Jainarayan Singh is a 31-year old Medical Doctor from India, currently on a two-year UN Volunteer assignment with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia. In his role as Health Manager ad interim and Medical Doctor, Dr. Singh is responsible for overseeing medical care and health support for the 1,050 UN staff (and 4,000 dependents) in-country, ensuring that humanitarian workers and other staff are fit and able to continue delivering essential services.

During 2017, nearly 250 UN Volunteers worldwide served in assignments that are clearly linked to medical professions. They bolstered the work of 23 UN partner entities, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNAIDS, as well as 13 UN peacekeeping missions. Through their assignments, they contribute significantly to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, which targets achieving healthy lives and wellbeing for all.

Some 103 UN Volunteers served with UNAIDS in 38 countries over the past 10 years.  Supporting the mandate of UNAIDS, they have been working towards stopping new HIV infections, ensuring that everyone living with HIV has access to treatment, protecting and promoting human rights and producing data for decision-making. 

Increasing access to basic social services

World Health Day is the birthday of the World Health Organization (WHO) and a day that is close to Emmanuel Eraly's heart, as he has been involved in many campaigns to raise awareness of health issues in Viet Nam, where he worked for almost four years as a UNV intern and later as an international UN Volunteer supporting the communications function of WHO.