COVID-19

Our global staff are well-positioned and working hard to stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading to places it has yet to reach by collaborating with community members, national governments and global bodies like the World Health Organization.

We are closely monitoring the impact on our operations and are actively assessing how we can adapt, should we need to, while intensifying our proactive measures.

With more than 80 years of experience delivering comprehensive, life-changing programs, we continue to focus on key ongoing health initiatives like:

• Constructing sanitary hand washing stations
• Providing clean water solutions and systems
• Sharing lifesaving hygiene information
• Distributing necessary resources and supplies
• Improving access to medical services for all
• Engaging, educating and training leaders, teachers, parents and health care providers
• Protecting girls from the heightened dangers of trafficking, child marriage or abuse
• Doing all we can to ensure children get the support they need – particularly those orphaned, displaced, living within refugee camps or with disabilities.

To limit the potential impact of exposure to COVID-19 and to protect the health, safety and well-being of all employees, Plan International Canada has decided to implement a work-from-home policy. We have also paused all in-person fundraising and international travel to help support public health efforts of containment and minimize the spread of COVID-19 in communities.

As the situation evolves, we are using Health Canada and the World Health Organization as our trusted sources of information.

At this time, Plan International has not received any specific reports of children within our program areas being directly affected with cases of COVID-19. However, as situations are rapidly progressing to new countries and areas, our field teams have started implementing precautionary health procedures – either proactively or by government mandate – that have caused some disruption to regular activities. As always, we will continue to closely monitor situations, shifting programming as needed, to ensure the health and safety of our staff, children and the communities where we work is prioritized first and foremost. We will continue to diligently assess how we can continue our programs to best support children, communities and local systems should things change and require us to adapt our work within low, medium or high transmission contexts. We are undertaking preparations to ensure we are well-positioned to respond as quickly and effectively as possible should situations escalate.

We are very concerned how marginalized communities and groups can cope with the wide-ranging health, social and economic impacts of this crisis, especially children – and in particular girls – living in poverty, who are most at risk of rights infringements and violations, even more so in times of crises. We are committed to placing the utmost importance on the safety and well-being of our staff and communities, while making sure we continue to protect and promote the rights of all children and equality for girls. Through this crisis, we may shift our programming to address greatest and most urgent needs, but we will always maintain our mission to create a more just and equal world, with children at the heart of all we do.

We are making every effort to help ensure that our important programming to advance children’s rights and equality for girls can actively continue, while also being well-positioned to shift to address the greatest needs of those we serve, should the areas where we work become impacted by COVID-19.

In crises, dangers are heightened for the most vulnerable populations – particularly those living in poverty with few available supports, and marginalized groups such as girls, orphaned and refugee children and those living with disabilities.

The need for rigorous protection and safeguarding of all children, and of girls and women from gender-based, sexual and intimate partner violence, as well as harmful practices such as forced marriage and prostitution, trafficking, child labour and other forms of exploitation, must be emphasized and prioritized in all policies, information, guidance and response.

We will continue our mission to work to protect children’s rights and help create a world where every child can thrive, while also protecting the health and safety of our staff and volunteers.

You can help by supporting our ongoing work, so we can reach more children and families in need around the world. Our global projects include initiatives like providing clean water solutions and constructing sanitary hand washing stations, as well as distributing vital supplies and creating access to critical health services to help save lives and to help ensure that children and young people stay safe and protected. This includes advocating for important policy changes and fostering supportive networks that place children and their rights at the core.

Plan International’s work has never been as needed as it is today. As we navigate this situation, we are grateful for the support of all our dedicated donors whose contributions allow us to continue doing our important work in vulnerable communities. If you can further contribute to our efforts to help keep more vulnerable children safe, please do so at http://www.plancanada.ca/donate

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to a member of our team if you have any questions about our approach or are interested in additional ways to help. Though availability is reduced, you can contact our Donor Care team through Live Chat on our website and via email at info@plancanada.ca