Bhone's family was among some 1.9 million people affected by Cyclone Mocha. His house was destroyed. But he stood at the fore supporting recovery efforts as part of UNDP’s rapid response and early recovery initiative.

I serve with the Environment and Occupational Safety and Health Unit. Every newcomer to UNMISS, whether civilian, military, or police, goes through environmental induction training. My responsibility is to make sure they understand how important it is to consider the environment in everything they do. We look at aspects such as wastewater management, solid waste management, and energy use.

Prince Jacob is a UN Volunteer Nurse. He administers vaccinations, delivers nursing care, facilitates prompt emergency responses, and ensures medical support for UNISFA's field operations. Nursing in the peacekeeping context — Prince's service directly impacts the health and welfare of all personnel including international peacekeepers and local staff engaged in the mission's endeavours. Abyei is situated between Sudan and South Sudan.

This is my first experience serving with UN peacekeeping operations.  My day-to-day tasks include documenting, reviewing and analyzing cases of conflict-related sexual violence. This exercise helps identify trends and patterns to inform prevention and response interventions.

Beyond its globally recognized work on small arms control, UNDP SEESAC advances gender mainstreaming in security sector reform by supporting regional cooperation among the Ministries of Defence of four Western Balkans countries — Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. 

Thibault's volunteering journey with the United Nations spanned from end of 2022 to early 2024. He supported, “Leveraging Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to Achieve net-zero emissions and climate-resilient Development, in Response to the Climate Emergency,” a project implemented in partnership between the Government of Japan and UNDP’s next phase of the Climate Promise: From Pledge to Impact.

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.

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.

Karuna began her volunteer assignment in November 2022. She helps build the resilience of personnel and says, “My goal is to significantly impact the lives of those affected by various crises. Through personalized counseling sessions, I help individuals and groups manage their mental health and effectively cope with their challenges.”  I take pride in positively impacting Afghan women which has given me new perspectives and insights that continually help me to grow as an individual." -- Karuna Kunwar, UN Volunteer Staff Counsellor with UNAMA.

Proving joint medical services and emergency response From routine check-ups to critical emergency response, UN Volunteer health professionals within the Joint Medical Services and Medical Emergency Response Team play a vital role in ensuring the well-being of those working tirelessly to support the Afghan people.