In Kenya, UN Volunteers took part in the activities marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December, hosted at the Technical University of Mombasa. The event included a booth display and a talent show from special needs schools. UNV highlighted volunteer programmes and potential UN Volunteer assignments that are inclusive of people with disabilities.

The fourth State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR), Building Equal and Inclusive Societies, is designed to strengthen understanding on volunteerism and demonstrate its universality, scope, and reach in the twenty-first century.

Across the region, people volunteered to raise awareness of the need for urgent action for humanity’s future. Thousands more pledged to continue volunteering every year. UN Volunteers are important to our work with forcefully displaced persons in the region – thanks to them, we are able to reach people in need. --Ms Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Regional Bureau Director for the East, Horn and Great Lakes Regions of Africa, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in her social media message

Tell us about the nature of your posting I am a UN Volunteer with UNSOS based in Mogadishu, Somalia. The core mission of UNSOS is to provide critical support needed by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the UN Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and Somali Security Forces for effective peacebuilding efforts in Somalia.

Currently, 40 UN Volunteers are deployed with the UN Support Office for Somalia (UNSOS) and 12 UN Volunteers with the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). They serve from different locations in Somalia and Kenya. This is a significant increase over the years from 18 UN Volunteers in 2015. With an average age of 42 years and a gender ratio of 30 per cent women, UNSOS is making significant progress towards achieving gender parity among UN Volunteers.

UN Peacekeeping is one of the largest United Nations partners of the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme. In 2019, more than 2,000 UN Volunteers served with UN Peacekeeping in 17 different missions around the world, contributing to protection and peacebuilding efforts and promoting volunteerism across the United Nations system.