Antoinette Dinga Dzondo (also Dinga-Dzondo, born 16 April 1955) is a Congolese politician who was the Republic of the Congo's Minister of Social Affairs and Humanitarian Action from 2016 to 2021.

Personal life

Antoinette Dinga Dzondo was born in Sibiti, Lékoumou Department, Republic of the Congo. She studied at the

Lille University of Science and Technology The Lille 1 University of Science and Technology (, USTL) was a French university located on a dedicated main campus in Villeneuve d'Ascq, near Lille (Hauts-de-France - European Metropolis of Lille), with 20,000 full-time students plus 14,5 ...

in France, where she earned a

Bachelor of Economics A Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon)Bureau of Labor StatisticsHow to Become an Economist/ref> is an academic degree, awarded to students who have completed specialised undergraduate studies in economics. Variants include the "Bachelor of Econo ...

degree in 1979, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 1980, a Diploma of Advanced Studies in 1981, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

economic sciences Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyses ...

in 1984.

Career

From 1984 to 1985, Dinga Dzondo worked as a trainee at Congo's Ministry of Finance. Between 1985 and 1992, she worked for the

Economic Community of Central African States The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; , CEEAC; , CEEAC; , CEEAC) is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise ...

, and from 1992 to 2016, she worked for the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and ...

. Whilst at the African Development Bank, she worked for the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

as part of an exchange program, and also worked for five years in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. In 2016, Dinga Dzondo was appointed Congo's Minister of Social Affairs and Humanitarian Action in

Clément Mouamba Clément Mouamba (13 November 1943 – 29 October 2021) was a Congolese politician who was Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo from 2016 until 2021. He previously served as Minister of Finance from 1992 to 1993. Political career Moua ...

's cabinet. She replaced Émilienne Raoul, who had held the role for 14 years. She retained the position in Mouamba's second cabinet government in 2017. In that position, she led the response to a

humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or exter ...

in Kindamba and

Pool Department Pool () is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza Department, Bouenza, Lékoumou Department, Lékoumou, and Plateaux Depar ...

, with $ 47 million of investment, including donations from the United States, the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, and the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

. She also supported

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s returning to their home country. In 2017, there were 100,000 Rwandan refugess in

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

, and Dinga Dzondo said that they would not be forced into returning to Rwanda. In 2019, Dinga Dzondo announced a deal for around 300 million

Congolese franc The Congolese franc (, code ) is the currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the past, it was subdivided into 100 ''centimes''. However, centimes no longer have a practical value and are no longer used. In April 2024, 2,800 francs w ...

s from the Red Cross Society of China to support flood victims, with another 170 million francs (around 2 million Chinese yuan) promised in the future. In 2020, Dinga Dzondo announced a 12.7 billion francs ($21.3 million) fund to help refugees based in the Congo to survive and return home. She also secured around 760 million francs (around 150 million

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Th ...

) in financial aid from Japan. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Dinga Dzondo organised payments of 50,000 Congolese francs to those affected in Brazzaville. In May 2021, was announced as Congo's new Minister of Social Affairs and Humanitarian Action.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinga Dzondo, Anotinette 1955 births Living people Women government ministers of the Republic of the Congo People from Lékoumou Department Lille University of Science and Technology alumni Republic of the Congo economists 21st-century Republic of the Congo women politicians 21st-century Republic of the Congo politicians