Luana de Souza

Luana De Souza Monbaron has over a decade of wide-ranging experience in humanitarian work with UN organisations and international NGOs. With a strong foundation in international relations and women’s rights, she consistently advocates for inclusive, safe and accountable humanitarian programming.

Luana holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Migration from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva and Utrecht University, Netherlands. She began her career with UNHCR focusing on community-based Protection in various countries and regions, including Nepal, West Africa and Lebanon. She then transitioned into Protection and child protection programme management, notably serving as Child Protection Programme Manager for Terre des hommes in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Luana then joined the Swiss Humanitarian Expert Pool where she expanded her expertise in gender-based violence (GBV). She was deployed to the East Africa regional office of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Nairobi, Kenya in 2018. There she provided tailored support to 23 countries across the region. From 2021, she led innovative approaches in GBV risk mitigation as part of cash and voucher assistance programmes as Global Humanitarian Roving Specialist for UNFPA based in Geneva. From 2023, Luana supported the Cash-Based Transfers Division at the World Food Programme’s headquarters in Rome in integrating Protection into its core framework.

Luana joined PeaceWomen Across the Globe’s Network and Advocacy team in May 2025. She will leverage her experience in building global partnerships to drive impactful change, further strengthening PeaceWomen Across the Globe's mission to amplify women's voices in peace processes.