UNDP and UNV

The largest number of UN Volunteers (3,399) served with UNDP, up 7 per cent over 2021, in 125 countries around the world. The UN Volunteers with UNDP helped to support the livelihoods of people in disadvantaged urban communities in Bangladesh and assisted in the post-pandemic socioeconomic recovery of women in Sudan. In addition, UN Volunteers with UNDP fostered youth leadership in remote regions of India and upheld human rights in Guatemala.

UN Volunteers in action

During 2022, 3,730 UN Volunteers were part of the UN Secretariat and missions as civilian personnel, an increase of 8 per cent over 2021. Of these, the largest number (1,706) served in UN peacekeeping operations, where they have become the backbone of the work on human rights, community liaison, health, public information, and mission support.

In addition, 344 UN Volunteers served in UN special political missions, such as the UN Verification Mission in Colombia (UNVMC), UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

In 2022, 1,576 UN Volunteers, a 32 per cent increase over 2021, served in 118 countries with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In Kazakhstan, the national volunteering programme mobilized 10,000 local volunteers who reached 150,000 children and parents on mental health, online safety, education and early childhood development. In Latin America and the Caribbean, UN Volunteers worked on fundraising initiatives by UNICEF in Ecuador, Mexico and Panama and humanitarian response efforts in Venezuela.

Volunteers rapidly respond to needs

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) served as host to 1,154 UN Volunteers, an 18 per cent increase over 2021. They acted on refugee protection, status determination and other critical functions in 69 countries. In Colombia, UN Volunteers responded to increasing numbers of people in need of protection, while in Ecuador UN Volunteers helped UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the registration of Venezuelan migrants. In Mauritania, UN Volunteers provided refugee registration, along with technical and legal support. 

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) engaged 495 UN Volunteers in 82 countries. UN Volunteers were essential to reproductive health programming and monitoring and evaluation in Sudan. Other volunteers helped set up health clinics in hard-to-reach areas of Afghanistan. In China, UN Volunteers trained 1,600 local service providers, health workers, teachers and students on sexual and reproductive health services and rights. 

The number of UN Volunteers with the World Health Organization (WHO) increased by 26 per cent, to 463, in 54 countries. In Egypt, they were integral to the rapid response to COVID-19. During an Ebola virus disease outbreak in Uganda, they helped with data collection and health programme delivery and provided other health-related services. In addition, 111 UN Volunteers served in 34 countries across the African continent as part of the UNV-WHO Africa Women Health Champions initiative. 

In addition, hundreds of UN Volunteers served with 48 other UN partners.

Opportunities through volunteering

In 2022, 402 UN Volunteers, a 16 per cent increase, served with UN Women in 54 countries. Their contributions ranged from assisting women farmers through climate-smart agriculture in Kenya to enhancing visibility and leadership in peacebuilding efforts in Bolivia.

Demonstrating their abilities as emerging women leaders, 111 UN Volunteers served with WHO to support African Women Health Champions. These women helped fortify national health systems, emergency preparedness and response, and community engagement in 34 African countries. 

UNV partnered with UNFPA, UN Women and UNICEF to create more opportunities for women as UN Volunteers through specialized programmes.

UN Volunteers as refugees for refugees

In 10 countries, UNHCR deployed 48 refugee UN Volunteers (a 78 per cent increase over 2021). Among this group were 17 from Ukraine who served in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. An additional 12 refugee UN Volunteers from Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen served in Jordan. While the number of refugee UN Volunteers remains relatively small, each one of them stands as proof that refugees can also be active agents of positive change in their own and host communities.

Joint UN action with peacekeeping and elections support

UNV contributed to joint UN action in several areas:

Peacebuilding: UN Volunteers helped put into place activities supported by the Peacebuilding Fund. In Asia and the Pacific, for example, UN Volunteers extended cross-border community engagement, worked to prevent violent extremism and included women and youth in peace and stabilization projects; these efforts fostered community resilience and social cohesion. In 10 countries in West and Central Africa, UN Volunteers contributed to the implementation of the UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel in support of 27 UN partners.

System-wide electoral support: Nearly 600 UN Volunteers both on the ground (134) and online (456) were integral to providing electoral support. They served with a number of UN partners such as MINUSCA, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNAMI, UNDP, UN Women, the Peacebuilding Fund, and resident coordinators’ offices. Overall, UN Volunteers underpinned elections and post-election work across 28 countries, including Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Iraq, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal and the Solomon Islands.

Support for UN conventions

UN conventions received support from 568 UN Volunteers, who provided their technical and volunteer management expertise. In Egypt, UN Volunteers coordinated 500 local volunteers, who were the backbone of the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. And in Côte d’Ivoire, UN Volunteers helped ensure the smooth conduct of the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. 

Duty of care for UN Volunteers

UNV supported the individual and professional development of UN Volunteers by increasing the number and variety of training classes as well as additional opportunities to interact with peers. Through 135 workshops, 5,650 UN Volunteers gained knowledge in preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, as well as in combating racism and discrimination. This represents a 70 per cent increase in participants compared to 2021. Additionally, 4,458 UN Volunteers acquired assignment-specific skills through self-paced learning and online certification opportunities.