At VADO, the safety and well-being of every volunteer are a top priority. Volunteer Insurance provides protection for individuals who dedicate their time and skills to serving communities and supporting just causes — ensuring that they are covered against risks that may occur in the course of their service.
The Volunteer Insurance is aninitiative of the Voluntary Aid and Development Organisation (VADO), designed to address this critical gap. The program provides a structured social protection framework for volunteers, by linking them to insurance coverage that recognizes their service hours as valuable labour.
About the Initiative
The Volunteer Insurance initiative is a key component of the Voluntary Social Insurance Scheme (VSIS), designed to function through a Public-Private-Partnership with government and institutional partners such as the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). It functions as a conditional contributory program that ensures volunteers are covered against workplace injuries, health emergencies, and other risks encountered during service delivery.
Through this scheme, volunteers are registered under a contributory social insurance plan where volunteering hours are converted into social protection credits, giving them access to welfare benefits such as:
- Health and medical support for on-duty incidents
- Financial risks and liability protection
- Compensation for disability and displacement
- Legal protection and support
This program aligns with global frameworks such as the ILO’s Recommendation No. 204 on the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy and UNV’s Global Volunteerism Report (2022), both of which emphasize the need to formalize and protect volunteer work within national labour systems.
Impact and Benefits
- By integrating insurance into the volunteer ecosystem, VADO strengthens decent work standards, improves volunteer motivation, and formalizes the recognition of unpaid civic work within the national labour economy.
- Governments, NGOs, and development partners can now measure volunteer work as a contributory element of national productivity and GDP, advancing inclusive growth and social protection goals.
- The Volunteer Insurance initiative represents a paradigm shift — from charity-based volunteering to safeguarded, professional, and dignified civic engagement.
Join the Volunteer Insurance Network Today
Protect your volunteers. Strengthen your community. Partner with VADO to make volunteer service safe, secure, and socially valued.
Contact: info@voluntaryaid.org