Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia; and Vice-chairperson of the Covenant of Mayors in sub-Saharan Africa (CoMSSA) RMF

Chilando Chitangala is the current Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia and was recently elected the Covenant of Mayors in sub-Saharan Africa (CoMSSA) RMF Vice-chairperson. As mayor, she oversees planning and decision-making at the city level, and is passionate about improving data collection and management for planning and decision making, gender and social inclusion, climate change and environmental protection, strategic and integrated planning, slum upgrading, and the empowerment of marginalized groups. A hands-on mayor, she creates and sustains partnerships and income-generating initiatives to provide equitable services for the city, improve and upgrade the informal settlements, and fight HIV/AIDS by meeting the 90-90-90 targets set by UNAIDS.

In her position as CoMSSA RMF Vice-chairperson, Mayor Chitangala is responsible for representing and elevating the voice of over 300 cities through project coordination, planning, and mobilizing resources, including access to energy and climate finance for other mayors, as well as serving as an ambassador of the initiative. She is currently part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative class of 2022-2023.

Mayor Chitangala started her career as a councillor, then held the position of Deputy Mayor before becoming the first woman to be elected Mayor of Lusaka. She is an inspirational civic leader and mentor for girls and women taking up leadership and decision-making positions at city, national, and international levels.