Acting together: removing barriers to speaking about mental health

Shalina Miah, Regional Manager, UNV Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
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Mental health is one of the most significant pillars of a person’s wellbeing, and yet it is not a popular topic of discussion. This is especially true in the Asia-Pacific region. However, talking about mental wellbeing is important now – more than ever.

As a result of COVID-19, many people have experienced changes in their mental and physical wellbeing, due to isolation, restrictions and unexpected situations resulting from this unpreceded crisis. I have seen this happening in the Asia-Pacific region among UN Volunteers, colleagues and peers, especially those living away from their families and loved ones, who may have been more affected by this situation than others. 

The pursuit of two UN Expert Volunteers to restore dignity and hope to vulnerable border communities in Venezuela

UNV partnering with UNFPA
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Bárbara Tineo Toro and Solana Simao are dedicated to protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights while simultaneously engaging and empowering others to become agents of change in their own communities. The two UN Expert Volunteers epitomize the spirit of volunteerism, demonstrating its power to share and sustain hope and its immense significance in tackling the most pressing issues on global, national and local levels. They serve with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

The shadow pandemic of violence against women and girls is one of these issues. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about one in three women worldwide have suffered physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lives. The scourge of gender-based violence (GBV), one of the most ubiquitous human rights violations in the world, is exacerbated during the COVID-19 crisis as traditional prevention and attention mechanisms are inhibited.

UNV-Sweden partnership poised to deliver strong results

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UNV and Sida have been partnering in support of peace, humanitarian and sustainable development for many years. In 2018, they renewed their partnership, in line with Sida’s Strategy for Capacity Development, Partnerships and Methods Supporting Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, (2018-2022). One of the objectives of this strategy is to broaden the Swedish resource base for implementation of the 2030 Agenda.  

Deploying 1,000 volunteers to promote behaviour change for COVID-19 prevention in Sierra Leone

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The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Sierra Leone at the end of March 2020 and immediately the UN Development Programme country office switched into response mode. International UN Volunteer Helen Mayelle from Uganda represented UNDP in the Risk Communication and Social Mobilization pillar of the National COVID-19 Emergency Response Centre (NaCOVERC). Helen was selected based on her assignment in communications, and also her previous experience during the Ebola emergency.

Acting as a UNDP representative, Helen co-led the Community Engagement sub-group of the pillar and was tasked to do a rapid assessment of community engagement needs, gaps and challenges. 

There were two essential things we could do: support the health care system to address cases and enhance risk communication and community engagement to help slow down and reduce the spread of the disease. --Dr Samuel Doe, UNDP’s Resident Representative in Sierra Leone

Engaging Tunisian youth in shaping peace through volunteering

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In Tunisia, young women and men continue to experience political, economic, social and cultural marginalization, especially in the south. The obstacles to inclusion are complex and multidimensional, so the United Nations launched an inter-agency project to promote social cohesion and sustain peace through endogenous processes, mechanisms and structures. Nine national UN Volunteers with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have been coordinating this project.

The project for sustaining peace in Tunisia through the inclusion of young people at the local level is being implemented by UNDP, UN Women and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund, and in partnership with seven different municipalities.

Each of the UN Volunteers is responsible for the coordination of the project in one municipality, where social cohesion and resilience are promoted through the inclusion of the most marginalized young women and men.

Building a new society: peace in post-FARC Colombia

Álvaro Javier Riascos Gómez, UN Volunteer with UNDP
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“What we are doing here is giving an opportunity to Colombian society to heal,” Álvaro Javier Riascos Gómez says. He had already collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2015 within different initiatives, but it was in 2018 that he began to serve with the UNDP Country Office as a UN Volunteer. For almost two years, this volunteer was in charge of monitoring the Reincorporation Process of former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) members in the Department of Cauca, in western Colombia. Álvaro served as a technical assistant and worked very closely with the governmental Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN).

The main goal of the initiative is to facilitate the integration of those who have declared their intention to reject violence, stop fighting and join the social, economic and political life of the country, as well as to promote the understanding of the local population and the reparation of open wounds within the civil society.

Volunteering at the heart of South-South cooperation

Bangkok, Thailand, and online
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The event, held in Bangkok, Thailand, to mark the UN Day for South-South Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific, was attended by UN partners, government representatives and other stakeholders, while many others also participated online.

Volunteerism is important in ensuring participation, and in localizing the Sustainable Development Goals and accelerating action on the ground. --Ms Pattarat Hongtong, Director-General of TICA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Spreading mutual understanding and hope in the face of COVID-19

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Along with the challenge of tackling the worst public health emergency of the century comes the responsibility to show solidarity across sectors and generations. This responsibility is willingly assumed by volunteers ready to help their communities face the crisis everywhere around the world. A pertinent example is Kosovo*, where youth constitutes the majority of the population. Here, UN Community Volunteer Tatjana Nedeljkovič (25) assists her neighbours in becoming more resilient amidst the pandemic , with the supported by the joint UN Youth for Kosovo project.

During her assignment at the Forum for Development and Multi-ethnic Cooperation (FDMC), Tatjana visited healthcare workers in local health centres, partook in a creative information campaign to raise the awareness on the importance of vaccination, and delivered protective materials. Moreover, she supported social clubs and paid visits to the people of her community living in vulnerable conditions in Graçanicë/Gračanica.

Roma youth for the Roma community during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Young UN Volunteers Silvija, Kristina and Meti do their part in assisting their community to overcome the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic. Although they have different educational backgrounds (music, medicine and literature), all three are members of the UN Volunteer cohort in Serbia, with the mission of being the link between the Roma community and governmental institutions.

 

The team of UN Volunteers in Serbia comprises 65 such dedicated young Roma as Silvija, Kristina and Meti. They have been trained to become activists, fighting for the inclusion of Roma, against discrimination and social injustice and supporting the vulnerable members of the Roma community. 

Ten volunteers improve community access to reproductive health in Senegal

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"I work closely with local partners to develop integrated sexual and reproductive health services, includng maternal and adolescent reproductive health and family planning, especially for vulnerable people," Anta Diop says proudly. "In Senegal, we  believe that a small daily deed can change the lives of many people. It is a real honour to participate in building communities." The 24-year-old joined the management team of the Saint Louis health district in northern Senegal a few months ago as a UN Community Volunteer.

Through their partnership, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Volunteers (UNV) programme have deployed 10 such UN Community Volunteers in the different regions of Senegal. 

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