Adolescents in Bardiya lead change as Plan International Korea wins national award
5 December 2025Plan International Korea has received a national award recognising its work in Nepal, where adolescents are leading change in their schools and communities. The winning project in Bardiya is helping girls claim their rights, stay in school, and shape a safer, more equal future.
Plan International Korea has been named a 2025 International Development Cooperation Organisation and received the Minister’s Award from the Office for Government Policy Coordination. The national recognition celebrates the organisation’s strong contribution to international development goals and its work in Nepal, where girls are leading change in their communities. This award recognises organisations that have achieved outstanding results in the field of international development cooperation and contributed to achieving domestic and international Official Development Assistance (ODA) policy goals. Plan’s project to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for adolescents in Bardiya, Nepal, was highly recognised for its innovation and sustainability.
The award recognises a project that puts adolescents at the centre of SRHR
The project, funded by KOICA ODA, was implemented over 3 years, from 2021 to 2023, to foster a healthy and safe environment for youth in the Bardiya region of western Nepal, a region known for its high rates of early marriage and strong taboos related to sex and menstruation. Beyond simple facility support, the project adopted a gender-transformative approach (an approach that challenges inequality) that transformed perceptions and structures across schools, families, and communities, driving sustainable change.
Fifteen-year-old Riya says the club has helped her learn about her rights and, more importantly, how to exercise them, including the right to say no to early marriage and the right to refuse unwanted advances. She said she now understands that becoming pregnant at an early age brings health risks and that protection is essential for safe relationships.
Club members have learnt the skills needed to become peer educators, sharing information and organising activities to raise awareness among fellow students. “The project has made it easier to raise awareness among adolescent girls and boys in the municipality about sexual and reproductive health rights,” explains Riya. “This is reducing child marriage, preventing sexual violence, and making menstrual health impacts more manageable.”
As part of the project, teachers are also receiving training in comprehensive sexuality education so they are better equipped to have candid and accurate conversations with students about sexual and reproductive health and rights.
“The project has made it easier to raise awareness among adolescent girls and boys in the municipality about sexual and reproductive health rights.”
Riya, an adolescent from Bardiya
From safer schools to empowered voices, adolescents are shaping a more equal future in Bardiya
Key achievements of the project include:
- Establishing gender and disability-friendly restrooms and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) facilities in 36 schools
- Reducing female student absenteeism from 71% to 21%
- Training 1,434 youth peer educators
- Improving youth-friendly services at local health facilities
- Raising awareness of gender equality within the home through the participation of 3,972 fathers’ groups
The fathers’ group model, which encourages men to participate as active actors in gender equality, was introduced as a best practice at the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) and received significant international attention.
This award is significant because the approach, which positions youth as agents of change rather than beneficiaries, suggests a new direction for international development cooperation. The project was highly praised for strengthening the ability of local communities, schools, and health care institutions to sustain activities independently, establishing a foundation for lasting impact beyond the project’s conclusion.
A Plan International Korea official said, “This award is the result of the collaboration between local Nepali youth, teachers, health workers, parents, and other community members,” and added, “Plan International will continue to play a responsible role in the field of international development cooperation so that more children and youth can grow up in a safe and equal environment.”
“Plan International will continue to play a responsible role in the field of international development cooperation so that more children and youth can grow up in a safe and equal environment.”
Official from Plan International Korea
Meanwhile, Plan is pursuing a second phase of the project, running from 2024 to 2026, based on the successful experience of Bardiya, and expanding the model for promoting sexual and reproductive health rights to more areas of Nepal.
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