I would like to welcome you all to UNICEF’s second regular session 2008. A special welcome is extended to the Permanent Representative of Mali, H.E. Omar Daou, who has joined us as a Vice-President of the Executive Board representing the group of African States.
This autumn, in a period of only three months, four global high level meetings of significant importance to the fight against poverty take place. It can be useful to reflect this week on how the work of UNICEF relates to key aspects of those meetings. Let me make a few comments in this regard.
First, in Accra last week, around 100 ministers from all regions of the world agreed on improving aid effectiveness through greater national ownership and increased coordination among development actors. There are many ways that UNICEF can contribute to this. I am pleased to hear that Executive Director Veneman participated actively in Accra, and spoke on behalf of UN Development Group at the first plenary session.
In one week, world leaders will meet here at the UN Headquarters to inject momentum to the development of Africa. In this context, it is reassuring to learn from the background documents, that UNICEF is making progressively higher allocations of its regular resources to the children of sub-Saharan Africa.
Three days later, the High-level event on the Millennium Development Goals will take place to boost global action to achieve the MDGs. The 2008 MDG report, which was launched just a few days ago, concludes that many of the Millennium Development Goals and linked targets are in danger of not being met by 2015. One of the many remaining challenges, identified by the report, is that about one quarter of the children in the developing world is undernourished. UNICEF needs more resources to improve the lives of children around the globe. Children are at the heart of the MDGs.
In late November, the follow-up conference on Financing for Development is convened in Doha. Many issues to be discussed there are highly relevant for this Executive Board, for instance, the need to improve the balance between regular resources and other resources as well as predictability of funding. Thematic funding, which is on the agenda of this board session, is an instrument which could help donors move in the right direction.
We will today discuss the midterm review of our medium strategic plan. UNICEF has had a range of consultations with Member States, UNICEF field officers and UNICEF National Committees, to identify achievements as well as shortfalls in the implementation of the MTSP. We have also reviewed new areas that need to be included in the MTSP. Climate change is such an area. Migration is another. It is essential to respond to a changing external environment to strengthen the rights of the child. I hope we can agree on how to adjust the focus areas to UNICEF’s new challenges.
We will consider a proposal to extend the medium-term strategic plan by two years to the end of 2011. Such an extension would bring the MTSP cycle in line with the strategic plans of UNDP and UNFPA, and it would bring the next MTSP, which would cover the period 2012 to 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals.
Another agenda item is the implementation of the modified system for allocation of regular resources for programs. I would like to stress the importance of reaching a common understanding under this agenda item in order to secure a balanced allocation of regular resources to countries in need of UNICEF support.
I am pleased, and encouraged, to see representatives of UNICEF National Committees here today. You are doing a tremendous job and I hope you will find the discussions, and the decisions, useful for your work on the national level.
In my closing remarks at the annual session in June, I thanked you for the constructive and effective way that you carried out the business of the meeting. I am confident that I can count on the same cooperative spirit at this meeting. I look forward to working closely with all of you, delegates and representatives of UNICEF National Committees, during this second regular session 2008, for the benefit of UNICEF and the world’s children.