I joined the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) as a UN Volunteer in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) team shortly after the first COVID-19 outbreak in Kenya in May 2020. Almost immediately after I started my assignment, traveling to the field was no longer safe due to the rising COVID-19 infection rates in the country.

Astrid Aulanier-Rebeschini (France) and Gilbert Kilimo (Kenya) are UN Volunteers working to combat accelerated nature degradation by promoting biodiversity conservation strategies. Astrid, who is 23 years old, supervises biodiversity management with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Benin. Her passion for issues related to biodiversity and global warming brought her to Cotonou. Her role as a UN Volunteer is to make a lasting impact on the lives of people through the implementation of projects to protect biodiversity.

At the start of Melody's  UN Volunteer assignment in Namwala District in Southern regions of Zambia, she supported the programme's implementation in the remote District along with a senior agriculture government official. As part of her assignment, she conducted research on different well-being indicators and prepared various project documents, including concept notes, advisories, budgets, work plans and reports.

Based in Nyakazi, southern Burundi, Gilbert fulfils a critical community liaison role. He collaborates with local, administrative and judicial authorities across five districts to improve the inclusivity and accessibility of services. He also strengthens the capacity of civil registry and rural land registration agents.

At the end of July 2021, deadly floods and landslides had a devastating effect on those living in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. Initial reports estimated that 2,500 shelters were damaged or destroyed, affecting more than 12,000 refugees within 24 hours alone.

For Fahamiya Abdou, World Environment Day is special for more than one reason. As a highly experienced environmental professional, preserving nature and the environment has always been close to her heart. But World Environment Day also marks the anniversary of her journey to joining the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a UN Volunteer for an ecosystem restoration project. 

Water filters, soap and hand sanitizers are essential for the survival and development of children – especially those who struggle every day from poor sanitation and a lack of access to drinking water – and have become more critical than ever during the global pandemic. In Viet Nam, UNICEF’s WASH team has distributed critical supplies to communal health centres and communities in selected provinces, reaching over 2.1 million people as of November 2020 through their immediate response.