Why volunteering and inequality?

On Wednesday, they joined dozens of other volunteers who piloted bass boats, jet skis and aluminum dinghies through the caramel-colored floodwaters of west Houston to ferry hundreds of residents to safety, part of an impromptu flotilla that has played a prominent role in the recovery from the worst storm to hit Texas in more than 50 years. “I usually just use this boat for drinking beer,” said Sparkman as he steered his flat-bottomed boat around submerged pickup trucks. “But we come together when we need to - that’s what Texans do.”

The UN Secretary-General laid a wreath to commemorate those who have fallen while serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations over the last year. In addition, the Secretary-General presided over the ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld medals were awarded posthumously to 117 military, police, international and national civilian personnel, including UN Volunteers, who perished in the service of peace. Three UN Volunteers were among this year's Dag Hammarskjöld medal recipients.

After the military coup of April 2012, all the socio-economic indicators of Guinea Bissau experienced a setback. Strikes in crucial sectors such as education, health care and transportation paralyzed the country. More than two months of strikes were registered in 2013 in all the schools of Guinea Bissau.

In Guinea-Bissau there is a shortage of human resources in all areas of reproductive health. The number of gynaecology/obstetrics specialists and midwives is inadequate. To address this issue, and in collaboration with United Nations Agencies in the framework of the H4+ Initiative to improve maternal and child health, eight UN Volunteer specialists in paediatrics, gynaecology, and anaesthesiology are serving with the World Health Organization (WHO).