Education systems had already been under strain because of double-shifting and other adjustments to school schedules to accommodate rising numbers of students. Subsequent increases in education spending and a consistent effort aimed to keep pace with the demand for nutrition, health and second-chance learning services that disadvantaged students need most.

UN Volunteers in Bangladesh provide support to refugees in issues related to education, water and sanitation, health care, research, nutrition, child care and gender, among others. Based in Cox’s Bazar, they serve with the international Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF and UN Women.

We should work at improving aid effectiveness, but overall, aid provides a great tool for moving towards a more inclusive, equal world where social justice prevails. --UN Volunteer with UNICEF, Zambia

Due to the global COVID-19 outbreak, 91 per cent of the worldwide student population have not been attending their schools and other academic training locations, which have closed their doors in order to mitigate the pandemic’s direct impact. This measure took effect in Guinea on 24 March 2020, after a joint statement of the Ministers in charge of National Education and Training, and affects more than six million pupils and students all over the country.

I became a UN Volunteer because I want to offer my skills to make the world a better place. This experience has not only been a platform to gain professional experience, meet and work with people from different cultures or improve my communication and social skills. It has also changed my life. 

The main goal of the partnership is to enhance the capacity and engagement of youth from the region as key actors of change in global development issues. A selected number of Mount Kenya University students will be deployed for six months in various UN agencies in Kenya as UN University Volunteers to apply their knowledge and skills in several areas of UN peace and development work. The deployment is a result of the partnership agreement initially signed on 1 November 2019 between UNV and Mount Kenya University.

The main goal of the partnership is to enhance the capacity and engagement of youth from the region as key actors of change in global development issues. A selected number of Mount Kenya University students will be deployed for six months in various UN agencies in Kenya as UN University Volunteers to apply their knowledge and skills in several areas of UN peace and development work. The deployment is a result of the partnership agreement initially signed on 1 November 2019 between UNV and Mount Kenya University.

Promoting girls’ education in Liberia

By 2030, the sustainable goals (SDG4) aims to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. Nowadays, young women do not have the same access to education and training as their male peers. According to UNICEF, globally, 264 million children and adolescents do not have the opportunity to enter or complete school.