XUNICEF News and Views

A fascinating report by a panel of distinguished economists including Kausik Basu, Joseph Stiglitz, et al, that builds on what former UNICEF ED Jim Grant championed as PQLI (Physical Quality of Life Index)

Sometimes, I must sheepishly admit, I sneak a glance at LinkedIn . It is a minor addiction. Similar, but not quite on par with the people who cannot look away from a motorway pile-up.  

 

Hearing Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Sudan's Representative, speak at the United Nations Palais last week was a sobering reminder of how history is repeating itself for children in Darfur.

In case you missed it - here are the top 10 posts viewed the past week -Hiking Bryce Canyon; UNICEF drivers; Spain's legal system. Enjoy!     A (slow) Hike in Bryce Canyon National Park (by Myra Rudin) Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 108  Drivers of UNICEF - Keeping Us Safe and Shaping the CPD? By Rob Carr Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 107  If You Love Your Next of Kin, Don’t Die in Spain: Thomas Ekvall Posted by Detlef Palm 92  This week's top ten posts - Joachim Theis Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 87  Missing You - Hatim George by Mary Sidawi Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 83  10 Questions by Venetia De Silva (Rohini) Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 79  What to do la #2 - Uber driver? by Tim Sutton Posted by Tim Sutton 76  Missing You - Reem Najjar - by Mary Sidawi Posted by Tom McDermott 71  Mutiny on the Bounty : Ken Gibbs Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 50  Rubbish - absolute rubbish : Ken Gibbs Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 50 

Photo caption: My house in little Italy: 3rd from the right On a sparkling, sunny morning I landed in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2004, my twelve years of UNICEF work came to an end (post abolishment). I did apply within the agency, wasn’t successful. I meant to be somewhere else, I guessed. I was offered a job to head an HIV/AIDS project at the Johns Hopkins University/CCP in Baltimore, USA. We operated under the Hopkins-school of Public Health.

We are what we think - Lord Buddha   There is a conviction that human beings are spiritually bestowed with positive and negative energies, which also is a study subject of psychology and neuroscience. 

Alexander Stubb is often described as one of Europe’s most influential politicians. Today, he is President of Finland and a columnist; a decade ago, he was Prime Minister, with a string of ministerial roles and time in the European Parliament behind him. In The Triangle of Power , he sets out his take on a rapidly shifting global order.

What was your last assignment with UNICEF?  Special Advisor to the Regional Director for West and Central Africa. 2003-2004, Abidjan, relocated Dakar.  How old do you feel? Closer to 100 than to 25, but inordinately fit to write and to listen to grandchildren.

Away on any journey, I always bring paints, paper and brushes hoping to indulge in plein air landscape sketching.

Carney picks former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour to be governor general

Child Alert: 20 years on, children under threat in Darfur

Reem Najjar (1957–2026) Reem Najjar, passed away on May 3, 2026. A cornerstone of UNICEF Jordan and MENARO for over three decades, Reem began her career in the mid-1980s and served until her retirement in 2017. Her career spanned operations, partnerships, and communications, but she was perhaps most respected for her leadership as Chairperson of both the Jordan and Regional Staff Associations. In these roles, she was a vital advocate for workplace dialogue and staff welfare across the Middle East. Beyond her service with UNICEF, Reem was a formidable leader in the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). She served globally as Vice President of the World YWCA and as President of the YWCA of Jordan. Reem championed vocational training, economic empowerment, and the leadership of young women. Recognized as a pioneer of women’s work, she spent her life bridging local community needs with global advocacy. Reem leaves behind a legacy of wisdom, selfless service, and a commitment to emp...

Thinking back on Mohammed—the driver who shaped our CPD and drove us with such care—my mind drifted back to John. (he and I pictured here in 1987)

The House That Cannot Unionize The United Nations asks the world to honor collective bargaining. It asks its suppliers to honor it. Then it goes home, closes the door, and tells its own staff: you do not get those rights here. Edgard Mounib Seikaly   May 04, 2026 I have spent over more than two decades inside that house. I know where the drafts come in. The architecture of managed dissent There are currently three federations serving staff associations and unions across the UN system. CCISUA, the Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations, FICSA, the Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations, and UNISERV make up that triumvirate, collectively covering staff associations and unions across the common system. Each agency has i...

Stephen Lewis, who died March 31, age 88, was a Canadian political leader, an ambassador to the UN, and a weekly panellist on CBC Radio, but he’ll be remembered most for his efforts to bring international attention to the HIV pandemic in Africa. On this episode, we hear Lewis channeling the full force of his eloquence in service of that defining goal, in excerpts from his 2005 CBC Massey Lectures, titled “Race Against Time." Listen to the podcast here

I had always understood that bureaucracy in Spain could be, shall we say, a bit elaborate. Not inefficient, just fond of its own company. That is why an entire cadre of professionals exists here: the “fixers.” Mine is of Indian origin, arrived as a teenager, and never left. He now spends his days helping well-heeled Spaniards navigate their own administration, which they prefer not to engage with themselves. Even the natives, it seems, approach their bureaucracy the way one approaches a bull: with caution, respect, and ideally having someone else standing in front.

Greetings.   I am posting this today, because 81 years ago, on May 3, 1945, Hamburg surrendered and avoided total destruction. For us in northern Germany it was the beginning of peace.

Ken in Bam In the latest New Scientist magazine, there was a lot of loose advertising material. Normally, I bin what I see as junk mail but this time, one item caught my eye.

Mr. Hatim George passed away on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Amman, Jordan after a life dedicated to humanitarian work and the service of children through his long career at UNICEF.

William Bligh and Loyalists You learn the darnedest things. . . .which had me gathering the history of ‘The Mutiny on the Bounty’ which readers might want to check before reading on from here,

  In case you missed it - here are the top 10 post viewed the past week- Moving home, Cilantro,and much much more.   Enjoy!

What to do la is an occasional musing on what one former staff member has and hasn’t been doing since leaving UNICEF. This week – Uber Driver.

Challenges we are facing Normal, a simple expression signifying a standard and a pattern across all fields in physical, behavioural and social sciences is losing its gist.

Not quite as adventurous as Detlef Palm as witnessed in his recent “Sacred Heights” story and photos, but still “venturesome”, I am reminded of an excellent visit as a (slow) hiker in Bryce Canyon National Park.

Title: Renewing the missing spirit of multilateralism Author: Stefan Priesner Publication: Hindustan Times Date: 23 April 2026 Click here for the article

Author: The New Humanitarian staff  Publication: The New Humanitarian 

Please click here Please find above the link to the recording of the recent memorial for Stephen Lewis.   If you wish to view, please copy and paste this link into your browser, or go to YouTube and search for Stephen Lewis Memorial.

This bench became my new favorite - for now - as we explored the Vrtba garden in Prague.

What IS YOUR NAME and your last assignment with UNICEF? Deputy Director DHR How old do you feel? Old - seriously not too bad.

In case you missed them, here are the top 10 posts from the last week. Budget Cuts and JPOs, a get together, favorite park benches, bush and flowers, senior staff movements and making a late run to near the top of the charts ... Cilantro?

  You are invoited to join online an event to Honour Stephen Lewis. Through the link below you can watch his memorial live online on April 26 at 11 a.m. (Eastern Time) / 6 p.m. (East Africa Time), from Toronto, Canada. https://lnkd.in/eMC2SQSr Stephen believed in the power of collective action and in the profound impact of standing together in solidarity. This gathering will be an opportunity to honour his extraordinary life, reflect on the lives he touched, and reaffirm the shared purpose that continues to guide us. The video will go live when the memorial begins. If you are not able to join live, a recording will be made available in due course and we will try and share this also through the blog.

The world is becoming ever more divided. The East and the West, the North and the South, children and adults, the big and the small, Trump supporters and Trump opponents, capitalists and communists, socialists and environmentalists, women and men, attackers and the attacked, thinkers and doers, believers and non-believers, the rulers and the ruled. Chasms everywhere. So where, exactly, is the fault line between good and evil?

Moving home after 50 years in 11 different countries It is a life that never settles. It stretches across borders, across decades, across versions of yourself that no longer recognise one another. From the outside, it can look like success: a career built and a materially good life assembled. From the inside, it can feel empty.

Ruins at Hatra, Iraq Recently, I remembered some ‘events’ at check points that we had to pass; a) To get from Amman to Baghdad and b) from Baghdad to Erbil and, of course, in the reverse direction, too Typically, to exit Erbil back to the real world (at that time), took the best part of a week – to get all the permits and so on. It meant that when my mother died in the UK, and I was in Erbil, I was unable to return to attend her funeral, which was sad for me but as all my four brothers were there, the family was well represented. With the distances that we were required to travel, it would have been easier and quicker had we been able to fly everywhere. However, the No-Fly-Zone put paid to air travel for most of the time. Only once during my time in Iraq, did I fly from Baghdad to Amman. It was on the day following the death of Princess Diana in Paris.   Given the situation, since the Check Points were manned by the Iraqis themselves, when UN staff came through, we were not...