XUNICEF News and Views

These past 2 weeks my wife and I visited Scotland and Wales for the first time. My watchful eye caught many new favorite park benches.

Recent Reader Comments Continously updated

Twenty Years Later: Has Paul Collier’s Most Uncomfortable Finding Been Conveniently Forgotten?

Doesnt this resonate with the exchanges on our XUNICEF Blog regarding leadership and various other concerns  that were expressed in the different comments about UNICEF and other UN development agencies ?

A fascinating account of how FIFA World Cup 2026's top football stars Messi and Yamal first connected thanks to a UNICEF-linked lottery!

This is the second in the series of rewritten articles I am refreshing in the lead up to UNICEF@80. If the title misled you into expecting some juicy gossip about Maurice Pate and an actress, I am sorry to disappoint you. Instead, the article simply introduces one more key figure who played a significant role in the early days of UNICEF. The earlier version of this article appeared in News & Views on April 29, 2021. As always, I will appreciate any additions, corrections, or comments from readers. Tom An Actress Takes Maurice Fishing at Lake Success Tom McDermott Helenka Few people in UNICEF or XUNICEF today would recognize (or even pronounce) the name Helenka Adamowska Pantaleoni. Yet throughout UNICEF's turbulent early years, Helenka played crucial roles in shaping the organization's development and in managing often-rocky relations with the U.S. government, which remained skeptical of proposals for creation of a UN agency for children. While Helenka...

I have been following the FIFA World Cup matches for five weeks, and can’t help but be amazed

Some useful information for retiring UNICEF staff. Wonder if Personnel, or DHR or DPC, convey something like that in their separation letters?

To Bidet, or Not to Bidet? That is the Question!

Dear Reader, Many of you will recall that in the lead-up to UNICEF's 75 Anniversary in 2021, News & Views published a series of quarterlies providing glimpses of UNICEF's first 25 year s, second 25 years , and the 25 years up to 2021 .

I received this from a lifelong friend and university cohort. As I am also nearing my 90s I find that much of what he feels and expresses mirrors my own thoughts. The only difference between us is that I have not found solace in talking to a machine but rather to continuing to be interested and involved with numerous activities,including sports. In fact, I have argued with him this point as I have no intention to let a machine or virtual entity to dominate my persona. I am perfectly content to simply use my laptop and iPad to communiate with all my contacts, without belonging to any social media. I use both machines for some info searches, the latest news or sports results, and general exchanges with contacts on mutually interesting subjects.

  Top 10 Posts from the last week.

Since the United States is celebrating its 250th Anniversary, it seems an appropriate moment to remember my good American experiences.

Tara Handpump This article is not to track the creation and development of the Tara Handpump itself but looks at why it became so popular, so quickly.

 "When my husband and I were writing our Wills, we knew UNICEF had to be included.

My fascination with trees grows.

A fitting response to Trillionaire Elon Musk by Nick Kristof of the NY Times. U.S.A.I.D. Cuts Killed People. That’s the Truth.

Japanese Macaque along a busy hiking trail This is the final part of my 4-part blog series on wildlife photography in Japan. After visiting some of Japan’s wildest peninsulas and islands in part 3, I return to the Japanese mainland to look at a transformation unfolding in the countryside as the population ages and shrinks.

Graça Machel pays tribute to her friend and colleague, Stephen Lewis, remembering him as a relentless advocate for children in conflict zones and a fierce warrior against HIV & AIDS in Africa.

Sooner or later, it was bound to happen.  Credibility would evaporate. Trust would be lost. And aid would be cut. We all knew it couldn't go on forever. Except our leaders. Because, if they had known, they would have done something about it, or not?

  This week's top ten posts  In case you missed it - here are the top 10 posts viewed the past week.   'Shantha Takes on Toyota --Toyota Blinks' by Tom McDermott Posted by Tom McDermott 115  Bears, Seabirds and Whales: Japan’s Wild Edges. By Joachim Theis Posted by Joachim Theis 108  A UN Secretary-General who Defied the US – and Suffered a Backlash (shared by Robert Cohen) Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 107  Ro-meow and Juliet: Cat steals show during tragic ballet finale (shared by Fouad Kronfol) Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 105  New US funds begin to trickle in - US Pledges Over $1 Billion to UNICEF and WFP by Tom McDermott Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 102  Former UNICEF colleague takes on the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak, by Tom McDermott Posted by Tom McDermott 91  I Israeli envoy and UN official clash at hearing on children in conflict Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 86  The Development Strategist (3) - Philanthropically Minded: Detlef Palm Poste...

"She is gone, my only rose..." mother of Raghad By Tom McDermott Reading the news often brings unexpected connections between the statistics in UN reports and real people.  The news of the death of Raghad Ashour on Monday in Gaza suddenly made real the numbers in the report issued the following day by the UN Indpendent Commission of Inquiry - see "About that shouting match". Raghad was killed by an Israeli drone in Gaza on Monday morning while on her way to school to prepare for her final exams. She is now among the 1,011 Palestinians killed and at least 266 children killed since the ceasefire of last October.   UNICEF Palestine was among many mourning her death: "We are devastated by the killing of Raghad, 17, a UNICEF Youth Champion, on her way to sit her high school exam in Gaza." Who was Raghad?   - There is something in the details of Raghad's life that makes her death especially hard to absorb. Her father had been killed in an Israeli strike wh...

As we mark the Day of Ashura(varies by location according to moon phase), we wanted to send a warm note to our XUNICEF community.

Image: Magnifique FIFA’s Double Standard A beacon abroad, darkness at home: FIFA’s questionable practices. Manuel Manrique Castro Jun 24, 2026

Title: Migration: a reality, not an emergency Author: The Lancet Migration European Regional Hub Publication: The Lancet Date: 19 June 2026

If I get dementia…

Title: The Overlooked Link Between Disaster Response at Home and U.S. Power Abroad Author: Leonardo Martinez-Diaz Publication: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Date: 18 June 2026

Title: Afghanistan’s Madrasa System under the Taliban Author: Afghanistan Human Rights Center Publication: Afghanistan Human Rights Center Date: 27 January 2025

The Genocide Report that Followed Four Days Later Robert Cohen wrote to several of us on Saturday morning asking if we could locate the video of a confrontation that had erupted the previous day (Friday) at the UN meeting marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Robert included a link to a Reuters report but wanted the visual record. The video from UN Web TV is worth watching (below or here ). At the meeting, Israel's ambassador Danny Danon launched a furious public attack on Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, demanding her resignation after her office blacklisted Israel for alleged sexual abuses for the first time. "You caved to the secretary-general's obsession with targeting Israel," Danon told her. Vanessa Frazier — Malta's former UN ambassador and now the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, who had herself com...

We are enjoying retirement and have been exploring amazing corners of Albania (our first base in our first step of retirement. )  Lake Ohrid is an amazing lake on the border shared by Albania and North Macedonia.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan speaks at a ceremony to unveil the official portrait of his predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Title: A UN Secretary-General who Defied the US – and Suffered a Backlash Author: Thalif Deen Publication: Inter Press Service (via Global Issues) Date: 22 June 2026

Title: Israeli envoy and UN official clash at hearing on children in conflict Author: Reuters (uncredited staff report) Publication: Reuters Date: 19 June 2026

Title: Pakistan and Afghanistan: a call for health diplomacy and restraint Author: Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Fawad Akbari, Shabina Raza, Suraya Dalil Publication: The Lancet Date: June 19, 2026

Julien Harneis in conversation at Chatham House, November 2024. Image: Chatham House We always want to congratulate a colleague when we learn of their appointment to a senior post. In this case however, we might temper our good wishes with the thought that the new job is one few people would want, and without doubt among the world's toughest. On the other hand, for the past 30 years Julien Harneis seems to have moved from one tough post to another. His latest challenge however is likely to be "off the charts" in terms of difficulty.