Following the successful implementation of the first phase, the AWHC initiative continues its mission of placing young African women professionals aged between 22 and 35 years as UN Volunteer health champions across WHO Country Offices in Africa. Through the initiative, WHO-AFRO and UNV commit to improving health for people on the continent, expanding opportunities for African public health professionals, and nurturing the next generation of women health leaders in Africa, while contributing to gender parity for the WHO workforce.

Joelma Pereira is an international UN Volunteer from Guinea Bissau. She is a Communications Officer with UNDP stationed with WHO in Mozambique. She takes pride in being a health champion, and documents key initiatives related to environmental health, climate change, and the misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations. Joelma also oversees partnerships between WHO and different stakeholders in the health and humanitarian sector at WHO Regional Office for Africa. 

Daniel Valbuena

The event was attended by government officials and UN agency representatives, with 50 people participating in person and 79 online.  In his welcome address, Dr Ali Ahmed Yahaya spoke, representing the WHO Africa Regional Director. He commended the efforts and commitment of volunteers to achieve WHO's mandate and their involvement with communities to improve public health systems in Africa.

One of the prime examples of working together for a common good is a volunteer initiative made possible by the World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Peru.

A large part of being a volunteer is that you have ownership of your solutions – that's the story of Hajara Maimuna Idi, a community volunteer in Borno State, northeast Nigeria.

UNICEF and UNHCR, in partnership with governments and civil society organizations, have set up 26 Blue Dot safe spaces for children and women in bordering countries, each able to provide relief for 3,000-5,000 people per day. They are also mobilizing to treat the mental and emotional damage caused by the conflict. In Romania, Marina Feher became a national UN Volunteer with UNICEF to help the Blue Dot initiative, focusing on refugees in Isaccea, Tulcea and Galati areas.

With a professional background in Marketing and Media, and a thesis on Health Communications, Minh Pham, a national UN Volunteer Junior Communications Officer with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Viet Nam. Just as the fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, the population was in need of a lot of information about many issues. Minh was sent to the most impoverished areas of the country to document the vaccination efforts of frontline medical workers.  The people, despite living in harsh conditions, were very approachable. 

Across the globe, there is an increasing trend in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years. According to estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 340 million or almost 18 per cent of this age group were overweight or obese in 2016, compared to four per cent in 1975.

UNDP generally provides support to the Small Island Developing States across a number of different thematic areas to address economic difficulties and development imperatives. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the vulnerabilities of SIDS countries in many ways including supply chain disruption, food insecurity, inadequate supplies of fresh water, and fragile biodiversity.