Ensuring all children, but especially girls, can access inclusive, quality, participatory and safe education is central to our mission at Plan International Ireland.
Around the world, many millions of children of school-going age are out of school. For girls, a pathway to education is even more difficult. Children in conflict zones and those living in rural areas are also more likely to be out of school than their peers.
We work with children and their communities to break down the barriers that keep them from accessing an education. We work with our partners to build schools and educational facilities and rebuild them after conflict. We work with education personnel to make schools safer and ensure they are resilient in conflict settings.
130 million girls around the world today are denied an education – simply because they are girls. There are many barriers to girls’ education globally: poverty, child marriage, sexual exploitation, FGM, period poverty, disability and stigma are just some of them. Harmful practices and gendered norms are keeping girls out of school, where they belong.
We believe that girls’ education leads to girls’ equality. Education is critical in tackling harmful gender norms, and empowering girls to drive change. It gives girls the skills to become leaders, innovators and change makers, and to tackle future crises.
We aim to provide millions of girls across the world with safe, quality, gender-transformative education so they may find their voices and learn to lead.
During emergencies, conflicts and other extremely difficult contexts, education infrastructure can often break down. An estimated 426 million children live in conflict situations worldwide.
Plan International’s education in emergencies programme strives to provide quality education opportunities that meet the needs of girls and boys affected by humanitarian crises. Our work has a particular focus on adolescent girls who are among the worst affected by disasters. As part of our work we ensure they receive the emotional support they need to recover from their experiences.
Our education in emergencies work involves being prepared before an emergency – including teacher training and ensuring buildings are safe. We also implement the programme immediately following an emergency, and through all phases of the response.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the climate emergency are amongst the greatest disrupters to education with the potential to roll back years of progress, especially for girls’ education.
Prioritising access to education is central across our development and humanitarian work.
