On Monday, 3 June, the Executive Board opened its annual session for 2002 with a presentation by Executive Director Carol Bellamy on the recent General Assembly Special Session on Children.

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• Tues. 4 June • Wed. 5 June • Thurs. 6 June • UNICEF's Executive board and past meetings

After watching a short video on the Special Session, Board members congratulated UNICEF on the success of the event, which they said was especially notable because of the lively and forceful participation of young people.

Many speakers stressed the importance of meeting the commitments of "A World Fit for Children", the final document adopted at the end of the session. Ms. Bellamy also reminded delegations about "A World Fit for Us", the report adopted by the Children's Forum which preceeded the formal General Assembly session. Continuing the theme of child participation, delegations discussed the need to build on the sucess of the "Say Yes for Children" campaign and the Global Movement for Children. The representative of the Republic of Korea cited as an example the FIFA World Cup, now taking place in her country and Japan and which is dedicated to children.

Addressing the Executive Board on Monday morning was Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, the Secretary-General's High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, who discussed the importance of mainstreaming the Brussels Declaration of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in the follow-up to the Special Session on Children.

In his opening remarks, Amb. Andres Franco (Colombia), President of the Executive Board, outlined the major themes on the agenda for the week-long session, which includes the annual report of the Executive Director as well as reports on field trips to Brazil and Viet Nam made by Executive Board members this spring. Read Amb. Franco's remarks

Introducing her annual report to the Board, the Executive Director highlighted achievements and constraints faced ny UNICEF in 2001. She cited in particular continuing efforts, with WHO and a range of partners, to eradicate polio, and relief and reconstruction activities in Afghanistan and in other countries where there is less media attention, especially in Africa. She said that one of the major concerns for UNICEF is the growing imbalance between regular resources - contributions to UNICEF's general budget - and other resources, which are contributions earmarked for specific activities, including emergencies. Carol Bellamy's Bio

On Tuesday, UNICEF's country programmes in Eastern and Southern Africa, the Americas and Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East and North Africa were the focus of discussion as the Executive Board concluded the second day of its annual session for 2002. The Board heard presentations by the UNICEF Regional Directors from those regions on mid-term reviews and evaluations of country programmes that took place in 2001. A mid-term review takes place halfway through a country programme cycle (normally 5 years) and offers UNICEF and its partner Governments an opportunity to evaluate the progress made and adjust the country programme as needed. UNICEF periodically undertakes evaluations of different aspects of its programme cooperation, either in individual countries or on a regional basis. The Executive Board discusses summaries of these reviews each year, focusing on results achieved, lessons learned and the need for any adjustments in the concerned country programmes.

Among the country programmes discussed on Tuesday were those in Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Djibouti. The evaluations conducted in 2001 included an assessment of the evolution, role and impact of partnerships and alliances in UNICEF programming, both in Latin America and the Caribbean and specifically in Guatemala; and evaluationsof the Dinajpur Safe Motherhood Initiative for reducing maternal mortality in Bangladesh and of a community education project in Egypt.

Wednesday, 5 June - The Executive Board continued its discussion of mid-term reviews and evaluations of UNICEF country programmes as it concluded the third day of its five-day annual session of 2002. A mid-term review takes place halfway through a country programme cycle (normally 5 years) and offers UNICEF and its partner Governments an opportunity to evaluate the progress made and adjust the country programme as needed. UNICEF periodically undertakes evaluations of different aspects of its programme cooperation, either in individual countries or on a regional basis. The Executive Board discusses summaries of these reviews each year, focusing on results achieved, lessons learned and the need for any adjustments in the concerned country programmes.

The UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic States presented a summary report of some of the more than 100 surveys, studies, assessments and evaluations carried out in the region in 2001. These included evaluations of primary health care reform in the Republic of Moldova, the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, psychosocial interventions in schools affected by the earthquake in Turkey and the mine awareness education programme in Kosovo.

He also discussed the eighth Regional Monitoring (MONEE) Report, "A Decade of Transition", which was published in 2001. The report reviews the momentous changes in the 27 countries of the region and the effects of transition on children, women and families. Building on the research carried out by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, the report analyses the changes in household incomes, health status, education and children in public care, and reviews policy implications. Once again, the report reconfirms that although there has been considerable positive change during the decade, the transition leaves many families and children worse off than before. (Read a copy of the report in pdf)

The UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa discussed the mid-term review for the Benin country programme as well as evaluations of a regional project to monitor children's learning achievements, decentralization in Chad, immunization programmes in the Gambia and Sierra Leone, and a regional study on child trafficking.

Also on Wednesday, the Executive Board began a discussion of the evaluation function within UNICEF, in the context of the organization's medium-term strategic plan for 2002-2005. The evaluation function is both a mechanism for oversight in country, regional and headquarters offices and an instrument for organizational learning through the identification of lessons and good practices.

On Thursday, 6 June, the Executive Board continued its five-day annual session with a discussion of recent field visits to Brazil and Viet Nam by Executive Board members, followed by an address by the Chairperson of UNICEF's Global Staff Association.

In April 2002, teams of Executive Board members visited Brazil and Viet Nam to visit UNICEF projects, meet government and other counterparts and gain an overall understanding of UNICEF cooperation in those countries. The visit to Viet Nam was marked by a joint segment with the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund, which focused on the work of the United Nations country team as a whole. The Honourable Penelope Bickles, Minister for Social Development of Trinidad and Tobago, presented the report on the visit to Brazil on behalf of the team. Ambassador Andres Franco of Colombia, President of the Executive Board, presented the report on the trip to Viet Nam, including the joint segment.

Keeping with a long-standing tradition, Rita Riordan, President of the UNICEF Global Staff Association, addressed the Executive Board about the concerns of staff around the world. She congratulated Executive Director Carol Bellamy on the success of the recent General Assembly Special Session on Children, to which staff had contributed much time and effort. Among the issues she highlighted were staff safety and security, HIV/AIDS in the work place and career development.