In Asia, Plan works in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
The situation
As in previous years, Plan’s interventions in the region last year were supported to alleviate poverty, develop the capacity of local organisations, protecting children and improving their education, as well as lobbying activities to influence policies affecting children and their families at the regional, district and local levels. All Plan interventions are embedded in and linked to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Watch a short video of Plan’s work in rural China working to improve mothers’ access to microfinance and livelihood projects
During the year, Plan:
Continued to collaborate with the 50 organisations making up the Child Workers Asia Network (CWA) in 12 Asian countries, creating safe and appropriate environments for working children to participate in local governance and combatting the worst forms of child labour in the region. In the Philippines, Plan encouraged individuals, groups and institutions to create a protective environment for working children, increased awareness of their issues, worked with over 38,500 child labourers and children at risk, aged 5 to 17, who were engaged in mining, quarrying, pyrotechnics, sugar plantations, domestic work or commercial sexual exploitation. Parents received training in effective parenting; together with their children they attended literacy and numeracy classes and summer learning camps; teachers were trained on how to teach working children; families and youths were assisted in developing alternative livelihoods and some families developed their capacity to run small businesses with the assistance of microfinance institutions;
Promoted the importance of early childhood care and development (ECCD) centres in enhancing the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of children, and increased awareness about child rights amongst community members, as well as encouraged the involvement of parents and communities in the care and development of their children;
Strengthened the capability of women’s savings and credit co-operatives in the region, developing mechanisms to market local crops, provide financial and complementary services through co-operatives run by women, increase food security and families income. The position of women in the region in general is often secondary to the one of men, due to traditional and discriminatory practices and inadequate laws. In Nepal, for example women don’t enjoy the same property rights as men and it is almost impossible for women to obtain credit;
Carried on its work for the promotion of universal birth registration in the region with the objective of establishing a sustainable birth registration system, ensuring that all children between the age of 0 and 5 are documented and registered. Plan worked with the governments and local organisations ensuring birth registration activities were integrated with routine immunisation activities. Plan’s successes include: in the Philippines significant gains have included the passage of a law that allows children born out of wedlock to use their father’s name, the suspension of birth registration fees and penalties for late registration; and in Timor-Leste Plan is in discussions with the government to ensure children are registered when they enrol in school;
Improved the quality of education by improving teachers’ training and adopting child-centred teaching and learning methodologies;
Bettered the living conditions, sanitation and health of rural communities. In Indonesia, for example, infant and child mortality rates are 34 and 46 per 1,000 live births respectively. These figures are remarkably higher than those in neighbouring countries like Thailand. According to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, of the 5 million deliveries each year, an estimated 20,000 women die due to complications related to pregnancy and delivery. Poor access to basic sanitation and improper disposal of waste from household and industries also contribute adversely to the health of women and children. Plan collaborated with community members to improve hygiene practices in households, pre-schools and maternity delivery centres, and community water supply and waste-disposal facilities – thus having a positive impact on the living conditions, sanitation and health of rural communities and schools;
Improved the health of children under five and pregnant women in the region. In India, for example, Plan improved the health of women and their children by providing them with opportunities for education and overall development such as access to reproductive health services, safe motherhood, care and support and child health care services, and early childhood care;
Continued to combat the spread of HIV/Aids and contributed to sexual behaviour change – reduced infection by sexually transmitted diseases among the population – changed the risk behaviour of the community in relation to HIV and any sexually transmitted diseases (STD), strengthened existing clinical services and provided supplies to the referral clinics and local health facilities to prevent and control HIV/STDs;
Assisted those communities affected by disasters and emergencies, including earthquakes in Yogyakarta and Central Java, mudslides in the Philippines and worked to rebuild communities affected by the tsunami in Indonesia and Sri Lanka and by the Pakistan earthquake in the Siran Valley;
Assisted children and young people in conflict with the law. Children in conflict with the law are generally children who run away from their home and are likely to experience some form of neglect or physical or sexual abuse. Plan aims to decrease the number of children in conflict with the law and last year worked with 270 street and other children at risk as active community participants in 35 communities to establish programmes that provide alternative and child-appropriate treatment to children in conflict with the law.
Some results achieved last year were:
142 networks were established to identify early signals of child abuse and exploitation at local level in India, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Vietnam;
13,600 children in need of special protection – street children, working children, children in conflict with the law and children in conflict areas – were better protected by preventive activities, education, physical check-ups, psychosocial support, relief and rehabilitation;
About 1.1 million children called the 7 child-lines set up by Plan in partnership with Child Helpline International in India, Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam and received support;
8,397 marginalised children received formal or informal education and 11,932 children obtained access to early childhood care and development centres. In India and Nepal, the health of children aged five and younger improved thanks to regular check-ups. Their parents were trained on issues, including hygiene, food preparation and food intake.
In the future Plan will:
Continue to work with local governments in the promotion of potable water and sanitation system, while encouraging Plan communities to claim their rights to safe water. In Indonesia, for example, Plan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Planning Development Agency to formally provide strategic support to the government in the areas of water and environmental sanitation reform, programme planning procedures and guidelines. Plan will place emphasis on scaling up and working with governments to influencing policies affecting children and their families;
Continue to invest in early childhood and engage with the relevant government ministry on gender issues in the region. In Bangladesh, for example, the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education have identified Plan as one of the two key agencies to be consulted for any policy issues on early childhood care and development. In Bangladesh alone the ECCD model is now being implemented in 2,700 centres, reaching over 36,000 children with the target of reaching 1 million in the next five years;
Education is the largest sector of Plan’s investment globally since 2004. Plan countries are increasingly engaging with the early childhood care and development agenda, developing programme interventions which address needs and rights in an integrated manner, reflecting the physical, mental and psychosocial aspects of child development, and focusing on gender equality. Recognising the need to reach beyond the Millennium Development Goal of primary enrolment, Plan will be focusing their efforts mainly on school quality at primary and secondary level, offering Plan’s expertise and knowledge to support partner governments. In China, for example, the Schools Quality Index is used in Shaanxi province in partnership with the local Department of Education, as part of the Shaanxi school improvement project at middle and elementary levels. This has been evaluated by officials from Beijing University and the China Ministry of Education. Their evaluation found that after two years the project has significantly improved learning conditions in schools; has had positive impacts on education, significantly improved school management, including female representation and has secured support and engagement from local education officials;
Advocate and protect children from violence and abuse in the region. In the Philippines, Plan’s Protecting Children at Risk programme aims to build comprehensive mechanisms and systems for child protection among governmental and non-governmental partners. In 2006 Plan Philippines helped to intercept over 1,800 victims of child trafficking, opened two safe havens for abused children and set up 6 more, and promoted universal birth registration in 17 regions;
Expand its work on child and community participation towards empowerment and governance. In Bangladesh, Plan in collaboration with other organisations and the Ministry of Local Government, aims to strengthen weak governance and address issues of social exclusion, including early marriage, dowry and child protection;
Create a climate for innovation to combat HIV/Aids.
