Nicholas Alipui is UNICEF's Director of Programmes. He chairs the Global Network for Sustained Elimination of Iodine Deficiency. In 2000, he was UNICEF's representative in Kenya and said that "the ongoing abduction and abuse of children in Kenya is one of the most serious violations of human rights." By 2004, he had become UNICEF's representative in the Philippines and called attention to the lack of official recognition of child pornography as a problem in the country. In this capacity, he also spoke out against the military use of children in the country and denounced infant formula, calling on the country's mothers to breastfeed. In 2008, as Director of Programmes, he met with President of Madagascar Marc Ravalomanana in order to strengthen the ties between Madagascar and the United Nat