UNV and IOM strengthen collaboration to serve migrants and uphold their rights
UNV and IOM strengthen collaboration to serve migrants and uphold their rights
UNV and WHO sign Memorandum of Understanding to promote health through volunteers
UNV and WHO sign Memorandum of Understanding to promote health through volunteers
She who has health has hope; and she who has hope has everything
My journey as a UN volunteer started when I arrived in Laos in May 2016. The idea of me moving to a small developing country in Southeast Asia to help the World Health Organization fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria was not exactly shocking to my friends. They had seen me volunteer for various projects in Nicaragua before.
Nicaragua suffered a terrible civil war in the 1980s. The city where I was born was one of the main centres of the conflict. Consequently, I grew up amidst political instability and economic hardship.
Witnessing the vast unmet needs of our population inspired me to volunteer for several projects committed to improving health and sanitation in remote communities of Nicaragua.
From UN Volunteer in Timor-Leste to WHO Spokesperson
I was part of the first group of UN Volunteers that arrived to Kosovo in August 1999. Being from Bosnia and Herzegovina, I had a good understanding of the political context and I was also able to communicate with the population in one of two languages that were widely used. I keep a special place in my heart and mind for UNV. It is a platform that helped hundreds to be a part of the extraordinary work of the United Nations and in some cases such as mine, to define a life-long path.
In 1999, two large humanitarian crises were unfolding: Kosovo and East Timor. The United Nations was tasked to support local authorities in both places to establish administrative and governance structures.
From Kenya to Turkey: helping refugees regain hope for a better future
Turkey is the country hosting the largest number of refugees in the world, according to UNHCR. Over 3.5 million registered Syrian refugees, in addition to 365,000 persons of concern from other nationalities, are registered with UNHCR. Currently, 37 UN Volunteers are deployed across the country to support people forcibly displaced due to conflict, violence and persecution.
Ann Kamunya is an international UN Volunteer with UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey, where she she joined as a UN Volunteer Associate Refugee Status Determination Officer in December 2016.
This is not Ann's first volunteer experience. Prior to Turkey, she served with UNHCR as a national UN Volunteer in Nairobi and then in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, delivering for refugees who had been forcibly displaced from their home countries due to war or persecution.
UN Volunteers stand #WithRefugees
In its Global Trends report, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that there were 68 million forcibly displaced persons in the world at the end of 2017, half of whom were under the age of 18.
People leaving their homes for the unknown, in hope of finding a safer and more secure future, are often triggered by the ravages of war, famine, political instability and the deleterious effects of climate change.
UN Volunteers stand #WithRefugees
In its Global Trends report, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that there were 68 million forcibly displaced persons in the world at the end of 2017, half of whom were under the age of 18.
People leaving their homes for the unknown, in hope of finding a safer and more secure future, are often triggered by the ravages of war, famine, political instability and the deleterious effects of climate change.
UN Volunteers bolster UNFPA Rohingya Humanitarian Response in Bangladesh
UN Volunteers Bakoko Matua Joyce (Uganda), Anju Gurung and Sailesh Rajbanshi (both from Nepal), have been supporting UNFPA’s Rohingya Humanitarian Response in Cox’s Bazar since early 2018. These UN Volunteers provide a wide range of services on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, such as emergency obstetric and newborn care, antenatal care, postnatal care and family planning. These skilled volunteers also support the clinical management of rape, menstrual regulation and post abortion care.
Since August 2017, close to 700,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, creating the world’s largest refugee camp in an area that was before a forest on the border with Myanmar.
According to UNFPA, more than half of the new arrivals are women and girls. To respond to the sharp increase in pregnant women, new mothers and newborns in need of care, five UN Volunteers are now serving with UNFPA in Bangladesh.