During her assignment at the Forum for Development and Multi-ethnic Cooperation (FDMC), Tatjana visited healthcare workers in local health centres, partook in a creative information campaign to raise the awareness on the importance of vaccination, and delivered protective materials. Moreover, she supported social clubs and paid visits to the people of her community living in vulnerable conditions in Graçanicë/Gračanica.

UN Volunteer Basmeena Safi, a UN Volunteer Health Officer with UNICEF, is sparing no effort to prevent the spread of the virus and protect communities. A specialist in healthcare, Basmeena, has supported efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus by sensitizing communities about facts surrounding COVID-19 to stop misinformation.

I was invited to deliver keynote remarks in front of you. I can do that. Or, I can ask us to pause and reflect about a future keynote speech that one of you may be asked to deliver to a youth audience in the year 2050. 2050 is when the world will mark mid-century. By that time, the 21st century’s identity will have been cast. And it is you—your generation—that will have a major role in casting this identity.

The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on our work with girls and women, imposing social distancing and restricting our physical contact with them. Therefore, in March 2020 we decided to go online and continue empowering girls and women throughout the country. Having Michaela in our team, who shared our mission to ensure that no girls are left behind, was an immensely valuable addition to the team. We were delighted to have her on board, to work with such an enthusiastic person, and to participate in her professional development.

 In times of emergency, the demand for information is exceedingly high. Providing people with the right and relevant information they need to stay safe is part of the mission of Mamadou. He coordinates the U-Report and Rapid pro platforms of UNICEF. These are mobile empowerment programmes with more than 10,000 users that connect young people, community members and frontline workers to information that will influence decisions.

The COVID-19 Response Programme was developed by the UN Joint Devolution Programme after development partners Finland, Italy and Sweden consented to remobilizing USD 3.1 million to respond to the pandemic in Kenya.

With a presence in 190 countries, UNICEF continues its mandate on protecting children’s rights by being one of the leading UN agencies responding to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, UNICEF Venezuela – along with UN sister agencies and public and private sector – elaborated a plan that identified the most at-risk communities. Some 189 health facilities, clinics and community health centres in 13 states have been reached among the country so far.

I was recruited by UNDP in Zimbabwe to provide technical support to the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Spotlight Initiative on disability-inclusive programming and interventions.

Some of them load trucks with big boxes full of food and hygiene items. Others are rushing to distribute printed handouts outlining the basic principles of hygiene in the context of COVID-19. Yet others are sitting in front of their laptops at home or reaching each household in remote and affected areas, assisting health or social workers, delivering food or disseminating the handouts.