Teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases affect tens of millions of children and youths because they are denied the right to protect themselves.

Plan’s awareness-raising and direct response programmes help to empower children and young people so that they can realise their rights and achieve their full potential.

We directly involve children and young people in all of our work, helping them to identify problems and find solutions.

We work with partners and communities to:

• support quality reproductive and sexual health education and services
• advocate for the rights of children and youths living in a world with HIV
• provide prevention, care and support services to those living with HIV and AIDS
• challenge beliefs and attitudes that maintain unequal power relations between the sexes.

HIV focus

Plan raises awareness of HIV through a number of initiatives. In Kenya, for example, an evaluation of the Plan-supported Kagwa youth group’s activities showed that in the areas that it works in, knowledge of HIV prevention increased from 60% to 90% over 3 years.

Our direct response programmes also help communities in a variety of ways – from medical support to helping improve the livelihoods of families living with HIV.

For example, a Plan-supported project in Chenjewazi, Malawi, provided people like Mavuto with group therapy sessions, home-based care and farm animals to help improve their livelihood.

Previously, he was hard hit when he became too ill to work and his daughter was forced to live with relatives. Now Mavuto has regained his strength and is able to support his daughter again.