Humanitarian crises, conflict and other emergencies have a profound impact on communities around the world.
More than 345 million people grappled with food insecurity in 2023 — double the number from just three years earlier.
Climate-change-related crises have disrupted the education of 62 million children and adolescents in 27 countries since 2020.
More than 600 million women and girls are living in countries affected by conflict. That‘s a 50% increase since 2017.
In areas affected by conflict, children‘s access to education is limited or non-existent: It affects 35% of elementary-school children, 25% of middle-school students and 18% of high-schoolers.
Plan International aims to provide immediate response and support long-term recovery, always through the lens of how girls are particularly affected by crises.
“One of the victims of climate change is ourselves.”
– Eping
In Lembata, Indonesia, 18-year-old Eping is turning the tide against the devastating impacts of climate change. With innovative solutions like planting greenery, her story is a powerful testament to what one person can achieve. Follow her inspiring journey and discover how she‘s making a difference.
» Watch the video
Nearly 1 billion children – almost half of the children in our world – live in crisis, facing dangers like food shortages, displacement or conflict. Children, especially girls, are the most at risk in an emergency. We‘re working to respond to crises as they happen and to help communities prepare themselves against the effects of future emergencies.
Humanitarian crises can displace entire communities, often separating families along the way. This causes additional emotional distress, especially for children, and without the protection of their families and normal daily routines, children – especially girls- are more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Conflict or crisis can exacerbate existing inequality and often leads to an increase in gender-based violence. Due to unequal gender power relationships in households and communities, very often girls eat last and least and face a higher risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, early or forced marriage and early pregnancy when communities and families are in crisis. In short, disasters stand in the way of girls’ ability to reach their potential and thrive.
“The boys are given food first [when there is not enough to eat]. If girls miss out a little, it‘s normal.”
–Badra, 16, from Somaliland, where drought is killing livestock and causing widespread hunger
Hunger and malnutrition disproportionately affect women, children and other marginalized populations due to a complex web of factors. Poverty, inequality, conflict and climate crises are key drivers that limit access to nutritious food and essential resources. Additionally, gender discrimination exacerbates the situation, as women often bear the responsibility of feeding their families but face greater barriers to securing adequate food. The intersection of these challenges makes it even more difficult for marginalized groups to break the cycle of hunger, leading to long-term health, economic and social consequences.
Where there is conflict and violence, girls are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys. These girls are 90% more likely to be out of school than girls in areas without conflict. Conflict and crises increase poverty, displace families and sometimes directly threaten children‘s safety at school, while the psychological effects of trauma can make it difficult for children to stay focused in class.
The climate crisis is significantly impacting children’s health, nutrition and reproductive rights and increasing the risk of gender-based violence and child, early and forced marriage. Climate and extreme-weather crises also increase issues like poverty and displacement, which add further risk to children‘s safety and well-being. Over 1 billion children remain at extreme risk from the impacts of the climate crisis, which continues to limit development opportunities and exacerbate humanitarian crises around the globe.
Five ways we approach our work in humanitarian response and resilience:
We take immediate action when an emergency strikes. We distribute crucial aid like food, water and shelter materials, as well as hygiene kits and other important household items. We provide cash and voucher assistance to support people affected by disasters and conflicts to meet their basic needs such as food and shelter, and also respond to medium- and long-term needs such as income generation through wages or self-employment. We collaborate closely with communities to help deliver what they need most, and to build their resilience against future emergencies.
Emergencies, displacement and crises cause turmoil and uncertainty for many children. We offer mental-health and psychosocial support and refer children to specialized services, including for children who have been separated from their families. We create safe spaces where children who have had traumatic experiences can play, process and recover. A child-friendly space provides routine and stability that is important for children’s recovery in the aftermath of a crisis.
Plan International recognizes there are gendered vulnerabilities when it comes to food and nutrition insecurity. We are committed to acting early to prevent famine, malnutrition and the associated morbidity and mortality, particularly for higher-risk populations. In times of crisis, we distribute essential food items, like grains, legumes and cooking oil, or food vouchers and cash assistance so families can buy their own food from local vendors. We screen for malnutrition in young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women and provide nutrition support when their health is at risk.
When children have been displaced, we establish safe learning spaces in refugee camps and host communities so they can resume their education. We help integrate newly arrived children into schools in host communities and equip teachers to support children who have experienced trauma. In communities where learning is frequently disrupted by instability, we set up flexible learning options like remedial classes and accelerated courses for students who have gaps in their learning. We also offer mental-health programming to help students process difficult experiences.
We help communities adapt to the changing world and build the armour that protects them from future crises. This includes supporting more sustainable and resilient crops so that weather changes don‘t destroy livelihoods and leave families hungry. It also includes creating community-action and child-protection plans, so everyone knows what to do and where to go if a flood or storm hits. We offer flexible learning options that can cover the gap when instability threatens education, and we establish savings and loan groups so families can build their financial resilience and bounce back from crisis-related shocks.
Humanitarian crises, conflict and other emergencies have a profound impact on communities around the world. We aim to provide immediate response, and we support long-term recovery, always through the lens of how girls are particularly affected by crises. Read about some of our humanitarian projects below.
Education, Child
Protection and Food
Security in Far North Cameroon
Cameroon
Earthquake
Response in North West Syria
Syria
Education Cannot
Wait Multi-Year Resilience
Program in Niger
Niger
Ukraine Crisis:
Education Response and Cash
Assistance in Poland
Poland
Conservation and Sustainable
Management of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems (COSME)
Kenya
900,000 people in more than a dozen countries were reached with critical assistance in fiscal year 2023 (July 2022–June 2023). This reflected a $40 million investment in humanitarian programming.
We established our brand-new Children in Crisis Response Fund, which supports our emergency response within the critical first phase of a crisis.
Plan Canada supported rapid response to several sudden-onset disasters last year, including the earthquake in Syria, tropical storms in the Philippines, Cyclone Freddy in Mozambique and floods in Peru. At the same time, we continued our response to several protracted crises and supported six of the eight countries identified as being under “red alert” in the global hunger crisis: Ethiopia, Somalia, Burkina Faso, Mali, Haiti and Kenya.
One of our projects in Ethiopia reached 57,653 participants in areas hard hit by drought. We delivered critical health, nutrition and food security programming with funds from Global Affairs Canada, the Humanitarian Coalition and Plan Canada supporters.
We successfully completed an emergency education and cash assistance project in Poland to support refugees fleeing the crisis in Ukraine. The project, funded by the Humanitarian Coalition and Plan Canada supporters, provided 90 households with cash assistance and supported 1,727 schools (nearly 10% of all schools in Poland), which were host to 39,061 students from Ukraine.
We are immensely grateful to our partners, who consistently and generously support our humanitarian efforts around the world. Their contributions are the foundation of our mission, enabling us to help transform the lives of children worldwide. None of this would be possible without them.
Plan International implements all projects and programming in partnership with local, national and community-based organizations. This includes women‘s rights organizations, youth-led organizations and research institutions. Plan International also works in collaboration with governments, where relevant, at national and local levels. More details on local implementing partners can be found within the descriptions of each project.
Give the gift of food to thousands of pregnant women, mothers and young children under five who are malnourished. Filled with staples like beans, cooking oil, fortified cereal blends and sugar, this Gift of Hope is a basic food basket with an impact that is anything but.
The best time to address an emergency is before it happens. Help make sure we can react immediately to protect children‘s education when crises strike by contributing to the Children in Crisis Response Fund.
Whether it‘s a one-time contribution or an ongoing monthly donation, your support helps us address the greatest needs facing children, especially girls, today.
Explore our programs with this collection of resources, including cutting-edge research, lessons learned and personal stories of change.
If you’re curious about our programs, interested in exploring how you can join in or have a question about the impact of your support, we’re here to help! Get in touch and learn how you can make an impact in the lives of children.
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