Our founding organisation
Oxfam is a global movement of millions of people who share the belief that, in a world rich in resources, poverty is not inevitable. Oxfam believes that to spread that change and make it last, political solutions are also needed to tackle the root causes of poverty and create societies where empowered individuals can thrive. Together with local partners, Oxfam works in more than 90 countriesas part of the Oxfam International confederation to tackle the root causes of poverty and respond to emergencies.
Organizational Structure of Equidev
The Equidev Board of Directors
Shovcat Alizadeh
Head of Business Operations – Asia EA Node, Oxfam GB
Shovcat Alizadeh has worked as the Country Director of Oxfam in Tajikistan and will continue in this role overseeing Oxfam’s exit until March 2022.
Since 2000 she has been working as Country Director for Oxfam International in different countries, including Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kenya and Somalia.
She has more than18 years of experience in the design and management of relief and development programmes concerning sustainable livelihoods, microfinance, community-based primary healthcare, WASH, inclusive education, community-based ERR, institutional accountability/local governance, gender equity, rights of disabled people and civil society development.
Shovcat has a PhD in Radiation Chemistry and has authored 20 publications based on scientific research results.
Lilian (Lan) Mercado
Asia Pacific Regional Director, WWF
Lan Mercado is Oxfam’s Director for Strategy and Feminist Futures and, concurrently, is the Regional Director for Asia. She is an activist, a humanitarian and development worker with over 30 years of international experience working with civil society groups, environmental movements, and women’s rights organizations.
In the Philippines, she is a convenor and founding member of Every Woman and Baigani and is a member of the board of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism where she once worked on the environment desk. She is a founding board member of the Citizens for the Promotion of Human Rights. Under her leadership, Oxfam is implementing a future-oriented strategy in Asia for an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient region.
Lan returned to Asia after serving as Oxfam’s Deputy Director for Global Campaigns. Prior to this, she was Country Director in the Philippines and served as Advisor to the ASEAN on disaster management and emergency response. Lan has a degree in mass communication and pursued post-graduate studies on sustainable development. Working with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism team of reporters, she had won first prize for investigative journalism. She was recently recognized by the University of the Philippines as a Distinguished Alumna for Poverty Alleviation and Human Development. In 2017, she was conferred the inaugural Glory Award by the UP College of Mass Communication for social advocacy and leadership in the development sector.
Seyed Faiz
Country Relations Senior Broker (On secondment), Oxfam GB
Seyed has more than 20 years’ experience in setting up successful institutions, effectively managing complex development programmes and humanitarian responses for international aid organisations and providing consultancy services to companies and bilateral/multilateral agencies.
He has expertise in climate resilient agriculture, market systems and enterprise development, financial inclusion, private sector development, WASH, health and nutrition and gender justice. He joined Oxfam in 2015 as the Economic Justice Programme Manager and was then Deputy Country Director in Tajikistan before he took over the role of CEO for Equidev.
Before this, he worked with the Aga Khan Foundation, WWF and Deloitte in India and South Asia. Seyed holds a degree from the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom and is fluent in English, with conversational abilities in Arabic and Tajik.
Kate Attwooll
Project Portfolio Manager, Oxfam
Kate is the first woman Chair of the Tajikistan Country Governance Group and the youngest ever Chair of the Asia Regional Governance Group. Kate is the Country Relations Senior Broker for Oxfam GB, covering Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. She has worked for Oxfam for 12 years, specialising in strategic governance and technical programme quality and impact. Kate has substantial field experience across all regions of the world, particularly fragile and conflict affected contexts such as Haiti, Myanmar, South Sudan and the Middle East. She has strong portfolio planning and investment skills, organisational and strategy development skills, and is experienced in managing risk and leading large, geographically dispersed, multicultural teams. Prior to Oxfam, she worked in HIV/AIDS and education in Brazil; mental health, substance misuse and homelessness in the UK; social entrepreneurship at the Skoll Centre of Said Business School; and postgraduate research in sociology at Oxford University.
Saidrakhmon Nazrizoda
First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the government of Tajikistan (retd.)
Saidrakhmon has more than 20 years of experience in working with the government of Tajikistan in various capacities. He actively participated and contributing to a number of important reform processes in the country as the Head of Department of Economic Reforms and Investments at the Administration of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan in 2007. In 2009 he held the post of Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade in Tajikistan and supervised the foreign economic relations and international trade, monitored the implementation of the economic reform process and coordinated the interaction between the World Trade Organisation and government of Tajikistan. Currently, Saidrakhmon is serving as an adviser for the Tajik Technical University.
Management Team
Gulchehra Boboeva
CEO, Equidev
A senior development expert, with strong analytical, strategic, and programmatic skills. Over 24 years of experience in managing development and humanitarian work, and multi-sector programmes in Central Asia.
She brings a wealth of technical leadership and programmatic experience and expertise in WASH, public health, agriculture and nutrition, child survival, reproductive health, and control of pandemic diseases. Over 24 years, she has been leading various health and nutrition projects on food security, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in Tajikistan and Central Asia.
She is membership of professional bodies: Tajikistan Maternal and Child Health Advisory Council; Tajikistan Water and Sanitation Network of stakeholders; Donor Coordination Meeting on WASH, Health and Disaster Risk Management, Multi-Sectoral Engagement and Action on Scaling Up Nutrition in Tajikistan;
Key qualifications :
Senior Development Expert with over 24 years of experience providing technical leadership and programmatic directions in Public Health with a focus on child survival, reproductive health; control of endemic diseases (TB/Malaria); maternal and new-born and reproductive health, maternal and child nutrition including Emergency-Infant Young Child Feeding
Management of large health and nutrition, Food Security, and WASH programs funded by USAID, SDC, European Union, World Bank, DFID, OFDA, GIZ, and UNICEF.
Prolific experience in managing around 20-70 projects staff, including medical doctors, water engineers, governance specialists, policy maker specialists, partnership and networking specialists, field staff, admin, HR and finance staff, MEAL staff, etc.
Capacity building of health staff an Area Health Advisor in Central Asia including Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
Extensive knowledge and experiences on proposal writing, detailed implementation planning, grants management
Networking with government and non-government stakeholders including policy makers, MOHSPP, Healthy Life Style Centres, Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) centres, National Reproductive Centres, MOES, MoEWR, WHO, UNICEF, GFATM, UNDP, World Bank, GIZ, WFP, Oxfam, OSCE and other agencies.
Profound experience in Monitoring, Evaluation; Learning and leading innovative/research projects focused on health and nutrition, cradling practices and its impact to social, motor and physical child development, water and sanitation, rapid care assessment, gender analysis, etc.
Experience in implementation of innovative approach on Mobile Health through working with private sector (TCell company) and Ministry of Health to disseminate key health and nutrition messages through mobile phone to women and their family members.
Aware of WASH, Agriculture and health sector priorities and issues as well as health reform in Tajikistan, and build good relationships with different institutions of WASH, Agriculture and health sector
Orkhan Ali
WASH Advisor
Orkhan has more than 12 years of experience in project and business operations management. Apart from being the WASH Advisor to Equidev, he currently works as a Team Leader in WASH at Oxfam in Tajikistan. Before this, he fulfilled various positions, such as business development manager, project manager and/or consultant and university instructor, in diverse companies, public institutions, and international and local NGOs in Azerbaijan, Jordan, Georgia, Iraq, Myanmar, Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel and Tajikistan. Orkhan’s expertise is in improving market-based solutions for WASH products and services for customers using advanced marketing services, data-based decision-making tools, institutional/human capacity building and business innovations in both infrastructure building and value chain development. Orkhan also consults with the government on policy reforms and institutional development to enhance its potential in the implementation of national reforms.
Local Staff Members
Muzaffar Akhmedov
Partnership and Business Development/MEAL Specialist
Muzaffar joined Equidev in August 2023 as a Partnership Development/MEAL Specialist.
He has worked towards the promotion of a consistent approach to development issues in all programmes including Sustainable Agriculture, Water and Sanitation and Additional Value Chains. Experience gained in development of capacity building of local NGOs, set up WUAs, farmer field schools; and develop training materials on water productivity and efficiency, micro irrigation technologies, experience on integrated ecosystem services within universities. Closely worked with the private entrepreneurs in order to provide free interest loans in irrigation and agricultural sectors and managed projects with various donors such as SDC, BMZ, BMUV, EU and etc.
He has over 18 years of working experience in the field of humanitarian aid and development programmes, primarily with the local and international NGOs, of which 10 years were in managing programs/projects.
Firuza Kosimova
Local Governance and WASH Trainer
Firuza is a good governance expert and has been working in the field of local governance and community mobilization for over 18 years in the projects related to WASH and public health. She is a qualified hygiene promotion and healthcare expert. She has over 18 years of experience in the development sector and is a reputable trainer in the field of WASH and public health.
Firuza will develop and coordinate the implementation of all activities related to Water and Sanitation Governance at the local level, and will contribute to the development of the Partnership between key stakeholders at district and national level including local authorities, local hospital administration, MoHSPP, Tajik technical university.
In addition, she will assist in the organisation of workshops, training and events in both the national and district level. She is the WASH trainer at Equidev and fluent in Tajik and Russian.
Samariddin Bahriddinov
Gender Mainstreaming/Communication/Reporting Specialist
Samariddin is a seasoned professional dedicated to amplifying our organization's voice with strategic and impactful communication. With more than 20 years of work experience, he possesses a keen understanding of translating complex ideas into compelling narratives, engaging diverse audiences across various platforms. Samariddin is adept at crafting and executing communication strategies that align with our organizational goals, fostering meaningful connections with stakeholders. Armed with a creative flair and a passion for storytelling, he is committed to enhancing our brand presence and effectively conveying our mission. Join us in welcoming Samariddin, the driving force behind our efforts to communicate, connect, and make a lasting impact.
Farhod Khalikov
Field Engineer
Farhod serves as a field engineer and lead of the technical design and construction of water supply and sanitation infrastructure. He is responsible for all construction activities and quality assurance/control over its implementation.
His responsibilities include day-to-day oversight of DEWATS activities in target hospitals. He provides technical oversight of all DEWATS infrastructure projects including project technical assessment and design, creation of Bill of Quantities (BoQs), working with the design institute and construction companies, and daily monitoring of construction progress and handover to the hospital administration.
He has a rich engineering experience in regions of Tajikistan and has worked for various international organizations for more than 20 years. He is a former Oxfam Filed Engineer with Watershed for the Natural Resource Management Project funded by the European Union (Sughd region). Currently, he is an Equidev engineer with DEWATS projects funded by Lions Club. He is fluent in Tajik, Russian & Uzbek.
Gulbahor Atoeva
Logistics/Admin Officer
Gulbahor has worked for various international organizations for more than 28 years with the following experience – General Administration -15 years, Human Resources -14 years, Procurement -12 years, Field experience -9 years.
Her responsibilities include Coordinate with program staff/coordinators on any logistical support, travel arrangements, organization of roundtables, workshops, training, working meetings and other project events. She is fluent in English,Tajik & Russian.
Ismoil Sharifov
Finance Officer
Ismoil, a results-oriented professional brings over 10 years of work experience in the fields of finance, admin/logistics and procurement to our organization. He excels in strategic financial management, budget planning, and risk mitigation and ensuring the financial health and stability of our organization. With a proven track record in meticulous financial analysis and compliance, Ismoil is dedicated to optimizing our financial strategies in alignment with organizational objectives. He holds a Master’s degree in Accounting and Finance from Russian-Tajik Slavonic University and is committed to fostering financial excellence within our organization. We are excited to have Ismoil on board and look forward to the positive impact he will make in driving our financial performance and overall growth.
Davlatbeg Davlatov
Project Coordinator
Davlatbeg has more than 15 years of experience in the humanitarian and development sectors. Davlatbeg has held leadership roles in implementing and managing large projects in Natural Resource Management, WASH, DRR/DRM and climate change, risk assessment, and hazard mapping. He has been working in different international and governmental organizations. Flexible and motivated within various roles and very keen to learn new skills, He has a great deal of experience in running projects and conducting training courses. His career goals include developing his skills further in project management and research.
He joined Equidev on January 02, 2024, to coordinate the WASH in Schools Three Star Approach (WinS TSA)” project in the Khatlon region and RRD.
Adiba Mirzobadalova
WASH Trainer
Adiba is an expert and has been working in the community mobilization field for over 13 years in the projects related to WASH, energy efficiency and public health. She is a qualified hygiene promotion and healthcare expert. She has over 13 years of experience in the development sector and is a reputable trainer in the field of WASH and public health.
Adiba will develop and coordinate the implementation of all activities related to Water and Sanitation sector at the district and rural level, and will contribute more education on WASH development and innovation
In addition, she will assist in organization of workshops, training and events in both national and district levels. She is the WASH trainer at Equidev and fluent in Tajik, English and Russian.
Khursheda Isaeva
WASH Trainer
Khursheda has much expertise in, and has been working as a National trainer in the field of Integration Management Childhood Illness for over 22 years in the projects related to mother and child health, healthy mother healthy child, breast feeding and complementary feeding and public health. She is a qualified hygiene promotion and healthcare expert. She has over 22 years of experience in development health sector and is a reputable trainer in the field of WASH and IMCI and public health.
Khursheda will develop and coordinate the implementation of all activities related to Water and Sanitation sector at the district and rural level, engaging CBO authorities, MHC and will contribute more education on WASH development and innovation.
In addition, she will assist in organization of workshops, training and events in both national and district levels. She is the WASH trainer at Equidev and fluent in Tajik, English and Russian.
Khurshed Sharifov
WASH Trainer
Khurshed is the qualified expert in, and has been working as a coordinator and field officer in the field of WASH educational promotion within integrated WASH, IMCI, livelihood, nutrition programs for over 15 years. He is also the best experience of the trainer on hygiene promotion and healthcare. He has over 15 years of experience in development health sector and is a reputable in the field of WASH and public health.
Khurshed will develop and coordinate the implementation of all activities related to Water and Sanitation, sector at the district and rural level, engaging CBO authorities, MHC and will contribute more education on WASH development and innovation using interactive ways.
Besides this, he will easily assist in organization of workshops, trainings and events in both national and district levels regarding flowing activities. He is the WASH trainer at Equidev and fluent in Tajik and Russian.