Noreen Masiiwa Huni

Biography

Noreen Huni has been the leader of REPSSI (the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative), a small regional NGO with an enormous footprint in East and Southern Africa, for most of its seventeen years of existence. She has led the NGO through four strategic phases, to becoming the leading proponent of psychosocial support (PSS) as an enabler of social, education and health outcomes for children and youth. This has included establishing qualifications in PSS that are offered through distance learning across the region; developing easy to use resources to mobilize communities that are used widely around the globe and being a leading advocate for children affected by HIV and for child and youth development in Africa and beyond. She has over 15 years’ work experience in the field of child and youth development. In November 2018, Noreen was bestowed the Klaus Jacobs Foundation ‘Social Innovation & Social Change’ award. Noreen is spearheading the establishment of the Africa Psychosocial Support Institute (APSSI) as a social enterprise, to become the globally recognized hub for child and youth psychosocial and mental wellbeing in Africa. APSSI will foster professionalism and excellence in the provision of PSS and mental health for children and youth in Africa.