Case study: Girls speak out at UN

A delegation of girls from poor rural communities across the world are sharing the harsh reality of their lives at a United Nations meeting in New York.

The 9 Plan-supported teenagers from Cambodia, Cameroon, Malawi, Pakistan and Sierra Leone will tell the Commission on the Status of Women* (CSW), of the daily challenges girls face in their communities – from early and forced marriage to polygamy and domestic violence.

Læs mere her!

Journeys to school: Cameroon

Thirteen-year-old Yié is the only Baka girl in her secondary school. She is determined that other girls like her should also have the opportunity to continue their education.

Yié comes from Mayos, a community of Baka pygmies in eastern Cameroon. Her school is 8km away – too far to travel each day – so she stays nearby and returns home when she can. But Yié and her mother are willing to do whatever it takes give her the best opportunities for the future.

“I love school and I am proud to go,” says Yié. “I like French and all the subjects really. School is good, but I am the only Baka girl in my school. I am a little bit unusual! I have friends there and I am accepted.

Læs mere her!

Ensuring girls' right to education in Cameroon

Discrimination robbed Hawou Adamou of her right to an education. Today, as the President of the Plan-supported Hausa Women's Association for Development in Cameroon, she reflects on her experiences and how she's helping to change girls' lives.

My name’s Hawou Adamou. I’m the president of the Hausa Women’s Association for Development (AFHADEV). After 38 years, I am going to share my story. It’s not extraordinary, thousands of other girls and women in Cameroon live similar lives in silence. I speak for them too.

Læs mere her!

Ensuring girls' right to education in Cameroon

My name’s Hawou Adamou. I’m the president of the Hausa Women’s Association for Development (AFHADEV). After 38 years, I am going to share my story. It’s not extraordinary, thousands of other girls and women in Cameroon live similar lives in silence. I speak for them too.

I have lived my whole life in Briqueterie, an extremely poor district in the heart of Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. 90% of the people living her are Hausas (Muslims) from the northern most part of the country. Tradition is an important part of lives here.

Læs mere her!

Flood victims offer their girls as young brides for dowry

When the President of Cameroon has been a long time outside of the capital city, something exceptional must be happening. President Paul Biya had spent four days in North and Far North Regions of Cameroon, comforting his countrymen who had been displaced by the flood and had congratulated aid agencies for their hard work. As he left Maroua, I was on my way to Kai-Kai, located near the Chad border.

When I was first told that I would be going to Kai-Kai, it sounded like a place in China! That was the first time that I had heard of this tiny rural town. But my colleagues told me: “Visit Kai-Kai and you will understand the gravity of the situation”. And so I agreed to visit.

Læs mere om hvad han oplevede i kai-Kai her!

Flooding in Cameroon may result in child-brides-in-waiting

The North and Far North of Cameroon is currently facing one of the worst flood disasters the area has ever known. Rising flood waters have left an estimated 67,000 people displaced. This flooding has destroyed homes, cattle, crops, and has disrupted entire households.

In the Far North, Plan has been providing displaced families with emergency assistance. But a far more insidious future problem awaits: child marriage.

It takes nearly five hours or over 155 miles to travel from the district capital of Maroua to Kai-Kai, a village close to the Chad border. However, the last 31 miles consists of a dirt road that is half-submerged by the rising flood waters. Families from surrounding villages are camped out inside of a Catholic primary school. Overcrowded, squalid conditions have made worse by continuous rainfall. With the worsening conditions, we are concerned that many girls will soon be in danger of becoming child brides. 


Læs mere her!

Urgent Funding Needed for Emergency Response Programs after Severe Flooding in Cameroon

Urgent support is needed to aid the emergency response programs operating in Cameroon after severe floods have swept away homes and displaced more than 67,000 people.

In the Far North region, the Logone River has flooded and more than 20,000 of its citizens have been left homeless. Local authorities had attempted to open Maga Dam's evacuation and overflow outlets to prevent further flooding. However, two of the dykes have since collapsed and the town of Maga has been flooded.

Læs mere om hvad vi gør i Cameroun her!

Malaria-investeringer redder liv

I dag er det Den Internationale Malariadag. Derfor er det nærliggende at skabe opmærksomhed omkring alle de børn og familier, der bliver syge eller dør af malaria. Ofte skal der ikke mere end et myggenet til for at forebygge sygdommen. Det er så lidt, der skal til, for at redde et liv.
 
Vestafrika er en af de regioner, der er særlig udfordret. Regionen oplever lige nu en sultkatastrofe, som indebærer, at millioner af mennesker sulter. Samtidig bliver adskillige børn og voksne syge eller dør af malaria. Faktisk dør et barn af sygdommen hvert minut, og størstedelen bor i Afrika:

"90 procent af de dødsfald, der skyldes malaria, sker i Afrika," forklarer Adama Coulibaly, der er regional direktør hos Plan i Vestafrika. De mange dødsfald sker på trods af, at malaria let kan forhindres: "Bare ved at øge den forebyggende indsats, fx ved at uddele myggenet, kan vi i 2015 have reddet tre millioner afrikanske børn fra døden," siger Adama Coulibaly.

Udover den forebyggende indsats kan malaria kureres med hurtig diagnose og korrekt medicinsk behandling.

Det gør Plan
Plan arbejder hårdt for at nedbringe antallet af børn og voksne, der bliver syge eller dør af malaria. I Vestafrika samarbejder vi med vores lokale partnere og børne- og ungdomsgrupper om at uddele myggenet og skabe opmærksomhed omkring forebyggelse og behandling af malaria.       

I Cameroon har vi uddelt mere end fem millioner myggenet. I Liberia arbejder vi på at behandle minimum 80 procent af de mennesker, der har malaria. I Burkina Faso har vi støttet uddelingen af 7,6 millioner myggenet. I Togo og Niger informerer vi børn og deres familier om sygdommen og uddeler myggenet. Fælles for myggenettene er, at de er langtidsholdbare og imprægnerede med myggegift.

Piger taler ud hos FN

En delegation af piger fra fattige landdistrikter i hele verden deler den hårde virkelighed der er deres liv hos de Forenede Nationers møde i New York denne uge.

de 9 Plan-supported teenagere fra Cambodja, Cameroun, Malawi, Pakistan og Sierra Leone vil fortælle the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), om de daglige udfordringer piger står overfor i deres samfund - fra tidlig og tvangsægteskaber til polygami og vold i hjemmet.

Teresa, der er 17 år gammel og fra Sierra Leone, hun er en af delegaterne der repræsenterer hendes jævnaldrende, samfund og land.

“I want to be part of the decision of who I marry and when, I will decide how many children I will have... If I have daughters, they will go to school and have an equal place within the family. As adults they will take care of their children so that they too will enjoy their rights,” sagde hun.

Læs mere her