Dr. Janvier Rugira is a registered psychologist and Regional Stress Counsellor within the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) Critical Incident Stress Management Section. He provides strategic coordination and technical oversight of psychosocial support and critical incident stress management for UN personnel and their families, particularly those serving in complex humanitarian and peacekeeping operations across nearly 30 countries.

With nearly a decade of UN service, Dr. Rugira specializes in workplace mental health and psychosocial risk management. He champions systemic, preventive approaches to institutional well-being, advocating that psychosocial hazards, such as excessive workload, organizational culture, isolation, and burnout, be managed with the same rigor as financial, operational, and safety risks. Within the UN system, he co-leads two system-wide working groups under the Mental Health Implementation Board, focusing on Family Support Services and Mental Health Insurance.

Before joining the UN, Dr. Rugira held academic positions at the University of Johannesburg and completed postdoctoral research at North-West University. A published researcher, his academic interests include loneliness and the impact of human-machine interaction on work-life dynamics.

Dr. Rugira holds a PhD in Psychology from North-West University (South Africa), an MBA from Regent Business School, and an MA in Counselling Psychology from Daystar University. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and registered with the Rwanda Psychological Society. An avid long-distance runner, he credits the sport with sharpening his understanding of endurance, resilience, and sustained performance.