UN Volunteer Shiho Jinno (Japan) and national UN Volunteer Mercy Ochieng Odhiambo serve under UN-Habitat's Waste Management Initiative, which aims to create a safe and healthy environment for all and ensure that no one is left behind in the process.

I served at the UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector Development in Türkiye as a Research and Partnership Analyst with a focus to ensure the engagement of private-sector partnerships for developing digital skills and the green economy. 

Egypt hosted more than 250,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers in 2021. Most came from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Syria, and about 38 per cent of these refugees were under the age of 18. Commonly, refugees and asylum seekers live in rented apartments in urban centers in Egypt, making them vulnerable to fluctuating economic conditions and poverty. Many child protection issues exist in these circumstances, such as insecure accommodation, increased risk of detention, discrimination, physical and sexual violence and inaccessible essential healthcare. 

Women's rights have been on the agenda of the whole UN system and its agencies over many years. Emanating from its triple mandate, UN Women has several key aims for their projects, focusing on empowering women, increasing women's political involvement, mainstreaming gender in national processes, greater economic security for women and ending gender-based violence. 

Despite the progress Tunisia made since establishing a new constitution in 2014, there are many elements in the democratic transition that have not yet been completed. These include justice and security sector reform, anti-corruption and revision of the legal institutional framework. In addition, Tunisia is facing new challenges, such as countering terrorism and extremism.

UNFPA has been active in Ethiopia since 1973 and is working with the government, UN entities and partners to improve sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, emergency obstetric care and fistula treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed significant pressure on health service delivery and compounded existing challenges in promoting gender equality and improving maternal health. 

UN Volunteer Yo Kunieda supported the work of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in Fiji from March 2020 to March 2021. Her main contributions centred on a Small Island Developing States (SIDS) project, which supports small islands to better manage disaster and climate risk. 

Long thought of as a place of natural beauty and biodiversity, Madagascar is experiencing environmental destruction like never before.

Ayaka’s assignment had a strong focus on COVID-19 response and capacity building, along with accelerating private sector engagement in the Sustainable Development Goals. She also enhanced Uzbekistan’s participation in the UN Food Systems Summit last year. 

Since 1994, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has supported UNV through the Japan Trust Fund. In addition to supporting the implementation of UNV-executed projects, funding through Japan-UNV Trust Fund has supported the deployment of UN Volunteer specialists and UN University Volunteers, which has contributed to creating an enabling environment to promote global volunteerism for peace and development.