UNICEF Executive Director arriving soon for a visit
July 13, 2024 10:11 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
By Anita Roberts.
The Executive Director (ED) of the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russel, is arriving soon in the country for a three-day visit.
Following her arrival in Port Vila, the ED will visit the Vanuatu UNICEF Field Office and hold a bilateral meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade.
UNICEF has been engaging with the ministry on Vanuatu’s proposed Green Climate Fund submission, on emergency preparedness and response and has supported the country’s submission to the International Court of Justice.
After her courtesy call with the Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the UNICEF ED will visit the Mele Health Clinic where she will observe nutrition education sessions including cooking demonstrations and interact with a local Non-Government Organisation partner, mothers and children.
The ED will travel to Pentecost to visit Bwatnapni Dispensary and Lesasanemal Primary School, which were severely affected by Tropical Cyclones (TCs) in the last three years.
She will witness the impact of the frequent TCs and increased vulnerabilities of children, communities, and social services, and interact with students and teachers in UNICEF tents and engage with school counsel on rehabilitation works following TC Lola.
She will visit cold chain facilities put in place by UNICEF at Bwatnapi Dispensary and meet beneficiaries from emergency affected communicates who received UNICEF support through the Vanuatu Red Cross Society.
Upon returning back to Port Vila, ED Russel and her delegation will attend the Pacific Seminar on “Protecting Children in the Context of Labour Mobility”, have a discussion with young people on climate change, and a meeting with diplomats before her departure
The UNICEF ED will travel to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand after Vanuatu.
According to UNICEF, it has been more than a decade since a UNICEF ED visited Australia and New Zealand, and this would be the first ever visit to Pacific Island Countries.
The visit aims to reaffirm UNICEF’s commitment to governments in the Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand in support of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the Sustainable Development Goals, focussing on leaving no one behind.
It would also reinforce existing partnerships of cooperation between UNICEF and the Pacific Islands, and its role in mitigating the impact of climate change on children, particularly in relation to climate change, adaptation, resilience building, and emergency response to the climate crisis.
