HEALTH
HEALTH
Pulse Check Every day, millions of children, adolescents and women are at risk because they are unable to assert their rights and access quality health care. We’re working to change that. Here’s how.
NEWS FEED – BOLIVIA RISE ABOVE!
We love acronyms, especially if they have a double meaning. Take ARRIBA (Achieving Reproductive Rights in Bolivian Adolescents): The word is also Spanish for “above.” Our goal with this program is to work with community groups to help adolescents rise “above” by helping them understand their sexual and reproductive health rights. What does that mean? It means they can make free and informed decisions related to their sexuality, have safe sexual experiences and access reproductive health services. It also means that they can choose whether, when and whom to marry. We’re at the four-year mark of this five-year program, and we’ve reached 20,000 Bolivians, including 9,000 adolescent girls, 7,000 boys and 1,700 health care providers. 12 , 500 adolescents learned about their sexual and reproductive health rights and how to prevent gender-based violence. Liz is one of those adolescents. “One of my biggest dreams is for my town to be a place where no one experiences sexism,” says the 16-year-old Champions of Change Club participant. “All the [gender-equality and self-esteem] training sessions and workshops I attended have changed my way of seeing things. I understand my rights now.”
How do latrines help keep children in school? WATCH THE VIDEO
G lobally, countless deaths could be prevented if affordable health services and interventions were more readily available for everyone, especially women and girls. “The poorer that people are, the less likely they are to receive health care,” says Dr. Tanjina Mirza, chief programs officer at Plan International Canada. “The face of poverty is female, with girls and women disproportionally affected. Our projects support quality maternal, newborn and child health services, sexual and reproductive health rights, safe water and hygiene as well as the prevention and treatment of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.”
To help strengthen health systems, we: Support the rehabilitation of health facilities. Improve the availability and management of medicines and equipment.
SPOTLIGHT Mini WASH cycle Small but mighty projects have a big impact.
Leonard Mpofu, and his daughter Sandengomusa, can talk about topics that some consider taboo, like menstruation and HIV/AIDS. The Adolescent Girls and Young Women project, done in partnership with The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in Zimbabwe, helps to shatter sexual and reproductive health stigmas and strengthens girls’ relationships with their fathers.
Our WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programs are part of multi-million-dollar projects, but we created a $300,000 three- year project in Cambodia with supporter Michael J. Waring. The goal of the Kids in Class Fund was to improve the WASH conditions in 136 villages, 75 schools and 16 communes in the Siem Reap province in northwestern Cambodia. “We wanted to achieve open-defecation-free [ODF] status, which means 100% of households have access to an individual or shared latrine,” explains George Yap, a WASH advisor at Plan International Canada. The result? “In 2022, we achieved that in all but 15 villages. And in those 15 villages, the
coverage now ranges from 62% to 98%. These results show the powerful impact these smaller projects can have. Everyone benefits, especially children, who are at risk of developing diarrhea from drinking water contaminated with fecal matter. If they’re sick, they miss school.
Train health care providers to deliver gender- and adolescent-responsive and inclusive health services. Bring health services and information closer to remote communities and vulnerable populations.
WATCH THE VIDEO
Learn more about Michael J. Waring on page 88.
SHOP FOR GIFTS LIKE THIS
BY THE NUMBERS GIFTS OF HOPE
32 , 375 students, teachers and community members who now, after three years, have improved access to clean water and education about proper hygiene.
The funds raised in 2022 supported transportation costs and training for health workers to address misconceptions related to COVID-19. “Our supporters connected with this gift,” explains Emma Patterson, director of Gifts of Hope at Plan International Canada.
“We wanted to ensure that people in remote and poorly resourced communities could access information about COVID-19 prevention and vaccination. It was our most popular gift last year and the most popular gift since we launched Gifts of Hope more than 15 years ago.”
$925 , 179 The $50 COVID-19 vaccine rollout gift raised:
READ THE IMPACT REPORT
30 | 2022 Annual Report
2022 Annual Report | 31
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