According to reports, since the war started more than 2.4 million Ukrainians have crossed the border into Romania from Ukraine or Moldova.

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.

UN Youth Volunteer Love-lis Liljeström (Sweden) is supporting the roll out of the crisis response of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Port Sudan. Love-lis is a Programme Liaison Affairs/Transition Affairs Assistant, and her assignment is fully funded by Sida, Sweden.

One hundred Online Volunteers were deployed with UNHCR for almost two months on a campaign that ended this week. Almost all of them were nationals of Niger. Through social media posts, they raised awareness of the rights of refugees in Niger and addressed Sustainable Development Goal 10, reducing inequalities. The posts further highlighted the urgent need to find solutions for refugees in the country – mostly from Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria. 

Scaling up education efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo Born and raised in a small village in Northern Sumatera, Indonesia, Astrini Simanjuntak witnessed stark inequalities in her community in terms of access to basic services, particularly among women and girls. This pushed her to pursue a master’s degree in sociology, majoring in gender.

The life path of 21-year-old Anes was not the same as that of his peers. From early childhood he walked through a world that often did not understand his unique abilities. He was born with Down syndrome, which greatly influenced his upbringing and life circumstances, from schooling and adolescence to acceptance in society. But every obstacle was a new step towards success for him.

I have a long history of service that began at a young age. I completed residencies for unaccompanied refugee children and volunteered with CISV, an international youth organization that promotes peace through education. My previous experiences prepared me well for my UN Volunteer assignments with UNDP in Kosovo, fully funded by Sweden. They played a crucial role in helping me truly understand the challenges people face and the significance of finding solutions to alleviate human suffering.