Tajikistan is the country of origin for large numbers of migrant workers who seek employment abroad. It is hard to find a single Tajik citizen who does not have a family member or friend currently working abroad. In many cases, however, their journeys are connected with risks of social disintegration and human trafficking. Despite the comprehensive efforts to address the remaining challenges in regards to migration management, Tajik migrants and their families continue to face a lot of difficulties both abroad and at home.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), refugees, displaced persons and women are particularly vulnerable to economic shocks because they are disproportionally represented in the labor market as either informal laborers or underpaid and unpaid caregivers.

Korea was one of the 124 co-sponsors of the UN General Assembly resolution on Volunteering for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/C.3/73/L.13) in 2018. Korea also actively supports the promotion of volunteerism and participated in the 2019 Asian Regional Consultation on the Plan of Action for Integrating Volunteerism into the Agenda 2030 as a guest speaker in the session 'Volunteering for and by Senior citizens'. 

The Norwegian Government supports full funding of UN Volunteer assignments for Norwegian nationals.Norway is one of the 124 co-sponsors of the 2018 UN General Assembly Resolution on Volunteering for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/C.3/73/L.13). 

The initiative of the Head of State to declare this year the Year of the Volunteer is a great incentive for the development of the volunteer movement, especially during this pandemic. Under the aegis of the republican front office Birgemiz, volunteer headquarters were created, hotlines were established and about 40 thousand volunteers were involved in providing targeted assistance to socially-vulnerable segments of the population. As a result, during the state of emergency, assistance was provided to almost one million citizens in difficult situations.

Hyo Jeong Jung, engaged with WFP in Kyrgyzstan, has just completed her assignment as UN Volunteer Migration and Employment Specialist. She successfully developed a research paper on migration and food security that will now help the programme team to integrate migration into a new food security project.

Many factors motivated me to volunteer: I always wanted to be an agent of change to change mindsets towards persons with disabilities and disability-related matters. I further wanted to prove to the world – through my actions and contributions – that disability does not mean inability. --Pelgrina Shimanu Ndumba, UN Volunteer with UNDP, serving under the UNDP-UNV Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities

UNV and Sida have been partnering in support of peace, humanitarian and sustainable development for many years. In 2018, they renewed their partnership, in line with Sida’s Strategy for Capacity Development, Partnerships and Methods Supporting Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, (2018-2022). One of the objectives of this strategy is to broaden the Swedish resource base for implementation of the 2030 Agenda.  

As a member of the procurement team, Yurii contributes to almost 20 projects. UNDP Ukraine provides procurement support services to the Ministry of Health and the Recovery and Peacebuilding and Democratic Governance Programmes.