This partnership aims to build on the progress and achievements made during the previous UNV and ILO partnership from 2017-2022, particularly the development of survey tools for the statistical measurement of volunteer work .
UNV and ILO partnership enhances the measurement of volunteer work
Gaza of broken hearts, grief, desperation but also resilience
When the war started on the 7th of October 2023, there was a total of 61 UN Volunteers serving in the State of Palestine, of which 18 were stationed in the Gaza Strip. Before the war, United Nations Volunteers (UNV) in the Gaza Strip provided humanitarian and development support to seven UN agencies. Even then, living conditions for Palestinians were bleak.
Six months on, the war continues unabated. Declared one of the deadliest conflicts in centuries on civilians and infrastructure, the evidence keeps multiplying on numerous cases of international humanitarian law violations, including against humanitarians and volunteers.
Health is a basic human right
UN Volunteers support the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure that health can be accessed by everyone equally. This year, World Health Day was observed with the theme - 'My Health, my right' - adding emphasis to health as a basic human right and as such amplifying its urgency.
In Poland, WHO faced a major challenge with the influx of Ukrainians fleeing war in their home country. Health aid was needed swiftly and in response, WHO recruited 13 UN Volunteers for two years (2022-23) in Poland. These volunteers integrated into the United Nations' response efforts and contributed to providing health services to refugees.
The Power of Volunteering for Gender Equality
Looking back on his experience of working with and managing dedicated UN Volunteers for more than 25 years, Jamshed has more than one story to tell of his encounters with volunteers as national change agents, first responders, women rights advocates and above all, agents of change. My first engagement with UN Volunteers was as a manager in UNDP offices in Ethiopia and Lao PDR, and what impressed me from the beginning was their dedication, resilience, and creativity in moving our work on advancing the SDGs forward.
In 2007, I came to the United Nations Volunteers Headquarters in Bonn. I was a Senior Programme Specialist for the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and CIS (APEC) responsible for UN Volunteer management, joint programming, and humanitarian support. This was one of the most rewarding and inspiring assignments of my UN career because I interacted with and directly supported hundreds of (mostly) young women and men worldwide who demonstrated passion and commitment to serve others less fortunate through volunteering with field-based UN agencies.
