Annan invites Mubarak to attend UN session on child

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Monday received Executive Director of UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Carol Bellamy.

Emerging from the meeting, Bellamy said the meeting took up the condition of African children, the problems facing them and the role of the private sector in this respect.

She explained that among the problems which endanger the life of African children was the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS.

Mubarak pointed out to the great importance attached to children, especially with the presence of some 18 million students receiving their education in Egypt.

The UN official handed over an invitation to President Hosni Mubarak from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to attend the UN special session on children which will be held in autumn in New York.

Bellamy lauded the role played by Egypt as regards children's problems and the initiatives which were adopted by Mubarak over the past ten years. "It is important that Egypt takes part in the UN special session on world children," she added.

Asked on the conditions of African children, Bellamy said that the condition of the African child is not greatly improved.

There are exceptions in some countries such as Egypt where the infant mortality rate was slashed by 50 percent, she added, citing some progress in Egyptian education, something which was reflected in realizing relative progress in various fields concerning children.