Every day, 500 children die from diarrhoeal diseases in Sub-Sahara Africa – many of these deaths would be preventable through good hygiene practices like washing hands after using the toilet or using a latrine instead of open defecation. In East and Southern Africa, many UN Volunteers work with UNICEF to propagate good water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices and thereby prevent diseases and deaths.

Of the 1,585 UN Volunteers deployed in different peacekeeping missions around the world, 1,200 serve in Africa. Over 400 serve with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) alone, and close to 800 serve with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Missions in Mali (MINUSMA) and in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), and with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Until March this year, UN Volunteers also served with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

My experience as a UN Volunteer in Afghanistan stands out in my memory as an extraordinary one, on a professional and personal level. I am grateful for the opportunity given to me to serve the electoral process in Afghanistan, to discover the charm and hospitality of the Afghan people, and the immense beauty its land offers. It is also there that I experienced true friendship and great loss.

Some 50 UN Volunteers are dedicated to preserving biological diversity in East and Southern Africa. Serving with UN Environment, they are fighting climate change, conserving natural habitats, reducing unnecessary waste and plastics, and contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 13 (Climate Action), 14 (Life Below Water), and 15 (Life on Land). UN Volunteers Dorris Chepkoech (Kenya) and Linda Jonsson (Sweden) fight the declining animal populations in Africa through their assignments with UN Environment in Kenya and Tanzania.