Mr Sassarao has more than 30 years of professional experience in international and community development, focusing on social policies and child rights advocacy, working for public institutions and the private sector in Brazil and for UNICEF in various countries. He joined UNICEF in 1991 as a Junior Professional Officer in Burundi and since then has served UNICEF in various positions Ecuador, Haiti, Cape Verde, Dominican Republic, Paraguay and Nicaragua, his last post as Deputy Representative. He has a successful career in designing and implementing water supply, sanitation and environmental education programs, as well as in other fields of child and adolescents’ rights such as health and nutrition, education and child protection against violence, abuse and exploitation. He has a university degree in Sanitary Engineering from the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Campinas, Sao Paulo, and a Masters’ degree in Sanitary Engineering from the International Institute for Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, Delft, The Netherlands.