UN Volunteers for Ukraine: delivering services and health care
Over seven and a half million Ukrainians are now refugees, and nearly seven million people are internally displaced within the country. Civilians who have fled the war have the opportunity to join the UN system as Refugee UN Volunteers in neighboring countries, including Hungary and Slovakia. They have become coordinators, protection officers and translators for refugees like themselves.
Refugee UN Volunteers are integral and invaluable members of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) team in Slovakia. They mirror to UNHCR colleagues the day-to-day life, challenges and resilience of Ukrainian refugees.
Tetiana Korshun and Olena Bilinska, UN Volunteer Protection Assistants with UNHCR in Slovakia, are based in Kosice and Bratislava, respectively. They support UNHCR in communicating with refugee communities.
Volunteers for Ukraine: delivering around the clock, online and onsite
Since its inception, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme has mobilized UN Volunteers for peace and solidarity. Connecting with the most vulnerable, they bring hope, even in situations of destruction and heartbreak. Over the past seven months, UN entities in the Ukraine and Eastern Europe have hosted 200 onsite UN Volunteers and 266 Online Volunteers. UNV’s contribution to the system-wide response to the war in Ukraine is growing and on point.
The war in Ukraine triggered a drastic increase in humanitarian needs, as services were disrupted, and civilians fled the fighting. The United Nations, non-governmental and refugee-led organizations, charitable funds and national volunteer centres have been working around the clock. However, the longer the war continues, the more extensive the aid, protection and health needs will become.