UNICEF Regional Director visits Lesotho

The new United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa,  Mr. Per Engebak will visit Lesotho on a familiarisation tour from February 16 to 18, the UNICEF office in the country has announced.

In a press statement, UNICEF said the visit was particularly important in view of the situation in Lesotho, particularly the humanitarian crisis. The Regional Director would also be availed reports of UNICEF's support to the Government of Lesotho, the statement said.

Mr. Engebak is scheduled to meet with the Ministers of Health; of Local Government; of Justice; of Education and; of Gender as well as visit UNICEF supported projects including the Matlameng Health Centre, the Early Childhood and Care Development (ECCD) and HIV/AIDS training programmes in schools.

Before his appointment as Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa region, Mr. Engebak served as Regional Director for the America and the Caribbean region since 1999, initially, in Bogotá, Colombia and during the last two years in Panama. A Norwegian national, he joined UNICEF in 1975 as a Project Manager in the Sudan. 

13 February 2004