Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna (Arabic: شيخ العافية ولد محمد خونة; born 1956[1]) is a Mauritanian political figure.
Cheikh El Avia returned to Mauritania and joined the civil service, serving as Director of the fisheries company Societe Mauritanienne de Commercialisation du Poisson (SMCP) from 1984 to 1992.
In the summer in 1999, Cheikh El Avia suffered a foreign policy setback when he could not secure an audience with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika due to Mauritania's establishing full ties with Israel.
Cheikh El Avia denounced the opposition party, Action pour le Changement, in an important speech at the National Assembly in December 2001.
[4] In late December 2002, he announced that the government had responded "rapidly, efficiently and responsibly" to a potential famine and helped livestock farmers.
On July 6, Cheikh El Avia was replaced as premier by Sghair Ould M'Bareck, who previously served as Minister of Education.