Nonprofit Spotlight: Plan International Canada

About Plan International Canada

Plan International works to advance the rights of children and equality for girls around the world. Plan International today is a partnership of 20 national branches that raise money for projects in more than 75 countries.

Plan International Canada is the second-largest branch and raises 18% of Plan International’s global revenues. As a Major 100 charity, it is one of Canada’s largest charities in terms of donations.

Purpose

• To work with children, young people, supporters and partners to tackle the root causes of barriers facing girls and all vulnerable children
• To support children’s rights from birth to adulthood
• To enable children and communities to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity
• To drive change in practice and policy at all levels using their reach, experience and knowledge

Impact

Plan works to help children around the world in nine core areas: child protection, climate change, education, economic empowerment, emergencies, gender equality and inclusion, health, water and sanitation, and youth engagement.

In fiscal year 2020, Plan funded 1,838 projects and reached 6,084,849 children across all of its programs.

Due to its work, Plan Canada has found significant improvements in maternal and child health, based on program results measured in five countries over one year. Successes include:

• In 2011, Plan International Canada, supported by the Canadian government, successfully led the call for the United Nations to adopt an international Day of the Girl
• The proportion of children vaccinated against measles rising from 41% to 66% in one year
• Women receiving care from a skilled health provider at least four times during pregnancy increased from 46% at the start of programs to 63%
• By training healthcare workers and funding newborn health clinics, Plan helped more than 53,000 pregnant women and saved 826 premature babies in Rukwa, Tanzania
• Plan Canada has also launched a mobile app in Bangladesh, stopping more than 3,700 underage marriages during its 6-month pilot period