By far the best part of my job is meeting volunteers. On Wednesday, I met Joseph. He is from Nigeria and a volunteer in Sierra Leone, as part of the Economic Commission of West African states (ECOWAS) Volunteer Programme (EVP), the first regional Volunteer scheme in the world.
Joseph Uzaka Munoye is a basic Science teacher at the oldest secondary school in the country, called Anna Walsh, since September 2017. He didn’t hide his appreciation that the joint ECOWAS-UNV team was paying him a courtesy visit to see how his assignment was going.
After the military coup of April 2012, all the socio-economic indicators of Guinea Bissau experienced a setback. Strikes in crucial sectors such as education, health care and transportation paralyzed the country. More than two months of strikes were registered in 2013 in all the schools of Guinea Bissau.
In Guinea-Bissau there is a shortage of human resources in all areas of reproductive health. The number of gynaecology/obstetrics specialists and midwives is inadequate. To address this issue, and in collaboration with United Nations Agencies in the framework of the H4+ Initiative to improve maternal and child health, eight UN Volunteer specialists in paediatrics, gynaecology, and anaesthesiology are serving with the World Health Organization (WHO).
En Guinea-Bissau, hay escasez de recursos humanos en todos los ámbitos de la salud reproductiva. Faltan especialistas en ginecología y obstetricia y comadronas. Para paliar el problema, y junto a las agencias de la ONU que colaboran en la aplicación de la iniciativa H4+ para mejorar la salud maternoinfantil, ocho Voluntarios de las Naciones Unidas especialistas en pediatría, ginecología y anestesiología cooperan con la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS).
Bissau, Guinée-Bissau: Rosilândia est une jeune fille de Cuntum, quartier de Bissau où elle est née, grandi et où elle travaille de manière volontaire pour améliorer le futur de ses voisines les plus vulnérables. Elle est une des jeunes femmes de son quartier qui est convaincue que l’égalité pour les femmes est un progrès pour toute la communauté.
Bissau, Guinea-Bissau: Having grown up in her birthplace Cuntum, Bissau, Rosilândia spends time volunteering there to help better the future of the most vulnerable women in her community. She is one of the young women in the area who is convinced that equality for women is beneficial to the whole community. Rosilândia works as a community volunteer trainer, involved with helping Cuntums vulnerable women learn how to read and write.
Bissau, Guinea-Bissau: Mi experiencia como Voluntaria de las Naciones Unidas desde que llegué a Guinea-Bissau en abril de 2012 ha sido a la vez emocionante y desafiante.
Soy responsable de Seguimiento, Evaluación y Comunicación en el proyecto "Fortalecimiento de las capacidades y los mecanismos de coordinación de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en Guinea-Bissau", un área en incesante y rápido cambio y debate dado el contexto de la actualidad política y social de Guinea-Bissau.
Bissau, Guinea-Bissau: Every child has its rights. This is the name of the first Journal Mural (Wall Paper) created by more than 50 children that live in the Tchada community in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. This activity was promoted by me, a Brazilian UN Volunteer, on a Saturday morning, two weeks after my arrival in the country where I volunteer as a UNV Communications and Advocacy Officer in the Resident Coordinator Office of the United Nations System in the country.