It has struck me in awe how the simple idea of being “Man for Others” from my small world in the eastern corridor of the Philippines, has brought me to the bigger stage where I can contribute as a UNV volunteer. Read

The Sangre Grande hospital has become the new home of Doctor Clement Onuoha, a UNV volunteer who believes volunteering makes a difference in development. Read

“Midwife Bahga, I will never forget how I have suffered and still do," said 13-year old Mehad, “I underwent female genital mutilation (FGM) at your hands.”  Addressing an awareness-raising session at a girls’ school, Midwife Bahga confessed, “I did not do this out of ill will, but out of ignorance.”  FGM is a fundamental violation of human rights that causes severe pain, trauma, sexual dysfunction, birth and other health complications.  Around 89% of women in the Sudan are affected by FGM. Read

... (VSO) and United Nations volunteers (UNV). They have different views, undergo different trends and are differently appreciated by government officials. ... Read

International health volunteers make a small yet significant contribution in sub-Saharan Africa, according to research published in the online open access journal Human Resources for Health. Medical volunteer numbers remain low, and resources are shifting to local capacity building initiatives. Read

Kamenge, Burundi: UNV volunteers at the Roi Khaled Hospital in Kamenge, north of Bujumbura, have been working for days on renovating one of four paediatric wards at the hospital. Including everything from overhauling the sanitation facilities to repairing mosquito nets and crumbling walls, as well as organizing donations of medicine. Read

Since the HI virus was first recognized in 1981, it has infected 65 million and killed more than 25 million people worldwide. Today, 38.6 million people live with HIV/AIDS, a vast majority of whom are not aware of it. Every day, 13,000 people are infected and 8,000 die as a result of the disease. Read

Bonn, Germany: In Goma, Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 300 local volunteers are cleaning and refurbishing markets in Virunga and Kahembe, two densely populated districts affected by poor sanitary conditions. Read

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is deeply engaged in the fight against HIV/AIDS through the use of people-centred approaches. It collaborates closely with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), volunteer involving organizations, networks of people living with HIV/AIDS and national AIDS programmes in affected countries. Read

Kiev, Ukraine: For Olga Kolosyuk, clean water represents progress in a post-Chernobyl Ukraine. The fact that her village of 1,000 has safe drinking water demonstrates what the community has accomplished—most notably the refurbishment of a local water supply—since taking the lead in improving their situation. She is one of numerous volunteers who, with the help of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, set up a community organization in the village. Read