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Volunteering: a programme dedicated to the wellbeing of communities

Combating any pandemic requires the involvement of many people and goes beyond relying solely on healthcare staff. Indeed, when faced with crises in general – and health crises in particular, such as epidemics – societies must develop their own solutions. Volunteering is one of the key ways of involving all citizens in the fight against pandemics, as it forms part of the social fabric of every society. One of the most recent examples of volunteering’s contribution to health issues is the global initiative to eradicate polio by the year 2000. Ten million people volunteered to support the vaccination of 550 million children. The vast majority were citizens who cared about children’s wellbeing and who therefore volunteered in their own communities. They gave their time to ensure that children turned up at vaccination centres, that they were properly registered and received the oral vaccine. The total value of the support provided by volunteers was estimated at 10 billion dollars, far beyond the scope of governments or international and national organisations. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has once again demonstrated the importance of the role of volunteering in the fight against this pandemic. The fourth edition of the Forum of National Volunteer Agencies in the ECOWAS region therefore adopted the theme ‘Sub-regional volunteering in the face of COVID-19’. ” At the sixth edition of the Annual Forum of National Volunteer Agencies in West Africa, held in Cotonou from 27 to 29 May 2024, a guide was published to highlight the contribution of volunteering to the fight against pandemics. #ecowasvolunteerprogramme #ysdc #covid19