Plan is currently working in 12 countries in Latin and Central America. These are Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru.
The situation
Progress in Latin America and the Caribbean has generally been slow, especially with regards to electricity coverage, and infrastructures like roads and telecommunication. The region’s economic activity did however pick up during the course of 2006, reflecting favourable international conditions, with low interest rates, high commodity prices and strong import demand. Several countries have made impressive progress on social indicators, including the number of children (both girls and boys) completing primary school, infant mortality rate went down from 43 to 24 per 1,000 live births from 1990 to 2004, and child mortality in the same period decreased to 31 from 51 per 1,000 live births and the region is close to meeting the Millennium Development Goal on child mortality (World Development Indicators 2006).
And although over the past 20 years Latin American and Caribbean countries have made significant progress in promoting gender equality, inequalities remain an obstacle to their full development. Such inequality results, amongst other things, in un-realised potential of women, lack of integration into the economy (women form only 35.2% of the total labour force) and the social and economic cost of violence against women.
Poverty remains an unresolved problem. The region’s main development challenge continues to be persistent poverty and inequalities. In a region still rich in natural resources and human capital, nearly a quarter of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
Watch a short video of Plan’s emergency work in El Salvador after recent floods affected Plan communities
Plan’s activities in the region
Child protection remained one of the focuses of Plan’s programme work in the region. Interventions in this area were last year directed towards the prevention of household and sexual violence (Colombia, Ecuador, and Honduras); mobilisation of civilians for the enforcement of child protection laws; birth registration (Bolivia); and psycho-social support and reconstruction for displaced people (Colombia).
Quality learning has been the central focus in all education programmes in the region in 2006 with the objectives of increasing the number of children attending schools and improving the education they receive. In order to improve the quality of education, pupils and parents have been involved in school management, the teaching capacities of teachers have been improved, child-friendly environments have been created, and curricula have been adapted to reflect local circumstances. Programmes are carried out in cooperation with local governments and public educational services.
Programmes aimed at providing better food security and improve livelihood were run in Peru and Nicaragua, and interventions integrating environmental and food security aspects were carried out in Ecuador and Bolivia.
Plan also executed programmes on HIV/Aids prevention targeted at young people and school-age children in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay, benefiting a total of 13,750 children and adolescents, 3,000 adults and 500 professionals.
During the year, Plan:
Promoted quality learning. The right to enjoy good-quality primary education is not guaranteed for many children in the region. Enrolment rates in most of the countries have increased but the learning process and results remain poor in several and too many children do not finish primary school;
Promoted universal birth registration. The fulfilment of the most elementary human right – the right to an identity – is considered fundamental to the protection of children. In Bolivia, 45% of young children are not registered and 95% of adolescents from 12 to 19 years of age do not have legal identity documents. The lack of legal documents generates serious obstacles in life as it hinders the fulfilment of other rights like healthcare and education and complicates efforts to protect children from rights violations such as abuse and exploitation as these children don’t exist in the eyes of the local governments and protection and enforcement agencies;
Worked with children and young people for the prevention of HIV/Aids/STDs. Clear strategies for sexual reproductive education are absent in the majority of the countries in the region, despite many sexual and reproductive health problems among adolescents and young adults across the continent. This situation is reflected in increasing infections, unwanted teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), abortions, sexual violence and HIV/Aids. Cases of HIV/Aids are still low compared to Africa or Asia, but factors known to influence HIV/Aids infection patterns, such as gender inequalities and inadequate sex education are present. Plan worked to support the empowerment of school-age girls and boys through the development of skills and capacities for a healthy sexuality and to promote the commitment and involvement of the educational community, health and protection services, and the full participation of fathers, mothers, community members and school-age girls and boys as the main social actors in their own right;
Assisted internally displaced people in war-torn countries. In Colombia, for example, the number of civilian victims of the country’s ongoing internal war is steadily increasing; over 3,000,000 people are estimated to be living as refugees in their own country. The victims have fled to the closest secure areas in an effort to rebuild their lives, but many of these areas are already very impoverished and the authorities can scarcely cope with the new influx of people. Chocó, the poorest Department in Colombia, has about 90,000 inhabitants. In the past few years this number has increased by 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Plan is working with the community members and the internally displaced persons to increase awareness among recipient communities of displacement, provide the displaced with safe space to allow them to integrate at their own pace, find support and to reclaim control of their lives;
Empowered women and young people to respond to the aggression that many women face in the region. Particularly in the poorer areas domestic violence is commonly practised and accepted. This widespread use and acceptance of violence has been linked to poverty. Plan’s work not only focused on women and children, but on households and communities, and tackled all types of rights violations that stop children fulfilling their need for a dignified life, promoting non-violent methods of conflict resolution among families and households and increased awareness of children’s and women’s rights;
Built children participation in decision-making. In Ecuador, for example discrimination against girls and boys is still part of adult behaviour, especially in public spaces. Plan has worked to create cultural, social, and political conditions in order to hold local and national governments accountable to foster child rights as one of their main obligations, establishing information, education and communication networks around child rights and by creating spaces where children can express their views and opinions;
Improved schools and education. Across the region educational systems often do not respond to the needs of the school population. The almost non-existent ability of the educational system to enrol and keep children and young people at school is a result of deficient teaching and inadequate infrastructure. Plan has been working to improve the potential, abilities and capacities of school-age children through the provision of adequate learning environments, and increase the capacity of teachers;
Promoted early childhood care and development. The poor achievements of primary education in many countries, in terms of coverage, completion and quality are to a large extent caused by the late inclusion of children into a stimulating learning environment. In Guatemala, for example, 44% of children aged five and six attend pre-school compared to only 17% of children up to the age of four who stay at home until they reach six. Early childhood and development activities encourage the cognitive and emotional development of young children, also providing nutritional meals for the children’s development. Plan worked with communities in Guatemala to improve pre-school, build the local capacity to control and monitor the development of young children, create appropriate teaching practices and environments and integrate nutrition and child protection into early childhood care;
Improved the nutritional status of children through the promotion of food security and increase of family income. In Nicaragua’s rural areas, for example, many families engage in subsistence farming, with small-scale cash crops to supplement their income. Despite their low market value, Nicaraguan farmers mostly produce rice, beans, maize or some seasonal fruits. These products are easier to grow and less susceptible to weather. However, deteriorating terms of trade, together with international competition, have limited the markets for these products, and many farmers have seen their cash income fall. Plan has been working with these communities to address the increasing number of undernourished children through: produce diversification to have continuous access to food, and decrease their dependence on cash crops; improve their knowledge of food preparation and nutrition intake to reduce cases of malnutrition; and the introduction of environmentally sound practices;
Encouraged microcredit and education for women. Unemployment and under-employment remain among the highest causes of poverty in many countries in the region. For example, in Peru, many Peruvians work as farmers and lack access to credit and other financial services. Plan has been working to provide poor families, especially women from Lima and Cusco areas with access to sustainable financial, credit and savings services, enabling them to invest in healthcare and education for their children. Numerous studies have shown that when an increase in family income is handled by women, their children benefit directly. Plan established a partnership with local institutions engaged in financial services and access to credit for poor women, and trained families in business management.
In the future, Plan will:
Campaign and advocate for universal birth registration – in Bolivia Plan has worked closely with the National Electoral Court and UNICEF and successfully advocated for a gratuity clause to make birth registration free for children up to 12 years, a 3-year amnesty period to register children aged 12 to 18, and a change in legislation to allow single mothers to register their children with the family name of a relative. In Peru, working in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Social Development, Plan has worked to secure the suspension of fees for birth certificates in more than 400 municipalities. In addition, the law has been modified so that either the father or the mother, not necessarily both – can register the child;
Assist communities implement community-based healthcare system. In Peru, Plan is working alongside the Ministry of Health, and local and international non-governmental organisations to develop a coordinated plan for local health promotion. This has resulted in the formation of national networks and federations;
Promote nutrition and food security in the region and continue to work with communities to find ways to improve their livelihood by respecting their local environment;
Work to improve child protection measures. In Peru, Plan conducted a major research study alongside the Peruvian Ministry of Women and Social Development, UNICEF and a coalition of non-governmental organisations. This was the first national-level study to address the strengths, weaknesses and gaps of Peru’s political and justice system and will act as a key advocacy tool in lobbying the government for improved child protection measures.
