Cote d’Ivoire / UNOCI chief meets new UNICEF representative in Cote d’Ivoire
ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, September 10, 2008/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Special Representative of the UN Secretary- General for Côte d’Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, on Tuesday met with the new country representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Maarit Hirvonen.
At the end of her visit, Mrs Hirvonen said she had come to introduce herself to the head of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI). She outlined the UNICEF’s plans with regard to assistance, defined the priorities and programmes for next year and explained what the Agency could do to support the peace process. In this regard, she announced that aid to the health, education and nutrition sectors would be top of UNICEF’s plan of activities. “The nutrition situation is a little worrying and we are going to see what we can do to improve it”.
The new UNICEF representative also underlined the importance of educating children of primary school age. “We know that one in two children does not have access to primary education” she said before revealing what is being done by some donors to remedy the situation. The African Development Bank (ADB) had donated $17 millions to UNICEF for its health and education programmes, while the European Union had given $5 million.
Mrs Hirvonen who is Finnish took up her duties in Abidjan on Monday, 8 September 2008.
SOURCE : Mission of UN in Côte d’Ivoire
