Plan Guatemala: what we do

Plan Guatemala works to help children, families and communities living in poverty through the following core areas:

• survival and development of children and adolescents
• healthy lifestyles and HIV prevention
• water and sanitation, environment and risk management
• learning for life
• child and youth participation
• protection for children and adolescents.

Over the past 3 years, Plan has agreed with the Ministry of Health to expand the coverage of health services to more communities and for it to gradually assume funding in the areas previously covered by Plan.

This year Plan’s focus is on working with communities to monitor and ensure they receive a quality health service – particularly for pregnant women and children under 5 years.

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Plan Kenya: what we do

Plan Kenya’s work to improve children’s lives covers 7 core areas, all of which are rooted in the rights of the child:

• child survival
• child protection
• education
• child participation
• youth economic empowerment
• HIV and AIDS prevention
• sanitation

Plan works with communities to reduce child mortality by preventing diseases and other conditions, such as malnutrition, that lead to poor child development and premature death.

This programme focuses on fighting violence against children in school, at home and in the community.  As part of our Learn Without Fear campaign to end violence aginst children in schools, we have launched an SMS campaign where children who have been violated can receive help. We are also working with teacher organisations to address the issue of corporal punishment in schools.

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Plan Ethiopia: what we do

Plan Ethiopia’s work to break the cycle of poverty covers the following areas:

• child survival and development
• quality education
• food security and nutrition
• child participation and protection
• HIV and AIDS.

We work to improve the health of communities by implementing programmes to tackle childhood illnesses and improve safe motherhood services.

Water, sanitation and hygiene is another core part of our work - more than 250,000 children die every year in Ethiopia due to unsafe water. We implement projects to construct water supply schemes, train communities in sanitation and hygiene education, as well as support the construction of latrines.

We also work to strengthen community based organisations, government and local non-government organisations to help them participate effectively in health development issues.

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Plan Burkina Faso: what we do

Plan’s work in Burkina Faso covers 4 core areas, all of which are rooted in the rights of the child:

• good quality education
• maternal and child health care
• safe drinking water and sanitation
• protecting children against the effects of HIV.

This priority programme aims to improve access to quality formal and non-formal education. A great number of children have been enrolled in schools thanks to an increase in school infrastructure building projects, repairs, furnishings and supplies by Plan.
We also support the capacity building of community and institutional structures in charge of education.

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Sexuality education in Asia: Are we delivering?

'Sexuality education in Asia: Are we delivering?' is an assessment, from a rights-based perspective, looking at the policies and strategies in place regarding sexuality education in 13 Asian countries where Plan works.

Adolescents and communities, along with Plan, see the urgency of helping young people become informed about sexuality at an appropriately early age. This ensures young people can protect themselves from coercion, abuse and exploitation, unintended teenage pregnancy and sexuality transmitted infections, including HIV.

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Case study: Fighting HIV with Stepping Stones

Alexandra Villavicencio, an HIV positive mother from Guayaquil in Ecuador, has turned her life around and started fighting HIV in her community, with help from Plan’s Stepping Stones workshops.

When Alexandra was diagnosed with HIV she was torn apart when her family abandoned her, she was fired from her job and then discovered that her baby son was HIV positive too.

“It’s really horrible to feel alone, without family, without anyone’s support,” she said.

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Creating a climate for innovation

This is the first revision of the Plan HIV Programme Framework Creating a Climate for Innovation adopted in June 2006. It is the result of Plan-wide consultations held in 2007.

The framework illustrates Plan’s response to HIV: one that is grounded in our strategy of corporate Child Centred Community Development. It is characterised by a long-term vision of effecting social change in communities, based on intimate local knowledge and a close relationship with local institutions. The aim of Plan’s response to HIV is to contribute to more effective policies and actions to promote, fulfil and protect the rights of children living in a world with HIV.

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Case study: Learning to live with HIV

It hasn’t been easy for Panthida, 40, from Thailand to live with HIV for the past 10 years. She lost her youngest child because of the virus.

“I had no idea what I should do or how to deal with HIV and AIDS. I thought that I would die soon after,” said Panthida.

It’s much the same for 33-year-old Orapin, who once had no knowledge of HIV and AIDS and was infected by her husband. “I thought that he was healthy and could be a good father of my future kids but I was wrong. He died 8 months after.”

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Circle of Hope: children's rights in a world with AIDS

Plan first adopted a policy for children affected by AIDS in 1996. As HIV epidemics continued to expand globally, Plan’s response grew and evolved to reflect lessons learned at the community level, and also the increasing availability of effective medical treatment.

In 2006, Plan adopted a new framework for its response to AIDS called Circle of Hope which applies the practice of child centred community development. Central to this framework is a programme philosophy that starts with the rights of children and addresses these rights in a manner that is both comprehensive and appropriate to the child’s context.

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Case study: Breaking barriers around HIV

Plan’s work is helping to empower marginalised people like Mariatou* - an HIV positive mother from Benin.

Mariatou lives in Couffo, a region in the south west of Benin with the country’s highest rate of people living with HIV and AIDS - 3.3% compared to the national prevalence of 1.7%. 

Diagnosed positive 7 years ago, Mariatou now heads up an association of nearly 100 members, all of whom are also positive.

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Sexual health, including HIV: what we do

Millions of young people are denied the right to information and advice on sexual health and HIV and this can have long-term and devastating effects on their lives.

Plan works with partners and communities to:

• support quality reproductive and sexual health education and services
• advocate for the rights of children and youths living in a world with HIV
• provide prevention, care and support services to those living with HIV and AIDS
• challenge beliefs and attitudes that maintain unequal power relations between the sexes.

We directly involve children and young people in all of our work, helping them to identify problems and find solutions.

In 2012, Plan trained 86,809 community health workers and traditional birth attendants, benefiting 9,433 communities.

Plan advocates for more effective policies and actions that protect the rights of children. We work with communities and families to make sure those affected by HIV receive the care and support they need. We also advocate for children orphaned by AIDS to live with family members.

Our direct response programmes help communities in a variety of ways - from medical support to helping improve the livelihoods of families living with HIV.

Sexual health, including HIV

Plan's work to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty is based around 8 core areas: education, health, water and sanitation, protection, economic security, emergencies, child participation and sexual health, including HIV. With that comes the three main campaigns Because I am a Girl, Count Every Child and Learn Without Fear.

Over the next year one of these areas or campaigns will be the focus for one month each.

The focus of December is Sexual health, including HIV.

Maternal and reproductive health

Maternal health is another key area of our work, particularly pre- and postnatal care and birth attendance.

For example, in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Plan has organised camps to train traditional birth attendants, which has resulted in a marked decrease in infant and maternal mortality rates.

We also implement reproductive health programmes in most of the countries that we work in, with the main focus on HIV.

Because I am a Girl Campaign to Protect Girls’ Rights

Poverty, lack of education, child labor, early marriage, HIV/AIDs-- these are intricately interrelated spheres. Poverty is a leading cause of school dropout for girls, which often leads directly to child labor. The lack of education leaves a girl unaware of how to protect herself from HIV and vulnerable to child marriage. Furthermore, a girl who is forced into early marriage with an older, more sexually experienced male faces an increased likelihood of contracting HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls between the ages of 15-19 are 2-6 times more likely to contract HIV than boys. Complex problems require a complex approach, and these issues must all be addressed in order to truly effect a change for the world’s girls.

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World AIDS Day: A global discussion

There are over 34.2 million people currently living with HIV around the globe. A global pandemic, HIV has claimed more than 25 million lives over the past three decades.

On December 1 of each year, the world celebrates World AIDS Day – a day devoted to increasing awareness of HIV and AIDS issues globally.

“Getting to Zero” is the slogan linked to World AIDS Day and the global fight against HIV and AIDS. It symbolizes the world’s commitment in achieving the following three targets: zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths.

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Providing all-round support for children with HIV

At 13, the only dream Ganesh has, is to live. His parents and brother all died of AIDS. Of the family of four, he is the only survivor and is HIV positive. Orphaned and left homeless, Ganesh moved in with his grandmother and aunt who themselves are grappling with extreme poverty.

The tragic loss of his family, his own health worries and his current circumstances have taken a huge toll on Ganesh's body and mind. "I hope I will be able to continue my education if my health improves and if I feel strong," he says as World AIDS Day is marked on 1 December.

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Verdens aids-dag

”Da mine venner fandt ud af, at jeg havde hiv, var der ingen, der turde komme i nærheden af mig.” Sådan fortæller 19-årige Tang, som er medlem af et hiv/aids-center i Thailand, som støttes af Plan.

Tang er blot 1 ud af 5 millioner mennesker i Asien, som lever med hiv. Som mange andre oplever hun en hel masse fordomme, som er forbundet med sygdommen. Heldigvis har hun fået hjælp til at leve med sygdommen på det lokale center og har nu fået livsmodet tilbage.

”Jeg føler ikke længere, at mit liv er mangelfuldt. På centret lærer jeg fra andre – vi udveksler erfaringer på en meget konstruktiv måde, ” fortæller Tang.

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Thailand's HIV/AIDS sufferers find new hope

It hasn’t been easy for Panthida, 40, to live with HIV/AIDS for the past 10 years. She lost her youngest child because of HIV/AIDS. “I had no idea what I should do or how to deal with HIV/AIDS. I thought that I would die soon after. I felt sorry for my elder son as he might grow up without parents,” said Panthida, who is from Thailand’s Chiang Rai province.

It’s much the same for 33-year-old Orapin, also from Chiang Rai, who once had no knowledge of HIV/AIDS and was infected by her husband. “I thought that he was healthy and could be a good father of my future kids, but I was wrong. He died 8 months after,” she said.

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