The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has agreed to provide Uganda with 82.8 million U.S. dollars to improve the welfare of six million children in the east African country, according to a local press report on Friday.

An agreement to this effect was singed in Kampala on Wednesday by UNICEF country representative Martin Mogwanja and Ugandan Financial Minister Ezra Suruma.

The UNICEF representative said the 2006-2010 program would first target 3.3 million children in Uganda's 19 districts where health, education and safe water access are lower than average.

He said the program would focus on child survival and development, infant, child and maternal mortality, protecting the vulnerable, addressing violence, exploitation, abuse, discrimination and child neglect.

He added that the population focus included the 935,000 children living in the internally displaced persons camps in war- torn areas.

Source: Xinhua