Our five areas of expertise

We tackle the root causes of inequality between girls and boys. We work with local governments and partners to advocate for children and develop programs that support them in their right to get an education and be healthy and protected from violence. We develop children’s leadership skills and their ability to earn a living when they grow up. We’re also there for them when crises strike. And we stay with them to help build a healthy, safe and sustainable life. To achieve these goals, our programs focus on our five priority areas of expertise.

Education

We help local education authorities and communities to ensure that children and young adults have access to a quality education. We provide preschool classes as well as vocational and entrepreneurial training and help students catch up if they have been out of school due to conflict or crisis. We’re experts at providing education in emergencies.

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Girls outside a school
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Health

We work with local authorities to strengthen their health care systems. We train community health workers to provide timely, effective and appropriate care to adolescent girls and women. We support comprehensive health-care services and also help prevent and treat HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and other illnesses. We help individuals assert their right to access health services and critical care.

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A group of new moms who participated in the Healthy Women and Girls project in Mozambique.
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Protection from violence

We support programs that keep children, especially girls, safe by helping prevent practices such as early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation and other violence that targets women and girls. We amplify girls' voices to ensure that girls are included in the decision making that affects their lives.

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Aymaran women in Bolivia join in a soccer game to challenge gender inequality
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Youth leadership & Economic Empowerment

In Canada, our programs support youth (ages 10 to 24) in all their diversity to deepen their knowledge and develop their advocacy skills around global issues. Internationally, programs like our financial-literacy training and savings and loan groups help advance economic justice. Around the world, we work with communities and youth-led movements to challenge harmful norms that prevent equality for girls.

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Youth leader Tanyaradzwa participating in the Adolescent Girls and Young Women project in Zimbabwe
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HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND RESILIENCE

In emergencies, we provide food and cash vouchers and create safe spaces for children. We deliver education programs, nutritional training and clean water and sanitation. We offer health support, such as providing period products, and provide services and information that help protect girls who are most at risk of abuse like early and forced marriage, sex trafficking and violence. We also equip communities with training, opportunities and resources, like cash vouchers, to help protect themselves from economic shocks and increase their resilience to ongoing challenges.

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Nasra walks 24 kilometres before and after school to fetch water for her family.
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Reports and publications

Plan Canada reports

Reports and publications

Plan International publishes reports and publications by our technical teams and experts around the globe, and in conjunction with partner organizations and researchers. Explore our reports and publications to learn more about our areas of work and how we work to remove barriers that keep children, especially girls from reaching their full potential.

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Learn more about our work and our impact

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Desiree Buitenbos

7 Child Rights Violations that Need to Stop

From lack of access to education, to protection from harm, to clean water and basic sanitation, millions of children around the world are being held back by a variety of barriers that prevent them from realizing their full potential

Policies

Monitoring and evaluation

Learn how our rigorous monitoring and evaluation systems ensure that our programs to help children and communities are effective, impactful and accountable.

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Safeguarding children and youth

“Safeguarding” describes the actions we take to prevent or stop the abuse of children and young people, which includes empowering employees to report and respond to concerns so that everyone is safer. 

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Accountability

See the key policies governing our effectiveness and accountability to our stakeholders. Plan International has been named a top performer in the One World Trust annual global accountability report.

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