Iraq launches its first National Youth Volunteering Platform

The National Youth Volunteering Platform will establish a structured volunteering programme for the first time in Iraq. This platform will give young people a chance to register, search and apply for volunteer activities, in line with their skills and interests.

Opportunities will be provided by various partners and organizations, including private companies, non-governmental organizations and institutions.

Enabling communities in Burundi to prepare for and respond to health emergencies

Eric Nduwimana is a UN Volunteer serving with the Global Fund Unit of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Burundi. As a COVID-19 Response Programme Assistant, he supports communities in preparing for and responding to health emergencies. We asked Eric about his volunteer experience in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the below interview.

 

What do you do as a UN Volunteer?

The Global Fund’s COVID-19 response programme aims to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the fight to defeat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and promotes urgent improvements in health and community systems.

Freeing women and girls from violence and abuse in Mozambique

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant evidence demonstrates that there has been a surge in domestic violence and abuse towards women and girls around the world – resulting from economic challenges, and increased stress and anxieties in households. This reality only exacerbates an already worrying social issue.

In Mozambique, one in three women suffered from violence in their lives in the pre-COVID-19 era.

Different forms of abuse towards women and girls in many provinces of Mozambique have previously been recorded, especially in Chimoio, Mossourize, Gondola and Tambara districts of Manica province, where domestic violence and abuse cases against women are prevalent, with some resulting in death or loss of body parts.

Supporting migrants through income generation and resettlement in Madagascar

Ayako Iizumi (Japan) spent eight months as a UN Volunteer with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Madagascar. As a Social and Economic Recovery Specialist, she contributed to minimizing the impact of inequalities on migrants, particularly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ayako’s assignment was supported through the COVID-19 Impact Reduction Programme, funded by the Government of Japan.

Long thought of as a place of natural beauty and biodiversity, Madagascar is experiencing environmental destruction like never before.