaced by Mammouth Nahor.[3]
In 2016, Boguena was appointed the executive secretary of the Niger Basin Authority, an intergovernmental organization that aims to foster cooperation in managing and developing the resources of the basin of the River Niger. In this role, Boguena was working with member states and development organizations such as World Bank and African Development Bank to implement the programme for the Integrated Development and Adaptation to Climate Change - which is an initiative to protect the 130 million people living in the Niger basin from the effects of climate change and ecological degradation.[2][4]
Death
editBoguena passed away on August 4, 2021 in Tunisia where she was undergoing treatment for a disease.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Amy Stoate (15 June 2004). "Chadian leaps big hurdles to get doctorate". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ a b c "The NBA Executive Secretary Curriculum Vitae". Niger Basin Authority. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Tchad : Idriss Déby fait le ménage". Abidjan.net. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Niger Basin Member Countries Earmark $274m To Fight Climate Change". Eagle Online. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Tchad : décès de l'ex-ministre Toupta Boguena". Al Wihda. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2023.