Safeguarding the health of UN personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr Shanti Bahadur Thapa (Nepal) joined the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in June 2020 as a UN Volunteer Medical Doctor. He is currently based in Bamyan in the Central Highlands Region of Afghanistan. When he joined the mission, all international commercial airlines were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He reflects on the day he travelled from his home country to Kabul on a special UN flight and his assignment since then.
"At the beginning of the pandemic, there were no specific treatment modalities, and no vaccines were available for COVID-19. It was important to isolate the people infected from COVID-19 and contact tracing on time to stop the spread of the virus."