Ann Veneman, U.S. Agriculture Chief, Nominated to Lead UNICEF

This is Phoebe Zimmermann with the VOA Special English
Development Report.

United Nations Secretary General
Kofi Annan has nominated Ann Veneman to head UNICEF, the U.N.
children's agency. Miz Veneman is leaving office as United States
agriculture secretary. UNICEF directors must confirm her to replace
Carol Bellamy as executive director. Miz Bellamy leaves in April
after two five-year terms.

An American has always led the agency. The United States is the
biggest financial supporter of UNICEF. But the Bush administration
and the U.N. disagree about policies on reproductive health and sex
education.

Last week, at a news conference, reporters asked Ann Veneman
about her position on these issues. She said she does not believe
that these or any other "social issues," as she called them, are
part of the job of UNICEF. She said her main concerns will be to
help children especially in the areas of education and health, and
to deal with hunger issues.

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund was
created in nineteen forty-six to help children survive after World
War Two. Today, it leads human rights campaigns, educational
programs and other efforts around the world.

Ann Veneman is a lawyer who grew up on a farm. She is an expert
on agriculture, international marketing and food aid. She resigned
as agriculture secretary to President Bush after his re-election.

Miz Veneman said she would try to help the U.N. work toward its
Millennium Development Goals. Five years ago, U.N. members agreed to
make an effort to reduce the number of hungry and extremely poor in
the world by half. The goal is to do this by two thousand fifteen.
Other goals are to stop the spread of AIDS and malaria, and to
provide education to all children.

But a new U.N. report says the Millennium Development Goals will
not be reached without more money. More than two hundred experts
prepared the report. They urge rich nations to increase their
development aid by one hundred percent over the next ten years.

The plan calls on twenty-two countries to give almost fifty
thousand million dollars more for next year than currently promised.
The United States would be asked to give about forty percent of that
additional aid.

World leaders will discuss the report at the U.N. General
Assembly meeting in September.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill
Moss. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann.