International UNV volunteers make up nearly 10 per cent of World Food Programme's international staff in Somalia. The perceived impartiality of international staff, says the WFP head in the country, is useful in facing local clans' sensitivities.
  Read

Phnom Penh, Cambodia: It is not everyday that UNV volunteers and fishermen rub shoulders with an international celebrity. But the visit last week of Ms. Misako Konno, Japanese actress and writer, brought some rare glamour and excitement to a UN Volunteers project on Tonlé Sap Lake. Read

People living with or affected by HIV/AIDS are faced with a multitude of challenges:  they must deal not only with medical problems, but also with social discrimination and economic difficulties.  In Zambia, the Microfinance for Poverty Reduction project made financial services accessible to poor people, largely women, living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Read

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Violence is part of a favela's daily life. Can this be changed? How do the residents' cope? Anika Gärtner, a German volunteer working with the UN Habitat in Brazil, tries to answer this question after visiting a slum (favela) in Rio de Janeiro. Read

Thimphu, Bhutan: Goodwill ambassadors Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane have taken to heart the fight against poverty by sponsoring the Match Against Poverty. Part of the proceeds from this UNDP event are going to support an ethnic minority in the Himalayan country of Bhutan as they seek greater access to education and agricultural techniques. Read