XUNICEF News and Views

Dear colleagues, Stephen’s passing brought to mind our conversations in the early 1990s when I was drafting the Executive Director‘s speeches and Stephen was preparing his own speeches as UNICEF Special Representative.

In the mid-1990s, while I was working for EMOPS, the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia were raging. A cholera outbreak had hit a refugee camp in Sierra Leone, and I was dispatched to Freetown to support the office, conduct field missions to "hot spots," and coordinate with government and donors. After a series of bush flights and helicopter hops, I found myself in Kenema—a diamond-mining town where rebels and government forces fought bitterly for control of the mines. Just outside town was a camp holding thousands of Liberians who had fled their own civil war, only to find themselves trapped in a new one. I was there with a senior EMOPS colleague and a cholera expert from the CDC. As we met with the camp leaders to discuss the outbreak, the atmosphere was chaotic. Suddenly, one of the elder leaders froze, looked at me, and shouted,   "Robert Carr! Robert Carr!" He made a distinct Liberian gesture—pointing his index finger at his eye and then at me:   “I wanna s...

What IS YOUR NAME and your last assignment with UNICEF? Olalekan Ajia. Communication for Development Specialist, UNICEF Nigeria

What IS YOUR NAME and your last assignment with UNICEF? Nuzhat Shahzadi I was heading UNICEF-Kiribati and the UN Joint Presence Office, UNICEF Pacific (under EAPRO). I was based in Tarawa, Kiribati for almost 4 years. The isolation was too much so I decided to quit. HR termed it as "early retirement."

UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe, Etona Ekole, posted this about XUNICEF reunion on LINKED IN (reproduced here for those not on LINKEDIN):

This in my view, is a perfect park bench. Look at that view!   A favorite spot to pause when walking our dog, this park bench is in Queen Elizabeth Park just north of Wellington in New Zealand. Hard to imagine that more than 80 years ago this area was the home to more than 16,000 United States Marines training to retake Islands across the Pacific in the Second World War. Sadly 10 Marines died on the beach in front of this bench during a beach landing drill. Ten of the more than 7500 Marines who were killed in the Pacific during that War.

So it was that following some work in Nepal in 1979, where I ran into a number of VSO volunteers, that I felt compelled to visit the Head Office of VSO in London on my return to discuss my observations.

I join many former UNICEF staff members in expressing profound sorrow at the passing of Stephen Lewis - a friend, colleague, mentor, and fellow Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. I first learned about Stephen Lewis in the 1980s when he was the Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations. He was a fervent multilateralist and a staunch believer in the principles and ideals of the United Nations. I recall reading a memorable speech he delivered in defense of the UN, in which he said that even if the rest of the UN were useless - which, of course, it was not - the actions and achievements of UNICEF alone would justify its raison d'être.   There was tremendous mutual admiration between Lewis and the then UNICEF Executive Director, James Grant, and Deputy Executive Director, Richard Jolly. Whenever UNICEF needed an inspiring speaker to support its advocacy for child survival and development, Grant and Jolly often turned to Ambassador Lewis. Jolly once remarked that Stephen Lewis was po...

(dp/New York/Bonn) 1 April 2026 . In a landmark decision, the UN General Assembly has determined that the next Secretary-General shall be a non-binary person, thereby stepping around a long-standing stalemate.

  What IS YOUR NAME  and your last assignment with UNICEF? Horst Max Cerni, Senior Public Affairs Officer, NY HQ

One year ago today, I retired. At least, that is what the paperwork said.

“Today, I join Canadians in mourning the loss of Stephen Lewis, a pillar of compassionate leadership in Canadian democracy and a renowned global champion for human rights and multilateralism."

Today, 31 March 2026, I step down as Chief Editor of News & Views — eight years after sending out the first newsletter in March 2018. That first edition was a simple quarterly newsletter, sent via email. A small team of volunteers soon joined, and by early 2019, we had moved to publishing on the web. News & Views grew rapidly from there, both in member contributions and our global readership. From major quarterlies and milestones like UNICEF@75 to our current daily blog format, we have continued to grow and change. We recently passed one million articles read — a remarkable achievement for a voluntary publication and a testament to our faithful contributors and readers. None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary commitment of our volunteer editors. From the beginning we have viewed News & Views as a community publication, written not by publishers or editors, but by our members. I am proud of what the publication has become, and prouder still of t...

Today, 31 March 2026, marks a turning point in the life of this publication. After eight years, the founding editorial team hands over to a new team of volunteers, who take charge starting tomorrow, 1 April. We do not take this moment lightly. Last December, it seemed possible that News & Views might simply close its doors at the end of March. That it will not is entirely due to several members of our community who stepped forward, unprompted, to keep it alive. We are more grateful than we can easily say. The new team will be introducing themselves to readers in due course. Please give them a warm welcome — and give them your full support with the same energy, commitment, and goodwill you have shown this publication over eight years. To our readers and contributors: thank you. The articles, photographs, personal stories, and comments you have shared are what made News & Views matter — what kept more than a thousand former colleagues, scattered across a hundred countries, in gen...

What IS YOUR NAME and your last assignment with UNICEF? Jimmy Kolker, NYHQ, Head of AIDS section in Programmes 2007-11

The children of UNICEF are leading this world!  Avi Lewis is the son of former UNICEF Deputy Executive Director and visionary, Stephen Lewis.  Avi is now leading Canada's New Democratic Party.

What was your last assignment with UNICEF? Abdifatah Osman Hussein – Former Programme Specialist with UNICEF (2015– 2024) (The picture is from Bentiu - S SUDAN in 2020 when I was on a mission. - Emergency operation management)

Among the most popular events that draw tourists to Spain are the Holy Week processions taking place in practically every town. Most famous are the ones in Andalucia (Seville etc), with many big floats and bands. It's not just a religious ceremonial happening, but also a social and cultural and, of course, touristy one.

(Saddam Hussein's abandoned palace on Gara mountain in Northern Iraq  source ) What was the most impactful project you ever worked on at UNICEF? Mine is easy to recall. It was a WASH project that diverted water from one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces back to the villagers from whom it had been stolen.

Dear colleagues Yesterday I sent out an email request to XUNICEF staff to share your response to 10 QUESTIONS.

During a downpour in Sulawesi What was your last assignment with UNICEF? Chief of child protection in India.

 

A couple of months ago, I saw that Robert Grandcourt, who as you may remember worked for UNICEF as head of Africa section many years ago, had written a very interesting book called Beyond Horizon. 

I am enjoying retirement immensely.   Not having deadlines looming is lovely.   

  Pour la version française, voir ci-dessous  For the French version, please see below UNJSPF News - March 2026 Join our next Pension Townhall sessions. Check the dedicated  Pension Townhall page  for more information.

Here it is :  as of this Friday  27th March - XUNICEF has: Over 10,000 posts Over 7700 comments Over 1 MILLION HITS (today 555 and yesterday 497) 

Project Maven's Cheery Seal Features Smiling Robots of War* On 19 March I posted my article, How AI and Distance Killed the Children at Al Minab . My focus then was on the moral chasm that opens when killing is automated and carried out at a distance — the way technology allows those who give the orders, or push the button, to remain untouched by what happens at the other end.  I also wrote about the absence of the fail-safe systems of the past - human spotters who could halt attacks on civilians.

This project explores the tradition of Armenian carpet weaving as a living connection between past and future. In Armenian culture, carpets are far more than decorative objects. They represent continuity, memory, and identity, providing both spiritual meaning and material comfort across generations.

Here some pictures of trees which I've taken while golfing at the Qutab Golf Course in Delhi.  I have been fascinated by the vibrant colors of spring among these beautiful trees and wished to share some pictures with our readers. Regards

We talk constantly about decolonising aid. About moving away from Northern-led, extractive development models. About South-South solidarity. About trusting communities and shifting power. It fills our conferences, our theories of change, our funding frameworks.

An estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns, according to new estimates released today. Most of these deaths are preventable with proven, low-cost interventions and access to quality health care.

We recently had our tenth Reunion of UNICEF India Retirees at Udaipur, Rajasthan, from 8 to 12 February 2026. 

I want to thank you for the thoughtful contributions you’ve shared over the past month. From the burning humanitarian issues to your personal reflections on travel, art, and our reunions, the variety ensures there is something here for everyone.

Our goal of development has skyrocketed in recent decades contributing to the welfare of human beings globally. The outcomes can be seen in extending life expectancy at birth, minimising communicable diseases, and many more positive results.

Slideshow We have received 514 photos for our album — a wonderful response! From this rich collection, we have curated a selection for the slideshow below.  Slideshows on Blogger can be unreliable and may not start automatically. If the slides do not move automatically, be sure to click the right arrow to browse through the collection. There are 54 slides in all.

Within the space of two days this week, US juries in two separate states delivered verdicts that together mark a watershed in the legal protection of children from social media harm. The New Mexico jury's $375 million ruling against Meta was followed within 24 hours by a California jury finding both Meta and Google's YouTube negligent.  With TikTok and Snap having already settled out of court, all four of the dominant social media platforms consumed by children now face legal accountability in the United States — a precedent with implications far beyond these cases.  Potentially hundreds more such cases may now go forward seeking huge settlements or fines against social media.  Tom

This verdict is more than a legal milestone for children and families in the US — it is the first formal acknowledgement by a US jury that a social media giant knowingly put profit ahead of child safety, and that such a choice carries consequences. With more than 40 state attorneys general pursuing similar claims, the New Mexico verdict transforms what was once a argument about the reputation of Meta and other online giants into a legal one: that tech platforms cannot hide behind Section 230 when their own algorithms are the instrument of harm.  Tom

    UNICEF staff – in former years – came with a range of skills befitting their respective roles.  Health staff often were recruited from the medical profession – or perhaps from the local barbers’ shop; nutrition staff sometimes had experience within their family’s kitchen.  Communication staff were normally good at writing fiction and, “Yes, you guessed it”: WASH staff knew something about how water behaves – like when you spill it, it takes forever to dry up.

A member shared a link to this report. As it was on LINKEDIN, we have had a look and have shared the direct link for XUNICEF staff not on LINKEDIN.  While Jeffrey Sachs can be controversial, it is worth the read.  This work of SDSN is the result of collaboration and research of 1000s of acadmic institutions and partnerships.

On Sunday, March 22nd, our former colleague Dorothy Schleimer celebrated her 97th birthday.

UNICEF report on the uneven progress made in the Region on children's social indicators: Link here.

I landed in Jakarta Indonesia, after almost 20 hours of flight from Lagos Nigeria, it was my first trip to the city of Jakarta and a very challenging trip as I barely had sufficient time to plan for the trip itself( that’s a story for another day). I had assumed my journey ends in the capital city, but I was wrong, Indeed it was only half  of the journey. I was met on arrival by the highly efficient UNICEF protocol team who handed me the local flight tickets for two more flights to Medan and finally a dingy once in a week flight to Banda Aceh.

The recent humanitarian publication addressed the contentious issue of UN salary differences between national and international staff. It would appear that the issue of displacement of international staff is overlooked in the analysis…..much of the past arguments have been overlooked in this article.  Sharing with my ex unicef colleagues as it further contributes to the discussion of UN reform. UN Pay Should Be Based on Merit, Not Passport Shivonne Logan  The New Humanitarian 19 March 2026  Click here for the article   Summary The author, a Yale public policy graduate student, argues that the UN and INGOs must use the current wave of institutional reform — including the UN80 initiative — to dismantle colonial-era salary structures that systematically undervalue national staff.  Drawing on her own experience in Amman, Logan describes a Jordanian colleague with superior qualifications who earned roughly half her remuneration package solely because she held the str...

From: Message from the Comptroller < MessagefromtheComptroller@unicef.org > Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2026 1:43 PM Subject: Co-location of United Nations Agencies at UNICEF House Dear Colleagues, I am pleased to share with you that UNICEF House ( 3 United Nations Plaza ) now hosts several United Nations agencies as part of the ongoing Headquarters Space Optimization initiative. This co-location is part of the DFAM Space Optimization Initiative, following the consolidation of all New York Headquarters staff into UNICEF House after the expiration of the 633 Third Avenue lease and the implementation of FFI. The approach enables cost-sharing with other UN agencies and supports greater operational efficiency. Co-located Agencies The following agencies have joined us through signed lease agreements: Co-located Agencies The following agencies have joined us through signed lease agreements: Agency Location No. of Staff Workplace ...

 

Stephanie Nolen, The New York Times , 16 March 2026 Click here for the article Additional analysis: Asia Russell, Health GAP (Global Access Project) , 16 March 2026 Click here for the Health GAP analysis Summary For  1.3 million people living with HIV in Zambia, the question of whether the United States will continue its PEPFAR-funded HIV treatment programme has become a matter of immediate survival. A leaked draft memorandum prepared by the US State Department's Africa Bureau for Secretary of State Marco Rubio reveals that the Trump administration is considering withholding lifesaving HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria assistance from Zambia as early as May 2026 unless the Zambian government signs a deal granting American companies preferential access to the country's copper, cobalt, and lithium deposits. The document states that the United States “will only secure our priorities by demonstrating willingness to publicly take support away from Zambia on a massive scale.” ...

With a new team of editors being formed, we would like to streamline how members can submit their own articles for posting. It is easier than you think. Here is what you need to do.

Note: This post expands on my previous article " Oil Crisis Today, Food Crisis Tomorrow "  See also ¨A War's Hidden Price" 'explainer video' at bottom of the article. A severely malnourished boy in Hajjah, Yemen. (Hani Mohammed/Associated Press) The Chain — gas, fertiliser, food prices, malnourished children The connection between a missile strike on a Qatari gas plant and a severely malnourished child may not be immediately obvious to many observers of the Iran war. Yet there is a direct chain of cause and effect that could lead, later this year, to a major crisis in child nutrition across Asia and Africa. To understand why the effective closure of a narrow strait threatens the food security of billions, it is necessary to understand the invisible architecture upon which modern agriculture depends — combining nitrogen from the atmosphere with hydrogen from natural gas to produce ammonia, the base from which all synthetic nitrogen fertilisers are created. Wit...