In 2015 UNDP’s country office in Ukraine established a health procurement project and became the first in Europe and Central Asia to do so. Alongside delivering vital medicines, the project’s key priorities were to provide support to the Government in creating a central procurement agency and establishing a modern health supply system in the country. The Health and Transparency programme, which took the lead in implementing the initiative from the UNDP, was supported by both National and International UN Volunteers.

Zhao had just started his UN Volunteer assignment with UNDP, during the coronavirus outbreak. Having the option to also travel to his hometown for the Spring Festival, with the impending crisis in hand, Zhao decided to stay back in his duty station to support the prevention and response efforts for COVID-19 instead.  Zhao’s hometown Yuhang District, Hangzhou City, in China’s Zhejiang Province, is about 1,300kms apart from his duty station in Chengbu Miao Autonomous County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province.

African countries and WHO are redoubling their efforts to strengthen people’s health and well-being in a region with some of the highest rates of disease in the world. With the Africa Women Health Champions, UNV and WHO will recruit early-career women professionals to promote health across the 47 countries where WHO is present on the continent.

African countries and WHO are redoubling their efforts to strengthen people’s health and well-being in a region with some of the highest rates of disease in the world. With the Africa Women Health Champions, UNV and WHO will recruit early-career women professionals to promote health across the 47 countries where WHO is present on the continent.

The agreement was signed in Geneva, Switzerland, by Tim Martineau, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Management and Governance, a.i., and Olivier Adam, UNV Executive Coordinator. "Volunteers have played a critical role in the response to HIV since the earliest days of the epidemic," said Tim Martineau, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Management and Governance, a.i. "UNAIDS recognizes their importance, values their engagement and will continue to support their contribution in joining global efforts to end AIDS."

On World Cities Day, we highlight the contributions of two UN Volunteers serving in support of UN-Habitat’s crisis recovery efforts in Lebanon and Iraq, where property loss and mass displacement have created complex urban environments.