Plan International-Cedar Herald Index

Plan International is a development and humanitarian organisation which works in over 75 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. Its focus is on child protection, education, child participation, economic security, emergencies, health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and water and sanitation. As of 2021, Plan International reached 26.2 million girls and 24.1 million boys through its programming.

Plan International provides training in disaster preparedness, response and recovery, and has worked on relief efforts in countries including Haiti, Colombia and Japan.

Plan International

History

Plan International was founded in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War by British journalist John Langdon-Davies and aid worker Eric Muggeridge. Eric was one of five brothers, including journalist and satirist Malcolm Muggeridge. The organization was founded with the aim to provide food, accommodation and education to children whose lives had been disrupted by the Spanish Civil War.

Plan International

Timeline

1930s – Plan International was founded as "Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain." 1940s – During World War II, the organization became known as "Foster Parents Plan for War Children" and worked in England, helping displaced children from all over Europe. After the war, Plan International extended aid to children in France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece and briefly in Poland, Czechoslovakia and China. 1950s – As Europe recovered, Plan International gradually moved out of these countries and opened new programs in less developed countries. It became "Foster Parents Plan Inc." to reflect the goal of bringing lasting change to the lives of children in need, whatever their circumstances. 1960s – Foster Parents Plan expanded its work to countries in South America and Asia. In 1962, U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was honorary chairwoman during Plan's Silver Jubilee. 1970s – In 1974, the global name became Plan International as programs now spanned South America, Asia and Africa. 1980s – Belgium, Germany, Japan and the UK joined Canada, the US, Australia and the Netherlands as donor countries. Plan International was recognised by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. 1990s – Plan International offices opened in France, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and the Republic of Korea. 2000s – The name Plan International evolved and a unified global identity was created to help make the organization more easily recognized around the world, and the logo was updated. 2017 – Plan International launched a new "International Global Strategy 2017–2022", which places an added emphasis on working with girls. The traditional blue logo was updated.

Plan International

Funding and accountability

Plan International's income comes from supporters who sponsor children and the remainder is raised through donations and grants. An average of 80% of this money goes directly to supporting Plan International’s development and humanitarian work. The remainder is spent on fundraising initiatives and maintaining an international network of support staff. Plan International publishes annual reports detailing its fundraising and spending activity.

The organization receives funding to implement grants from a range of multilateral institutions, such as the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other multilateral agencies.

Plan International adheres to several international standards and quality assurance mechanisms including the International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGO) Commitment to Accountability Charter and the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.