Leonardo Martínez is a UN Volunteer serving as Protection, Childhood and Humanitarian Action Specialist with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Colombia, which is the lead host country for Venezuelan migrants and refugees. These migrants and refugees face a hoard of humanitarian issues. The situation is worsened by internal armed conflict, as approximately 6.9 million people in rural areas are under the control or influence of non-state armed groups.

In Peru, UNV partnered with two UN entities that host the highest numbers of UN Volunteers, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to carry out a talent outreach mission on the northern border of the country. 

The Peruvian towns of Tumbes, Piura, and Lambayeque are facing a triple crisis: climate change, a dengue fever outbreak and forced migration. It is estimated that 840,000 people need humanitarian assistance after heavy rains and are at risk of a possible "El Niño" phenomenon.

Facilitating safe returns with IOM Toema Ibrahim (Egypt, 24) is a UN Volunteer Migrant Protection Assistant with the International Office for Migration (IOM) in Cairo. In his work, he is facilitating the safe return of individuals from diverse nationalities to their countries of origin, and he has worked actively on IOM’s Sudan response assisting people to their countries of origin.

In supporting decent work and economic growth with IOM, I took the lead in youth entrepreneurship and expanded opportunities for young people's skill development. This was an important part of reducing the flow of irregular migration and improving Sierra Leone's economic development.

Volunteers have contributed to the success of our strategic deliverables at all levels in the field and the region. --Othman Belbeisi, IOM Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa 

The migration corridor between Myanmar and Thailand is one of the top 20 in size globally and the largest in the Asia-Pacific region. An estimated 10,000 individuals enter Thailand monthly through just two of 10 observed border provinces. Of these, 15 per cent cite the quest for safety as a reason for leaving home.

Raised by Japanese parents in a foreign land, my upbringing instilled in me a deep curiosity for diverse cultures and a desire to work for the United Nations. During my gap year, I took the opportunity to serve as a UN Volunteer with IOM in Madagascar.

In 2022, Mount Kenya University funded three national UN University Volunteer assignments. Brenda Kemunto Onyancha, Jane Wamucii Ngure and Jeremiah Newton Otieno joined the teams of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), respectively. The youth volunteers share the valuable experience they have gained in global development, and how their perspectives have changed through their assignments. 

In delivering much-needed aid and assistance to the Afghan population, IOM national and international personnel face security risks and elevated stress. One of these is UN Volunteer Staff Counselor Anne Mungai (Kenya). Anne joined IOM in Afghanistan in November 2022, hoping to share her expertise she gained in her native country, Kenya. She supports IOM personnel in the delicate political environment that followed restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities on Afghan women and girls, who have been barred from schools, universities and work.