I was initially confused about the kind of support I can provide during the crisis. We had started working from home when I was contacted by a person with the implementing partner who said that most students were feeling anxious about the online learning system and teachers were not sure how to address this matter.   

UN Volunteer Sitara Khatiwada plays a vital role in mentoring midwives within the Government health facilities as well as the Rohingya Refugee Community in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. She is serving as a Midwife Specialist in Emergency with UNFPA, and is responsible for the direct supervision, training and mentoring of national midwives employed by UNFPA through the project “Partners under Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR)”.

Zhao had just started his UN Volunteer assignment with UNDP, during the coronavirus outbreak. Having the option to also travel to his hometown for the Spring Festival, with the impending crisis in hand, Zhao decided to stay back in his duty station to support the prevention and response efforts for COVID-19 instead.  Zhao’s hometown Yuhang District, Hangzhou City, in China’s Zhejiang Province, is about 1,300kms apart from his duty station in Chengbu Miao Autonomous County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province.

I am glad that at this critical period, I am in Wuhan, together with my parents. I am not a selfless superheroine fighting against the disease for others, just no more than an ordinary resident in Wuhan. No matter how increasingly serious the situation is or how highly concerned the outsiders are, our lives continue in this homeland. Since it was confirmed there is a possibility of human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus,  I have been at home - for more than 2 months. Our compound has been strictly blocked for entry.

Growing up in an open and forward-thinking environment, I am grateful for the fact that no one ever told me what to do, or what not to do, simply because I was a girl. For me, women are definitely strong enough to play crucial roles beyond the stereotypes that define them otherwise. My gender identity has, and should, never limit my potentials or aspirations.

Xinyi has been serving as a Programme Assistant at the UNAIDS China Office since 2019.  Before serving as a UN Volunteer, she was an intern at UNAIDS China Office and the Headquarters in Geneva. She completed her studies in Global Health at the University of Washington in the United States.

The Government of Bangladesh will fund these UNV assignments. With this agreement Bangladesh becomes the first country to enter into an agreement with UNV, to deploy civil servants. Bangladesh is also the first South Asian country to be a signatory to the Fully-Funding partnership with UNV.

The support of UN Volunteers has been crucial for UNDP Papua New Guinea to deliver on the referendum support. Their inputs and contributions have been instrumental. UN Volunteers will continue to play a role in the post-referendum phase such as in future programmes supporting sustainable livelihoods, economic development and governance. --Dirk Wagener, UNDP Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea

While equipping youth volunteers with the necessary skills to help progress the implementation of SDGs, the workshop also encouraged participants to explore the interlinked contributions of volunteers in the context of the 2030 Agenda. This was done through knowledge sharing and leadership building.