The United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) has praised Egypt's achievements in protecting child rights, and efforts undertaken by the government to develop the country's health and education domains, reported ArabicNews.com.
UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, was quoted by the news service as saying that infant and child mortality rate in Egypt dropped by 50 percent during the last ten years.
He said that in 2000, 95 percent of Egyptian children were vaccinated and, elementary school enrollment increased from 87 percent in academic year 1990-91 to 94 percent in the year 1998.
"Gender gap in elementary education had dropped from 12 percent to five percent in the past five years," the UNICEF official said.
"Egypt has a wealth of information and technical know-how that can help UNICEF in its activities in Egypt and promote the UNICEF-Egypt dialogue," he noted.
Meanwhile, the UN organization will hold in September the '2001 UN Special Session on Children' in New York with the participation of more than 2,000 government and NGO representatives.
According to a press release published in the organization's website, the meeting will assess global progress on goals set at the groundbreaking 1990 World Summit for Children.
Participants, said the press release, will embrace a new agenda for improving the survival, health, education, development and protection of children -- Albawaba.com
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