Stories from COVID-19 rapid responders in Kenya

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A total of 50 health personnel have been deployed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to 14 counties across Kenya to bolster county-level healthcare systems, an intervention which is part of the UNDP-led Joint UN COVID-19 Response Programme. Recruited in conjunction with UN Volunteers and County Public Service Boards, these professionals will serve as Clinical Officers, Nursing Officers, Public Health Officers, and Laboratory Technicians for an initial period of 6 months.

During each month of their service with UNDP, we are reaching out to these 'rapid responders' to collect their perspectives, experiences and stories of life on the frontlines of Kenya's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and will share these insights here.

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.

"Serving as a national UN Volunteer is a priceless opportunity to learn and innovate"

Yurii Chernukha, UN Youth Volunteer
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, national professionals serving as UN Volunteers bring their expertise to address new pressing challenges and reimagine ongoing projects. Yurii Chernukha is a young specialist serving in the procurement unit of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) country office in Ukraine, deployed under the UNDP-UNV Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities. His assignment is part of a project which is supported by the Government of Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

As a member of the procurement team, Yurii contributes to almost 20 projects. UNDP Ukraine provides procurement support services to the Ministry of Health and the Recovery and Peacebuilding and Democratic Governance Programmes.

Contributing to IT skills development of girls and women in Bosnia and Herzegovina during COVID-19

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Michaela Ptackova (Czech Republic) serves as a UN Volunteer Youth Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She actively contributed to the immediate COVID-19 response of the IT Girls Initiative, which is jointly implemented by UNDP, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women, with the support of the Government of Sweden.

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.

Bridging local employment offices and communities amid COVID-19

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When the humane feelings of enthusiastic UN Community Volunteers meet professional work, wonders happen. Elza Ejupi is a young law student and UN Community Volunteer at the employment office in Podujevë/Podujeva, Kosovo1.  She shares her experience over the past few months.

Despite the arduous situation occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, Elza kept working remotely during the lockdown, giving more than 640 job applicants a second chance to find a job by correcting technical errors in their application documents.

GTM2020 closes with a clarion call to supercharge ideas to solutions for volunteering in the Decade of Action

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Millions of volunteers are a formidable force for transformation and acceleration of the 2030 Agenda. --Olivier Adam, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme

GTM2020 closes with a clarion call to supercharge ideas to solutions for volunteering in the Decade of Action

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Millions of volunteers are a formidable force for transformation and acceleration of the 2030 Agenda. --Olivier Adam, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme

Building back better: why volunteering matters for the post-COVID world

Jason Pronyk, Regional Manager, Arab States
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COVID-19 is testing the resilience of communities at an unprecedented scale. It has exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare capacities, markets and jobs, welfare systems, political agility, the inclusion of disadvantaged groups, community cooperation, and more. The parts that are broken will have to be rebuilt. For this reason, we will come out of this crisis into a new world: a post-COVID world. Together, we must make sure that this new world is an improvement on the last. We must 'Build Back Better'.

To achieve this, new development patterns must be inclusive, resilient and advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By weaving a strong social fabric within communities, volunteering is at the key intersection of these qualities. When those with local knowledge and insights take collective ownership of local problems, communities are uniquely mobilized around development efforts.

Global Technical Meeting: Daily Digest

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Global Technical Meeting: Daily Digest

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Global Synthesis Report

Global Synthesis Report: Plan of Action to Integrate Volunteering into the 2030 Agenda
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The Global Synthesis Report provides a big picture of how volunteering is currently integrated today and gives a snapshot of how volunteering can and should advance the 2030 Agenda based on the three objectives of the Plan of Action to Integrate Volunteering into the 2030 Agenda: ownership, integration and measurement.

It is based on evidence and data gathered from 43 National Situation Analysis, Voluntary National Reviews submitted between 2016–2019, on-site and online consultations with different Plan of Action stakeholders, including regional consultations and other evidence generation activities. 

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