UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Arrives in PakistanIslamabad, 24 November 2008: UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde Johnson begins a four-day visit to Pakistan today. During her visit, Ms Johnson will meet senior officials of the Government of Pakistan, NGO partners, the donor community and the UNICEF country team to discuss issues affecting women and children in the country, and how programmes and collaboration can be strengthened. She will be briefed on ongoing work in relation to last month’s earthquake in Balochistan and will visit project sites to monitor UNICEF-supported activities and meet the children and women that have benefited. Ms Johnson was the Minister for International Development of Norway between 2001 and 2005 and Minister for Human Rights and Development from 1997 to 2000 and a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2001. Throughout her tenure as Minister for International Development, Ms Johnson was a strong advocate for human rights, poverty eradication, better delivery in development and the Millennium Development Goals. She has also been actively involved in the efforts to build coalitions for reform, both of the United Nations, the Bretton Woods Institutions and the bilateral aid agencies. In 1998, Ms Johnson initiated the Utstein-group, a group of key likeminded development ministers from the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Canada. She has worked closely with leaders in the G8-countries, the senior leadership of multilateral organizations, the UN, World Trade Organisation and the International Financial Institutions, and leaders of developing countries, to bring about better pro-poor development policies. "The Deputy Executive Director’s visit to Pakistan provides an excellent opportunity to benchmark our work in relation to children and women, to strengthen the bond with the Government and partners and to demonstrate our work on the ground,” said Martin Mogwanja, the UNICEF Country Representative. Ms Hilde F. Johnson last visited Pakistan as a Minister of the Norwegian Government in 2002. About UNICEF For further information, please contact:
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