Dr. Rita Bissoonauth is the Head of Mission at the African Union/International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa and she holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada. She also holds a Master degree in Biochemistry from the University of Lyon, France.

She presently heads the African Union International Center for Girls and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA) based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Before moving to Ouagadougou, she was a Senior Policy Officer in education for five years at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa. She also worked as a Senior Lecturer at the Mauritius Institute of Education, Mauritius and the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada teaching Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Science Education.