Aliya Mohamed Kosar, Refugee UN Volunteer Youth Community Service Assistant with UNHCR  Aliya is dedicated to empowering vulnerable individuals and communities, with a focus on addressing the unique challenges faced by youth. Born in Somalia, her first-hand understanding of marginalized communities fuels her commitment to supporting those at risk in improving their lives.

The Great Green Wall, an African-led initiative, aims to restore Africa's degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives in one of the world's most vulnerable regions, the Sahel. The initiative aligns perfectly with the broader sustainable development goals of the United Nations. It addresses 15 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including challenges such as climate change, desertification, drought, famine, conflict and migration.  

Seven UN Volunteers are serving with UNCCD and the Panafrican Agency for the GGWI in West and Central Africa. They are based in Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. Their collective endeavors exemplify how the GGWI goes beyond 'simply' planting trees. It aims to improve livelihoods and combat climate change on a continental scale.

According to the latest data on immunization in Indonesia, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in July 2022, the country has experienced a significant decline in basic immunization coverage. From 84.2 per cent in 2020, the coverage rate dropped to 79.6 percent in 2021. This decline is being attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, Mount Kenya University funded three national UN University Volunteer assignments. Brenda Kemunto Onyancha, Jane Wamucii Ngure and Jeremiah Newton Otieno joined the teams of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), respectively. The youth volunteers share the valuable experience they have gained in global development, and how their perspectives have changed through their assignments. 

Thank you, Mr Chair and thank you Mme Associate Administrator for introducing the agenda item on behalf of UNDP. With your permission, I will continue with the presentation of the Annual Report of the Administrator on UNV. 

Serena Bashal (United Kingdom) serves as an international UN Youth Volunteer Adolescent and Youth Environmental Engagement Coordinator with the East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). She volunteered in civic climate action spaces for several years, with youth organizations and youth-led networks to UN agencies, before kick-starting her UN volunteering journey in August 2022.

Ana Paula Machinha and Ramos Cassimo are national UN Volunteers serving with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Mozambique. They share stories from their involvement in the humanitarian response, revealing efforts to counter the cost of the humanitarian crisis in the country. Ana Paula Machinha, national UN Volunteer Field Monitoring Assistant with WFP

With a wealth of knowledge and skills, Liudmyla always felt a calling to serve in places where help was most needed. Through her assignment, she strives to reduce waste and prevent the harmful effects of open waste burning, which causes air pollution and jeopardizes public health in Central, Eastern, Western Equatoria and Jonglei States.