Through concerted efforts in Central Asia, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) aims to expand the opportunities for women and girls, promote positive social norms by engaging men and establish comprehensive systems and mechanisms for women and adolescents. Héloïse Versavel, UN Volunteer Gender-Based Violence Specialist supports UNFPA in Kazakhstan. She has a background in Human Rights Law. 

In 2022, UN Women conducted an ethnographic review of harmful social norms and practices and support for mass advocacy initiatives to prevent violence against women and girls in the country. This mapped both harmful and positive practices, attitudes and behaviours that influence violence against women and girls.

What did your day-to-day work at UNFPA Madagascar entail? 

The project, Empowerment of Urban Women from Low-Income Families through Home Gardening to Ensure Food Security and Nutrition, was implemented in Sri Lanka from October 2022 to February 2023. It covered 12 communities with women and youth as key beneficiaries, and centered on emergency response to the socio-economic crisis in the the country. In recent years, the interest in home gardens has increased. This strategy to household food security especially helps the urban low-income communities.

Daniel Valbuena

As the UN agency focused on sexual health and reproductive rights, UNFPA's mandate spans many areas – from maternal health to gender-based violence. With the Youth Innovator Fellows on board, the agency has gained a strong group of advocates and implementers. What does the day-to-day work of a Young Innovator Fellow look like? It turns out the projects are as diverse as the Young Innovators themselves. Yet innovation is the thread that binds.

My Name is Emmanuel Chileshe Musonda, and I am currently serving as a UN Volunteer Health and Nutrition Associate at UNHCR's Kawambwa field office in the Mantapala refugee settlement. As a UN Volunteer, I mainly support the planning, implementation and analysis of health and nutrition projects in the refugee settlement. From a strategic standpoint, I provide technical guidance and programmatic recommendations on the overall design and focus of public health and nutrition programmes in the settlement. 

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 Youth Volunteer Nour Hamayel is 26-years-old and has just completed a two-year assignment with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in her home country, the State of Palestine. As national UN Youth Volunteer, Nour’s primarily role was Y-PEER coordinator – facilitating conversations and activities in the State of Palestine on sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention on behalf of the UNFPA-funded Youth Peer Education Network.

Port Louis, Mauritius:  Originally from Italy, since last February, I have been a  "volonter pou Moris", which means "volunteer for Mauritius" in Mauritian Creole, serving in the UNDP Country Office in Port Louis as a UNV Intern in Inclusive Development and Gender.  In my internship, which is fully funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have been assigned to the Support to Inclusive Development project which is aimed at assisting the Mauritius Government in its efforts to address the issues of poverty reduction, socio-economic developm