Communities should harness the energy and initiative of the thousands of volunteers who contribute to projects around the world, including critical United Nations activities, senior UN officials said today as they marked the day dedicated to those who give their time and efforts for free to help others.

Representatives of governments, business and civil society are set to meet this weekend in Doha, Qatar, at a United Nations conference focusing on ensuring sufficient financing to meet key development goals amid mounting concern about the impact of the current global economic slowdown on poor nations.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the leaders of the so-called Group of 20 (G-20) nations to take speedy steps to ensure that the current financial turmoil does not deepen human suffering worldwide.

Immediate action is needed to prevent the current financial crisis from becoming a “human tragedy,” resulting in political and security challenges that would overwhelm the current economic problems, warned Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ahead of this weekend’s meeting of the so-called Group of 20 (G-20) nations.