Hanna Yahorava, Coordination Specialist on Volunteerism and COVID-19 Response and Recovery, and Katsiaryna Andronava, Volunteer Engagement Specialist, serve with UNDP Belarus. The UN Volunteers have been working on COVID-19 response and recovery measures and socio-economic support, with the integration of volunteerism solutions. Their assignments are sponsored by UNV, from its Special Voluntary Fund.*

Oleksandra Malukalo joined the UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Ukraine as a national UN Volunteer last year. She is among national UN Volunteers deployed in 79 countries and with 18 UN entities through an investment of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme. UNV dedicated US $2 million for this purpose from its Special Voluntary Fund* (SVF), a flexible multi-donor fund that allows UNV to provide timely and strategic investments.

In 2020, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme supported system-wide action on COVID-19 by investing US $2 million to mobilize national UN Volunteers in 79 countries and with 18 UN entities. The resources were dedicated from UNV's Special Voluntary Fund* (SVF), a flexible multi-donor fund that allows UNV to provide timely and strategic investments when needed, such as during the ongoing crisis.  

It's been more than a year since the COVID-19 outbreak started. Although there have been countless challenges, which were hard to resolve, we are enduring these testing times well together. Among those who have been tirelessly fighting COVID-19 – either on the frontlines or by wearing masks or staying at home – we would like to recognize and honour our UN Volunteers' tremendous efforts to address the challenges of the pandemic.

In times of health and sanitary crisis, laboratories are crucial in providing reliable data for emergency preparedness and response. In Zimbabwe, Ronald Timbe, UN Volunteer Medical Epidemiologist, is engaged through WHO in COVID-19 response surveillance activities led by the Ministry of Health and Child Care. He works on the development and revision of COVID-19 surveillance tools, including the production of situation reports.

While COVID-19 severely impacted the most vulnerable communities, its effects were also felt across UN programme countries, reversing many positive gains in sustainable development. To support countries and UN partners in their response to the pandemic, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme invested its resources to deploy UN Volunteers with partners, financed through its UNV Special Voluntary Fund.*

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for remote work and data access. At the same time, countering stereotypes and misinformation has become necessary for the progress of the pandemic response efforts. However, in many countries, the information systems and architecture necessitated by remote environments have lagged behind. As a result, access to health information and healthcare has been complicated.

During 2020, the WHO Country Office in Kazakhstan initiated and conducted several missions in collaboration with Dr Joanna Zwetyenga (Denmark), Technical Expert on Laboratory issues, Biosecurity and Biosafety from the WHO Regional Office in Europe. The first mission concluded with Dr Zwetyenga developing an action plan to strengthen laboratory response to COVID-19, with recommendations to train national mentors to support the laboratory capacity of staff conducting testing for SARS-CoV-2.

In 2021, Spain, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will continue to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by deploying 16 Spanish fully funded UN Volunteers worldwide. For instance, these volunteers will support UN efforts to defend human rights, promote gender equality and foster food security in Latin America and Africa. 

In crises and emergency situations, volunteering provides governments and civil society organizations with greater flexibility and response capacity. This is particularly true in humanitarian crises, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic