UN Volunteers enhance food security and sustainability for crisis-affected people in Nigeria

UNV partnering with FAO and WFP
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Tiruneh Debena (Ethiopia), an international UN Volunteer with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), arrived in Nigeria in May 2018. For him, this volunteering assignment in Yola, Adamawa state, is an opportunity to use his expertise and professional skills to improve the living conditions of internally displaced people, especially providing sustainable food security and economic growth.

In North East Nigeria, 7.1 million people are in need of urgent, life-saving humanitarian assistance in 2019, due to insurgency and climate crises. Many of them lost all their assets (internally displaced persons), some try to recover from the crises (returnees) and some are struggling to survive with food aid (host communities).

Tiruneh Debena reports that all these people are exposed to hunger, unable to ensure sustainable basic food needs for their families in the last nine years. 

Enabling improved management of migration through data collection and analysis

Noora Mäkelä, UN Volunteer with IOM
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UN Volunteer Noora Mäkelä (Finland) has been serving with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kenya since December 2017. Noora shares her experience supporting the internal monitoring and evaluation tasks of the Migration Management Unit, which implements projects on Border Management, Labour Migration and Counter-Trafficking.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), is committed to humane and orderly migration to benefit all migrants and society. As an inter-governmental body, IOM acts with its partners to support governments in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

HDRO and UNV host joint expert seminar on volunteering and inequality

New York, USA
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Why volunteering and inequality?

HDRO and UNV host joint expert seminar on volunteering and inequality

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Why volunteering and inequality?

Big data and blockchain: using innovation to tackle Moldova’s development challenges

Tereza Sacha, UN Youth Volunteer with UNDP in Moldova
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The Moldova Innovation Lab (MiLab), founded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2014, seeks to explore innovative approaches to society’s needs, in close collaboration with beneficiaries. Tereza Sacha (Czech Republic) served as an international UN Youth Volunteer at MiLab from June 2018 to August 2019, and shares her reflections from her experience.

As an international UN Youth Volunteer fully funded by the Czech Republic, Tereza dedicated most of her time at MiLab to designing technology-based solutions to address development challenges in the country.

Her work involved projects such as digital education for Moldovan children, using behavioral science to reduce plastic and energy consumption, utilizing Big Data for urban development, and introducing blockchain-based solar power solutions for public institutions.

UN Volunteers raise awareness of the health and environment gains from wood-saving cookstoves in Zambia

UNV partnering with UNDP and the Global Environment Facility
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A partnership of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) is promoting energy-saving stoves in rural communities in Zambia in support of the government’s efforts to curb deforestation, clean up cooking, save lives and curb climate change. This initiative is supported by 14 national UN Volunteer Community Liaison Assistants, placed with UNDP, who are raising awareness on the sustainable use of natural resources and the need to protect forests.

It’s half past midday in Kawama Village in Northwestern Zambia and Mildred Kikwanda is busy preparing 'Nshima' – the staple maize meal – with chicken stew and vegetables, using a non-traditional means of cooking – a wood-saving, earth-block stove popularly known as the energy-saving stove.

Beaming with a smile, and with a blue colourful ‘chitenge’ (wrapper) tied around her waist, she takes some ‘mealie meal’ (maize flour) from a sachet and sprinkles it into a boiling water while briskly stirring it with a cooking stick to make it thicker.

UN Volunteers promote peace through climate action

UNV partnering with UNDP and WFP
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Climate change is a serious threat to international peace and security. In many parts of the world, natural disasters force millions of people to become displaced from their homes and communities. In Sub-Saharan Africa, desertification, deforestation, land degradation and water scarcity, among other things, are obstructing peace and development efforts. In countries most affected by climate crises, UN Volunteers support local communities and 'climate refugees', through meaningful contributions to peace and climate action initiatives.

Natural disasters displace three times as many people as conflicts

In 2018, natural disasters including drought, cyclones and floods forced almost 2.6 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa to flee their homes. This triggers competition over depleted natural resources which can spark conflict between communities or compound pre-existing vulnerabilities.

In West and Central Africa, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is at the heart of the climate action for building resilience to climate change and peace promotion.

UNV and UNICEF sign a Memorandum of Understanding confirming their joint commitment to volunteerism

New York, United States of America
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During the signing ceremony, Mr Adam and Ms Fore highlighted the importance of working closer together to reach the full potential of the partnership.

The agreement facilitates the deployment of UN Volunteers to support UNICEF in delivering on its mission to protect children, reduce child mortality, support quality education, provide life-saving emergency support and empower women and girls.

UNV and UNICEF sign a Memorandum of Understanding confirming their joint commitment to volunteerism

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During the signing ceremony, Mr Adam and Ms Fore highlighted the importance of working closer together to reach the full potential of the partnership.

The agreement facilitates the deployment of UN Volunteers to support UNICEF in delivering on its mission to protect children, reduce child mortality, support quality education, provide life-saving emergency support and empower women and girls.

Youth as the catalyst to progressing on climate change in the Arab States

Zeinab Chamas, Denis Korchunov and Yulia Isaeva
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For many years, caring about the state of the planet has seemed almost a luxury to those living in unstable political climates and developing countries. However, the facts are now clear as light: climate change is something that affects everyone, with long-lasting impact for future generations.

Across the globe, the impacts of anthropogenic action are pervasive as never before: in the Maghreb, crops grown on marginal lands are failing; in Egypt, rising sea levels are impacting impoverished neighbourhoods; in Jordan, competition and tensions over resources is predicted to only intensify as warming temperatures further heighten

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