Ashok Kumar Joshi, Aarti Poudel, and Reshu Kuskusmia are national UN Volunteers in Nepal. They serve with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and expand the government’s immunization drive in hillside areas of the country.
In Nepal, UNICEF supported the Government of Nepal to ensure widespread measles and rubella vaccination for children. In four key provinces, 281,233 children aged 9 to 11 months were vaccinated.
As a Social Behaviour Change Officer, Ashok Kumar Joshi has brought his expertise to UNICEF’s immunization programme since September 2023. He contributes to raising awareness among mothers, caretakers, and decision-makers on the importance of timely vaccination.
Ashok prepares compelling narratives on children who have had no dose of the vaccination. "We identified 12 children who had not received even a single shot of vaccine. I took this on as a life-saving mission because Bhajani Municipality is a remote and rural area."
Aarti Poudel is a Cold Chain Specialist and has an important role for effective vaccine management. She ensures that vaccines are kept at optimal temperatures from production to administration. She joined UNICEF in April 2023 to provide technical support to the health center in Dhangadhi located in the district of Kailali.
"No cold chain, no immunization," says Aarti, "Serving the community is a wonderful opportunity that comes with being a volunteer." She feels volunteering fosters skill development and brings her closer to the local communities.
UNICEF partners with UNV to reach the ‘last mile’ of the population. The current evidence suggests that there is an increase in zero-dose and under-immunized children in the country. UN Volunteers’ contribution has been crucial to ramping up efforts to protect children and other vulnerable populations from the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases." Jee Hyun Rah, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Nepal.
UNICEF uses Human-Centred Design that identifies and designs solutions with a user-centric approach. UN Volunteers implemented this approach in some local communities in Nepal as a pilot project to identify children with zero vaccination.
Despite the availability of vaccines and efforts from the government and partners to increase awareness of immunization services, many populations, especially in remote areas and urban slums of Nepal, experience barriers to accessing vaccines.
