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UNITED NATIONS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday announced the appointment of Omar Abdi of Canada as the deputy executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"Mr. Abdi will succeed Geeta Rao Gupta whom the secretary-general would like to thank for her exceptional service and commitment to UNICEF," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.
The secretary-general also appointed Shanelle Hall of the United States as the deputy executive director (Field Results) as well as Maria Calivis of Italy as the deputy executive director (Programmes) of UNICEF, he added.
UNICEF was created in 1946 to provide emergency food and health care to children in countries that had been ravaged by World War II. The Fund provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.
It has evolved from an emergency fund to a development agency, committed to protecting the rights of every child to survival, protection and development. Enditem
