Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday selected U.S. foreign policy expert Tony Lake, who was an adviser to President Barack Obama, as his candidate to head UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency.

UNICEF’s board must approve the selection, and is expected to do so.

Lake, 70, would replace Ann Veneman, a former U.S. secretary of agriculture who was appointed by former President George W. Bush. She announced in late December that she would not seek a second five-year term as UNICEF’s executive director. Her term ends April 30.

The head of UNICEF has always been an American, largely because the United States is the largest contributor to the agency, which is active in 190 countries.

Ban told a news conference that Lake “brings with him a wealth of experience after a long and distinguished career with the United States government.”

He thanked Veneman “for her immense dedication, energy and determination to improve the lives of children around the world” and said “she leaves behind an organization well-equipped for the enormous challenges ahead.”

Last week I made my eleventh visit to Chad, one of the most compelling and impoverished countries in the world. Life is harsh for the people of Chad and it is especially precarious for the children. In the capitol of Ndjamena, I met four-year-old Clako Ali, who lives with her grandmother in one of Ndjamena’s teeming, squalid alleyways. The child has a smile I won’t forget. Her grandmother described a happy, active little girl who is smart; Clako would do well in school.

But last October, polio stalked the streets and alleyways of Ndjamena and found little Clako in their one room hut. Today her legs are withered and useless—without bracing and crutches she will never stand or walk.

Her grandmother worries about the future. How can Clako attend school, and as time passes, how will she assume a woman’s tasks—fetching water, wood, cooking, farming and caring for children. And anyway, what man would ever want to marry Clako Ali?

I was with UNICEF in a vaccination campaign to fight a disease I know too well. My own son, adopted from India, is paraplegic because of polio. When I first brought him home to the United States, it was hard to find a doctor who had any experience with polio because we have had the vaccine since 1955. Polio disappeared from the developed world and our consciousness decades ago.

Today, it exists only in the poorest countries on earth, because the world does not care enough about its most vulnerable children.

Polio is the shameful legacy of destitution and global indifference.

-Mia Farrow

Today UNICEF has a post looking at an oft-overlooked yet important problem in Haiti– a lack of proper sanitation and needed latrines. You can read UNICEF’s report on this front here, and check out the video below:

UN official Mark Bowden claims that accusations of aid diversions in to the Shabab– who the US government has labeled a terrorist group– are unfounded. The US for its part contends that aid is indeed being diverted, leaving the Shabab to blame for Somalis not getting the aid they need.

You’ll recall that early last month that threats from the Shabab proved to be a serious impediment to the World Food Programme who then had to implement a partial suspension of food distribution in much of southern Somalia.

We’ll keep you posted on any developments.

The forum was the first of many US regional “Conversation Gatherings” leading up to the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization happening this October in Cape Town, South Africa. The Lausanne Congress was first organized in 1974 by Rev. Billy Graham and Dr. John Stott, in Lausanne, Switzerland. This year’s Congress in Cape Town—held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance—will bring together 4,000 leaders from more than 200 countries to confront the critical issues of our time: other world faiths, poverty, and HIV/AIDS among others—as they relate to the future of the Church and world evangelization.

In our lead-up conversation to Cape Town this morning, ONE partners World Vision and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) called for greater action to help beat back senseless poverty and disease.

Galen Carey, NAE’s Director of Government Affairs, emphasized the particular need to take action around the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). “2010 is a critical year for the MDGs, and one way to get involved is through Micah Challenge’s 10.10.10 campaign.”

World Vision’s Bob Zachritz noted important success stories, such as PEPFAR and its work against global AIDS. Calling for greater community and partnership, Zachritz noted that “the US government cannot beat AIDS alone. Bill Gates cannot beat AIDS alone. Nor can the Church beat AIDS alone. We have to creatively work together.”

Find out even more about the Lausanne Congress in Cape Town—including ways that you can participate—on their website.

Here are a few highlights from our lunchtime Q&A:

• So what’s the UN’s role in Haiti? To act as a central coordinator—for all major UN agencies (including UNICEF and World Food Programme), the International Federation of Red and Red Crescent, as well as global NGOs and countries around the world. To help coordinate the humanitarian assistance, the UN agencies and other standing invitees (World Bank, InterAction) work together in clusters (distinct teams with clear responsibilities), making sure that information on the ground gets shared, needs are being met, areas aren’t getting missed and duplication isn’t an issue.
• Sir John reminded us that the scale of the emergency is huge—which means you need a huge humanitarian response. And what a response he’s seen. He said in all the years he’s been doing this type of work, he’s not sure he’s ever witnessed such a large mobilization effort. He said everyone is of course frustrated at how long things take, but this is a classic relief situation: a massive effort that takes some time.
• Logistically, things are turning a corner. Aid is getting out more rapidly—a half a million people have been given food, there’s greater access to water, and search and rescue is winding down. At least 5 field hospitals are up and running, and the port should be ready to go in the next few days. The banking system has collapsed, but a few cash points should be up and limping by today. Airport traffic is also flowing more smoothly. While the US is in control of logistics at the airport, the UN is helping to advise and prioritize flights in and out, with the top priority at the moment going to medical relief teams.
• Aid workers are making the best with what’s available. There’s a massive shortage of office space, so people are finding a nook wherever they can. In many cases, they’re sleeping like sardines on the floor or the ground outside. There is some food and water available and no showers. Workers are mostly just living on what they’ve brought with them.
• Sir John said that while the UN is focused on immediate relief at the moment, they’re hoping to start thinking more long-term, beginning with a cash-for-work program. People would get paid to help clear rubble, provide basic services and repairs, start building houses. He said this is something the UN has done before, but they’d like to do it on an even greater scale. He said they’re committed to making sure that we turn this dreadful disaster into something better, even more sustainable for Haiti.

To listen to the full news briefing, check out this post from the UN Dispatch and look for the video player at the bottom.

Despite heavy damages to its own offices in Port-au-Prince UNICEF is ready to provide immediate support to the victims of the unfolding humanitarian crisis following the earthquake that hit Haiti today.

In coordination with all other UN agencies present on the ground, UNICEF will provide supplies to allow access to adequate sanitation, safe water and basic health care.

UNICEF is also preparing materials and staff so that children, tremendously vulnerable during natural catastrophes, are protected. UNICEF materials and advisors will assist so that children are able to continue learning and studying, and be provided safe recreation areas while their caretakers turn to rebuilding their lives.

For useful background on Haiti and UNICEF’s past relief efforts in the country, read this. And be sure to follow their excellent FieldNotes blog for up-to-the-minute reports on what they’re seeing.

You can read more on this story here.

David Banda is a health extension worker who—thanks to the project—now uses his mobile phone to record and transmit nutrition information on the 70 or more under-five children he monitors every month.

“I have no other means of sending the information,” he said. “We have no fax machine in this remote village.”

Before the RapidSMS system was introduced, Banda used to cycle 19 miles every month to deliver the completed surveillance questionnaires to the district health office, and he would receive no feedback. In his 20-year career, he never imagined the day would come when data transmission would be done at the click of a button.

When his health center was chosen to be part of the RapidSMS pilot, Banda and his fellow surveillance assistants were trained on-site for about three hours on how to register and send the information. A poster and sheet-card containing instructions was also provided for quick reference.