The United Nations has announced that former United States Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman will be the next leader of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), whose work ranges from running massive child immunization campaigns to mobilizing urgent aid for young people in emergencies such as the recent Indian Ocean tsunami.

If approved by UNICEF's executive board, Veneman, who was nominated by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, will succeed Carol Bellamy in May as executive director of the 58-year-old organization, which employs more than 7,000 people in 157 countries.

"Children today must face issues that no child, no human being should have to confront — malnutrition and hunger; illiteracy; and disease, especially the scourge of HIV/AIDS; exploitation and suffering; wars; and natural disasters," said Veneman in a statement released to the press. "The challenges are imposing, but there is also a vast reservoir of will to solve them. I am committed to tapping into that potential."

"Ms. Veneman's extensive experience, as well as her personal commitment to UNICEF's values and mission, make her an eminently suitable person to lead UNICEF," added Annan. "She has focused strongly on new ways of feeding the hungry around the world, thus making an important contribution to the first of the eight Millennium Goals, and she has been a long and steadfast supporter of programs to advance the welfare of children both at home and abroad."

Annan also paid tribute to Bellamy's "outstanding contribution" over the past ten years to the welfare of the world's children, saying, "[Carol] has led UNICEF into the twenty-first century with exemplary skill, determination, and conviction, facing numerous challenges along the way. Her legacy must inspire us all, as I am sure it will inspire Ann, to do everything we can to make the world a safer, better place for children everywhere."