Annual Report

The second largest host entity in 2025 was the United Nations Secretariat, including peacekeeping operations and special political missions, where UN Volunteers were integrated as civilian personnel, providing mission support, upholding human rights, promoting access and integrating ex-combatants into society. The peacekeeping missions hosting 1,046 UN Volunteers were UNMISS, MINUSCA and MONUSCO. In addition, 327 UN Volunteers served in UN special political missions, mainly in UNVMC and UNAMA. UNV support to various entities under the Secretariat was not limited to UN missions. Valuable contributions were made worldwide by 467 UN Volunteers serving with UNODC, 309 UN Volunteers with the UNRCOs, 273 with UNEP, 241 with UN-Habitat, 237 with OHCHR and 133 OCHA, among others.

With 2,181 UN Volunteers, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was the second largest host entity among agencies, funds and programmes, and third largest in the UN system overall. These volunteers served in 130 countries. In Sudan, the Learning for Life project in East and North Darfur expanded displaced children’s access to quality early childhood education, with UN Volunteers contributing to UNICEF through planning, coordination, advocacy, and monitoring. In Nepal, they promoted children's rights through disability inclusion and advocacy programmes. In Romania, UN Volunteers helped children to get protection, schooling, and essential services, including for those arriving from Ukraine. In Madagascar, they advocated for social and behaviour change in communities by designing street awareness campaigns to counter racial tensions and promote peace. And in Colombia, UN Volunteers ran a national adolescent network and strengthened peace‑related work by organizing victim data and coordination with government partners.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) engaged 1,075 UN Volunteers, a 21 percent increase compared to the previous year. The service of UN Volunteers boosted reproductive health programming and monitoring in 97 countries. UN Volunteers in Angola helped disseminate health and protection messages for adolescents and youth on HIV, early pregnancy and gender‑based violence, reaching over 66,000 young people aged 10–24. In Burkina Faso, UN Volunteers served as midwives in five different regions and offered quality maternal health services to women. In India, they worked as gender advocates for awareness on sexual reproductive health and girls’ empowerment to over 40,000 people, mostly from marginalized tribal groups across more than 1,000 hard-to-reach villages. In Türkiye, through the UNFPA women‑friendly cities programme, UN Volunteers worked in 25 cities to map and monitor gender equality initiatives at the municipal level.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) hosted 757 UN Volunteers, a 22 percent decrease from the previous year, as a result of reduced funding of specific refugee operations. These volunteers delivered on refugee protection and humanitarian action in 69 countries, many of which were affected by war and conflict. In Jordan, 33 refugees served as UN Volunteers in Za’atari and Al Azraq camps. Working as electrical and site assistants, photographers, interpreters and playground volunteers, they strengthened camp services and helped thousands of refugees live with greater dignity and resilience. In Brazil, UN Volunteers supported Venezuelan refugees in Boa Vista and across the Amazon region, while also contributing to the emergency response to the Rio Grande do Sul floods, which affected 2.4 million people, including 43,000 refugees. In eastern Chad, they assisted Sudanese refugees with biometric pre-registration, urgent healthcare and relocation to refugee camps at the Tiné border. In Rwanda, they served as interpreters in the Kiziba and Mahama camps helping with translations in processes related to refugee protection, registration and resettlement.

In 2025, 656 UN Volunteers served with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) in 78 countries, a 27 percent increase compared to the previous year. In Bangladesh, UN Volunteers provided administrative and programme support to UN-Women to sustain operations at the Rohingya refugee camp at Cox's Bazar. In Jamaica, UN Volunteers enabled frontline social work assistance to survivors of family violence and strengthened gender equality advocacy. In Mozambique, they advanced young women’s economic empowerment while supporting field coordination in Nampula and Zambezia, reaching over 2,600 adolescent girls and young women. In Nigeria, UN Volunteers promoted women's rights, advocating an end to gender-based violence and creating safer digital spaces for women and girls.

Advancing the mandate of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 73 countries, the number of UN Volunteers increased to 519, or by 2 percent from 2024. The flagship Africa Women Health Champions initiative, in partnership with the WHO Regional Office for Africa, continued with 46 women UN Volunteers promoting essential health services in 19 countries. In Egypt, UN Volunteers worked on WHO’s epidemic intelligence and contributed to early detection, verification, assessment, and communication of health threats. In the Solomon Islands, they strengthened community awareness of malaria risks and preventive actions toward malaria elimination in vulnerable areas. In Tajikistan, they supported doctors and nurses on the proper use and benefits of assistive devices—wheelchairs, crutches, walking aids, toilet chairs, hearing aids, and reading glasses.

Across 59 countries, 518 UN Volunteers worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a 45 percent decrease from the previous year, mostly due to the partner agency’s funding shortfalls. They formed the backbone of migrant assistance efforts. In Chad, UN Volunteers worked alongside returning migrants providing basic emotional and practical help, including one‑to‑one support, reconnecting with communities, organizing group activities, and raising awareness on reintegration. In Ecuador, UN Volunteers monitored the registration of unaccompanied children and adolescents and evaluated recent migration registration and regularization efforts in 18 cities. In Türkiye, they conducted local research to map labour market needs, identify skills gaps, and assess spatial economic patterns affecting migrants and host communities in 19 cities.

Marking the commitment to food security in 57 countries, the World Food Programme (WFP) hosted 266 UN Volunteers, a 12 percent decrease from the previous year, mostly due to a freeze in the recruitment of UN Volunteers in the context of the Programme’s global restructuring. In Kenya, they supported communities to sustain food systems through village loan associations in Isiolo and Samburu, impacting more than 10,000 people. In Niger, their activities included distributing cash and cereals to managing community gardens, goat-rearing kits, and improved cooking stoves, reaching 23,000 households across nine communes in Tahoua and Agadez. UN Volunteers in Pakistan monitored food assistance in the 2025 flood-affected areas of Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh.