You were the 100th United Nations Youth Volunteer (UNYV) deployed by SEF. What is your assessment of this young talent promotion programme?

With experience as a UN Volunteer and now, as UNDP Resident Representative, I can confidently say UN Volunteers share three essential and common traits in order to rise to the occasion:

In Yemen, an estimated 24.1 million  out of the country's total population of 29 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. With 19.7 million people requiring health assistance, COVID-19 has only exacerbated the situation. As in many other parts of the world, women are disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Ekram Fator is a Sudanese woman serving as a national UN Volunteer Warehouse Assistant with the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). She works in the transport warehouse where she supports the overall management of stock. By choosing to serve in such a role, traditionally seen to be more fit for men, Ekram is breaking social barriers and challenging gender stereotypes.

UNV offers UN Volunteers with a range of skills and experience, catered to the needs of UN partners or government ministries, to strengthen their COVID-19 response. UNV supports partners in Kuwait with fast-track recruitment of on-site local specialized talent, low pro forma costs, 32,000 candidates in the Arab States, as well as remote Online Volunteers.