I think your point is completely right. I mentioned the good, the bad, and the ugly. I think on the good, and on addressing this issue of inequality, what you were saying is particularly important. I think if we're going to accelerate change on education, health, on climate change, and in addressing all of these issues, the solutions will come locally and from local civil society.
This is an area I feel more optimistic about. Even in places with big challenges, one of the things that has changed most in recent years—and my background is in civil society and NGOs; I've only been in the UN a year, with a bit in government—is the huge growth of civil society. You take a country like Kenya, which has big challenges. It's a democracy but it has big challenges in governance. The big difference from 10 or 15 years ago is that civil society is really strong; the media is really strong. There are challenges but there's also an enormous amount of scrutiny. On the ground, you have micro-credit, women's empowerment programs, health clinics, and schools.
It's not just civil society, however. The other big change is the private sector, where the local corporations are making the difference. I think our job, as UNICEF, is not always to do it. Our power is that we can help bring together some of those players. You take a place like Kenya, where we're working in the north. It's very poor—it's almost like two separate countries. Wajir and places in northern Kenya are as poor as anywhere in Africa, while the rest of Kenya has seen an enormous amount of progress. We're working with Kenyan banks on credit schemes, with Safaricom on using mobile technology to transfer cash payments, and with Kenyan NGOs to make sure there are health and education improvements for the most left behind. What UNICEF can do with the United Nations is to convene these different groups, not try to do it all. I think the local link to the global is a really powerful chain. I think your point is exactly right.