In 2022, 157 Koreans served as UN Volunteers, 123 of whom were funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea. In addition to the full funding programme, Korea actively supports of UNV and volunteerism. In 2016, the Republic of Korea presented its Volunteer National Report. In addition, it was one of the 124 co-sponsors of the UN General Assembly resolution on Volunteering for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/C.3/73/L.13) in 2018.

The Norwegian Government supports full funding of UN Volunteer assignments for Norwegian nationals. In 2022, 27 Norwegian nationals served as UN Volunteers through funding by the Government of Norway. Norway is one of the 124 co-sponsors of the 2018 UN General Assembly Resolution on Volunteering for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/C.3/73/L.13).

The initiative of the Head of State to declare this year the Year of the Volunteer is a great incentive for the development of the volunteer movement, especially during this pandemic. Under the aegis of the republican front office Birgemiz, volunteer headquarters were created, hotlines were established and about 40 thousand volunteers were involved in providing targeted assistance to socially-vulnerable segments of the population. As a result, during the state of emergency, assistance was provided to almost one million citizens in difficult situations.

Hyo Jeong Jung, engaged with WFP in Kyrgyzstan, has just completed her assignment as UN Volunteer Migration and Employment Specialist. She successfully developed a research paper on migration and food security that will now help the programme team to integrate migration into a new food security project.

Many factors motivated me to volunteer: I always wanted to be an agent of change to change mindsets towards persons with disabilities and disability-related matters. I further wanted to prove to the world – through my actions and contributions – that disability does not mean inability. --Pelgrina Shimanu Ndumba, UN Volunteer with UNDP, serving under the UNDP-UNV Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities

UNV and Sida have been partnering in support of peace, humanitarian and sustainable development for many years. In 2018, they renewed their partnership, in line with Sida’s Strategy for Capacity Development, Partnerships and Methods Supporting Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, (2018-2022). One of the objectives of this strategy is to broaden the Swedish resource base for implementation of the 2030 Agenda.  

As a member of the procurement team, Yurii contributes to almost 20 projects. UNDP Ukraine provides procurement support services to the Ministry of Health and the Recovery and Peacebuilding and Democratic Governance Programmes.

In my role as a Health Communication for Development (C4D) Officer, I work with communities, nurses and the Government to strengthen communication for maternal and child health and nutrition.  I am based in Suva, and cover multiple Pacific island countries, including Kiribati, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. I began my assignment as an international UN Youth Volunteer in January 2020.

UNV’s two partner entities are the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, specifically, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Peace and Human Rights Division (PHRD) and the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO). SDC was one of the first partners to join the UN Youth Volunteers programme in 2001, followed by DPA/PHRD in 2004 and SECO in 2020.

The Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is placing significant strains in many countries, particularly in the Global South, reversing many positive gains in sustainable development. UN entities are working closely with national governments, community groups, the health sector and industry to respond to this crisis.