The Chadian government confirmed the first case of COVID-19 within its borders on 19 March 2020. At the time, Dr Mba, who is a medical doctor and public health specialist, was already working on response plans and sensitization measures for refugees in Ouaddaï.

Eby Emile serves in Mopti with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) as a licensed practical nurse. His work boils down to promoting and applying preventive health policies and activities for the general populace and evaluating the quality of medical services provided to United Nations personnel.

If there is a skill that UN Volunteers currently assigned in Guinea-Bissau have strengthened in the fight against COVID-19, it is adaptability to local and national situations. João Hernani Melo and Laura Brandão, Brazilian UN Volunteers assigned to UNDP and UNFPA respectively, have had to develop effective response strategies to accompany the government and support communities in these challenging times.

They come from Côte d’Ivoire, Italy, Bangladesh, Argentina and Kyrgyzstan… Online Volunteers worldwide allocate their time, competencies and energy to support civil society organizations, public institutions and UN agencies in the fight against COVID-19. In West and Central Africa, Online Volunteers have supported organizations in Senegal, Nigeria and Cameroon as social media administrators, graphic designers, researchers, financial proposal writers, project developers, and even as microbiologists.

Due to the global COVID-19 outbreak, 91 per cent of the worldwide student population have not been attending their schools and other academic training locations, which have closed their doors in order to mitigate the pandemic’s direct impact. This measure took effect in Guinea on 24 March 2020, after a joint statement of the Ministers in charge of National Education and Training, and affects more than six million pupils and students all over the country.

The United Nations system is gearing up its efforts to support national COVID-19 response plans in West and Central Africa. UNV is no exception. UN Volunteers add value to UN and government efforts, like Dr Philemon Niyitegeka (Rwanda), a UN Volunteer Technical Assistant in Mobile Care Strategies, serving with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Togo.

In the Central African Republic, radio broadcasts are a useful means to share public information, especially to the most remote populations. UN Volunteers assigned with the MINUSCA’s radio are on the frontline to raise awareness aboutt the COVID-19 pandemic. These dedicated UN Volunteers share current up-dates on COVID-19 via radio programmes, while advocating for prevention and protection measures.

African countries and WHO are redoubling their efforts to strengthen people’s health and well-being in a region with some of the highest rates of disease in the world. With the Africa Women Health Champions, UNV and WHO will recruit early-career women professionals to promote health across the 47 countries where WHO is present on the continent.

African countries and WHO are redoubling their efforts to strengthen people’s health and well-being in a region with some of the highest rates of disease in the world. With the Africa Women Health Champions, UNV and WHO will recruit early-career women professionals to promote health across the 47 countries where WHO is present on the continent.

This Portal will feature an Evidence Library that will synthesize evidence products from partners focusing on cross-cutting thematic areas such as youth, gender, climate change and inequality and other on-demand topics that will help enhance our understanding of the contribution of volunteering to a specific development topic. It will contain links to carefully curated evidence products – research, findings, case studies, policy briefs, and platforms on volunteerism.