Dirty water and poor sanitation is a major problem in Zambia in southern Africa, where 50 per cent of the population does not have access to sanitation. This has led to recurrent cholera outbreaks in many parts of the country.

As the world commemorated October 17th as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, key 'Buy Malawi' strategy stakeholders recognized the initiative as pivotal in tackling poverty in Malawi. Like most developing countries, a large proportion of the population generally prefer imported products and services to local ones.

The Growth and Development Strategy III (2017-2022) recognizes the value of volunteerism in increasing the productivity of youth and unemployed Malawians. It envisages the establishment of a national volunteer service programme. The Ministries of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development and Finance, Economic Planning and Development will work closely with the National Youth Council of Malawi to develop a legal and regulatory framework on volunteerism, as well as an effective national coordination and implementation framework.  

The people of South Sudan deserve to enjoy life, deserve to have food, water, electricity, education and a prosperous future for their children. This is the spirit of volunteerism for me – volunteering to make people’s lives better. --Ia Saakadze, UN Volunteer Air Operations Assistant

UNMISS was established in 2011 after South Sudan became the newest country on earth and works to deter violence, provide refuge at Protection of Civilian sites across the country, facilitate humanitarian assistance and investigate human rights violations. It is an impartial partner at national and sub-national level to political, religious, traditional and community leaders to foster reconciliation.

EMPOWERING YOUTH REFUGEES AS VOLUNTEERS

Malawi has limited road access to rural areas, and after a flash flood earth roads can turn to rivers, completely cutting off affected communities. Using drones, we fly over the affected area and see clearly what the impact has been on the ground, using this information to inform the disaster response. The Disaster Coordinator, Blessings, called the crisis team together to discuss the assessment mission, the benefits of drones and how they can assist in coordinating the response.

On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the UN pays homage to the victims of hunger and social exclusion to encourage multilateral partnerships that are based on solid, compassionate responses to their struggles. Poverty has numerous repercussions: hunger and food insecurity, increased crime and child mortality rates, political instability, corruption and dysfunctional governance. We are seeing now that poverty is a prime driver of violent extremism, breeding and intensifying conflicts worldwide.

Malawi has limited road access to rural areas, and after a flash flood earth roads can turn to rivers, completely cutting off affected communities. Using drones, we fly over the affected area and see clearly what the impact has been on the ground, using this information to inform the disaster response.

In her position, she finds herself working across different projects focused on empowering women in every aspect. One week she may be in the field monitoring business and entrepreneurship trainings for producer group members, and the next she may be representing her programmatic team at a Gender and Climate Change training for Members of Parliament. One thing is for sure, there is always something to be done.