COVID-19 EMERGENCY RESPONSEFOR GIRLS & CHILDRENYour lifesaving support is making allthe difference in the world.

PLAN INTERNATIONAL

Thanks to the dedication of supporter s like you, Plan International has been able to respond swiftly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on expertise from past health crises, such as Ebola and Zika, we are working hard to keep girls and families safe and healthy worldwide. From distributing food and hygiene kits to struggling families in Brazil, to building hand-washing stations for sponsorship communities in Guinea-Bissau, your support has been essential to strengthening the systems needed to help communities respond in times of crisis.

You make our critical work possible, at a time when it is needed more than ever.

Forced to flee her home to escape violence in northeast Nigeria, 15-year-old Fatima now lives with her family in a crowded refugee camp, where health hazards were already severe.

"My education has been placed on hold as a result of coronavirus," Fatima says. "I want to lead my community in the fight against the virus and advise everyone to take all the precautionary measure like regular hand washing, use of hand sanitizers and also to avoid close contact with others."

Plan is working hard to prepare and protect these vulnerable populations, providing sanitation kits, food and clean water sources. We're educating communities on proper hygiene practices and engaging girls like Fatima to lead awareness raising activities.

Give for Girls EventTotal Raised: $61,150Hosted by MSNBC News anchor and Plan International USA Ambassador, Richard Lui, Give for Girls took place on Giving Tuesday Now, an international day of giving and unity. The event gave attendees behind-the-scenes updates on our global COVID-19 response, including videos directly from countries you support.

We are so grateful for all you do to ensure vulnerable girls and young women aren't left behind during this global crisis.

“I want to lead my community in the fight against the virus."

Our response to Covid-19 ASIA

AMERICAS

OCEANIAFijiDistributing child-friendly education booklets about COVID-19 in Central Bougainville communities.

Solomon Islands Distributing information on preventative measures, and building and repairing water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

BoliviaDistributing hygiene kits, feminine hygiene products, food, gloves, hand sanitizer and masks to health centers in rural municipalities, as well as creating violence-prevention media content.

BrazilDistributing hygiene and food kits to vulnerable families, developing materials for school principals and teachers, and

creating domestic violence-awareness campaigns.

ColombiaCreating prevention messages for social media and delivering 360 hygiene kits to vulnerable families.

Dominican Republic Delivering hygiene kits and information on prevention, improving access to drinking water, promoting nutrition and safe cooking practices, and sharing content on violence prevention.

EcuadorProviding cash transfers to migrant families from Venezuela, creating educational programming for radio and TV, and launching a social media campaign on violence prevention.

El SalvadorDelivering 500 blankets, 1,000 menstrual hygiene kits, 115 hygiene kits, 108 units of coffee and 72 units of soup to vulnerable children and families. GuatemalaDistributing hand sanitizer, soap, floor disinfectant, bleach and paper towels to health centers, and implementing awareness campaigns on preventing domestic violence.

BeninProviding more than 5,600 hand-washing kits and soap for over 1,000 schools. Training community partners on how to build portable hand-washing stations.

Burkina FasoDistributing hygiene and hand-washing kits to vulnerable households, and providing educational support through radio for children who are out of school.

CameroonTraining community volunteers to promote hygiene and prevention measures, including protection training for girls in refugee camps.

EgyptProviding cash transfers to 2,000 families in need, distributing hygiene-awareness materials to healthcare centers and implementing disease prevention campaigns.

EthiopiaDistributing 15,000 hygiene kits to vulnerable girls and boys, including unaccompanied children in Gambella refugee camps, and installing hand-washing stations in sponsorship communities.

GhanaCoordinating with the national government to support e-learning programs, and creating COVID-19 prevention messages for radio and TV with special attention to gender issues.

GuineaProviding dignity kits and face masks to all sponsored children, families, community leaders and volunteers (more than 370,000 people), and mobilizing Girls’ Clubs to increase prevention-awareness.

Guinea-BissauProviding hand-washing stations to sponsorship communities.

KenyaDistributing soap and water to families living in informal settlements and refugee camps, and developing child-friendly hygiene-awareness messages.

LiberiaDistributing hand-washing materials for midwives and other health workers across sponsorship communities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

MalawiOrganizing community-awareness meetings on COVID-19 risks for traditional and religious leaders, and working with the Ministry of Health to conduct awareness sessions.

MaliTeaching children about social distancing, training children on prevention measures and implementing a public awareness campaign through radio, posters and web animations.

Mozambique Developing worksheets for students to complete at home, and delivering dignity kits and COVID-19 prevention messages across resettlement camps.

Niger Providing hand-washing kits for communities and refugee camps, and developing awareness-raising materials on COVID-19 prevention for radio stations.

NigeriaProviding communities with essential materials like thermometers, hand sanitizer, face masks, sanitary pads and hand-washing stations, and distributing prevention-awareness materials.

SenegalTraining girl leaders to share prevention messages and distributing hand-washing devices, hand-sanitizer, face masks, gloves and soap to sponsorship communities.

Sierra LeoneSharing prevention materials during all sponsorship activities and soliciting input from youth leaders to craft social mobilization messages on ways to prevent getting sick.

South SudanImproving all hand-washing facilities at child-friendly spaces and incorporating COVID-19 awareness and prevention materials into all parenting sessions.

BangladeshProviding 10,000 households with financial support, distributing 25,000 hygiene kits and conducting more than 2,500 hygiene-promotion sessions.

CambodiaReaching more than 389,000 children by providing soap to vulnerable households, promoting hygiene practices and broadcasting awareness-raising radio messages in various languages.

ChinaDistributing hygiene equipment including 40,000 pairs of latex gloves, 460 bottles of hand soap, 200 gallons of hand sanitizer and 2,300 face masks.

IndiaTraining officials at the Nepal border on preventing cross-border transmission and mobilizing a prevention-awareness drive in 202 villages.

IndonesiaDistributing more than 11,000 hygiene kits and over 8,000 prevention-awareness posters to sponsored children.

LaosProviding hygiene kits and cleaning equipment to schools, conducting training and prevention programs, and partnering with health departments to provid protective equipment.

LebanonMonitoring the wellbeing of children and their families through phone check-ins, and developing plans to provide remote psychosocial support.

MyanmarFinalizing a program to protect girls from violence, and coordinating to distribute food to internally displaced persons and cash transfers for mothers and children.

NepalCirculating radio prevention-awareness messages, distributing thousands of awareness flyers and coordinating with other local nonprofits to support clean water, sanitation and child protection.

PhilippinesProviding 2,130 hygiene kits to sponsored children and working with local governments to distribute protective equipment.

South KoreaDistributing face masks, hand sanitizer and food to children. Child-friendly messages are being shared to teach children how to protect themselves from the virus.

ThailandCoordinating with local governments to support children out of school, distributing protective equipment and collecting data on COVID-19 in migrant communities.

Timor-LesteCoordinating with national governments to create prevention-awareness campaigns and leading local nonprofits on promoting hygiene to preschool-aged children.

VietnamSharing prevention materials with 24 schools. Children’s Clubs and Parenting Clubs are leading hygiene-promotion activities in their communities, reaching 52,660 children and 3,000 adults.

AFRICA SudanLeading awareness campaigns and distributing hygiene items and awareness materials in sponsorship communities and refugee camps.

TanzaniaWorking with the national government to develop public awareness materials for children and adults.

TogoDesigning a public awareness campaign focused on radio and television messages, and creating internet packages for young people to telework and acquire protective materials.

UgandaCoordinating with the national government as per instructions that all donations must be channeled through the National COVID-19 Taskforce, with no direct delivery allowed.

ZambiaTraining community health volunteers to share prevention measures with special consideration for children’s safety, and distributing reusable sanitary pads for girls.

ZimbabweCoordinating with the national government and NGOs to develop public awareness messages for television, radio shows and text-message campaigns.

HaitiDistributing 70 hygiene kits, 400 bars of soap, 50 mattresses and 50 blankets to a local COVID-19 health center, and integrating COVID-19 messaging into existing projects.

Honduras Implementing an awareness campaign encouraging people to report violence, and printing posters explaining COVID-19 and how it is prevented. MexicoProviding food, hygiene and menstrual kits, and COVID-19 prevention and treatment information to migrants.

NicaraguaProviding water and hygiene kits to 11,082 families, and training community leaders to share COVID-19 information and prevention measures.

ParaguaySharing prevention messages via WhatsApp with more than 700,000 people, supplying hospitals with protective equipment and distributing hygiene kits and prevention posters.

PeruDelivering 5,000 hygiene kits to children and families in Lima, developing at-home educational kits for 1,200 children and providing protective gear for 693 Ministry of Health personnel.

ASIA-PACIFIC SITUATION REPORTCOVID-19 EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Key MessagesAs a global girls’ rights and humanitarian organisation, Plan International’s experienceindicates that girls and young women are particularily vulnerable in health emergencies. We call on governments to include meaningful participation of girls and women in itsdecision-making processes related to the COVID-19 response and recognise thatoutbreaks, quarantines and isolation affect girls and boys, women and men differently.

We believe that sex and age-appropriate interventions that address increased risk of child marriage, sexual violence, sexual reproductive health and rights, mental health and burden of domestic work facing girls and women are particularly essential and we call on countries to provide foreign assistance to increase funding in light of COVID-19, including intensifying support and preventive measures in refugee and displacement settings.

12th June 2020, Issue 6

5,686,842 PeopleREACHED THROUGH OUR RESPONSE in APAC

PPE equipment distributed

494,129IEC materials distributed

738,9301,283,522Menstrual hygiene and hygiene suppliesdistributed

VIETNAM

THAILAND

PHILIPPINES

NEPAL

LAO PDR

INDONESIA

TIMOR-LESTE

solomon islandspapua new guinea

fiji

CHINA

BANGLADESH

CAMBODIA

MYANMAR

SOUTH KOREAJAPAN

australia

HONG KONGINDIA

Reported laboratory-con�rmed COVID-19 cases and deaths as of 11 June 2020 (WHO, Sitrep #143)

COVID-19 Regional overview

Plan International’s Highest Risk Locations

Other Plan International Locations

All Plan International countries in Asia-Paci�c are implementing their 6 months COVID-19 Emergency Response Plans

Regional influencing-Collaborating with Save the Children on a Policy Brief on COVID-19 and Protection of Girls from Violence aimed at ASEAN and SAARC.

-Actively participating in regional COVID-19 working groups such as Regional Migrant and Refugee, the Regional WASH and the Regional Logistic working groups.

-Co-leading the priority action on Regional Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) with youth and children together with UNICEF and WHO as part of the Regional RCCE Working Group.

-Released ‘Hear it from the Girls - Asia and COVID019’, a brief report highlighting ongoing impacts on girls’ lives through their voices and anecdotes while incorporating regional key challenges, analysis, and recommendations to governments, read here.

* No data for Solomon Islands on WHO SitReps

locations

Bangladesh

Total confirmed

74, 865

Total deaths

1, 012

Cambodia 126 0

China 84, 652 4, 645

Fiji 18 0

India 286, 579 8, 102

Indonesia 34, 316 1,959

Lao PDR 19 0

Myanmar 248 8

Nepal 4, 364 15

Papua New Guinea 8 0

Philippines 23, 732 1, 027

Solomon Islands* - -

Thailand 3, 125 58

Timor-Leste 24

0Vietnam 332

0

*Plan International is also responding to Typhoon Ambo in the Philippines and Cyclone Amphan in Bangladesh and India.

Regional Reach

Beneficiaries Reached so far PEOPLE

5,686,842Including

2,937,978girls and women

Figures as of 2 June 2020

Parents and caregivers participated in ‘Coping with COVID-19’ support sessions

182,661 Children and youth participated in ‘Coping with COVID-19’ support programmes

108,403

Primary healthcare facilities received essential support

538

Girls and boys participated in in distance learning programs

200,230

Information, Education and Communication(IEC) materials produced and distributed

738,930

People received cash and voucherassistance (254 of which are peoplewith disability)

18,801

Personal protective equipment (PPE)distributed

494,129

People reached with COVID-19 prevention and hygiene messages

1,283,522Menstrual hygiene and hygiene supplies distributed

471Handwashing and sanitation facilities built or repaired (households, communities and institutions)

2,504,571

Vulnerable families received food rations

58,453

Teachers received learning supporttraining

2,416

Program Snapshots

School Closed Reported Cases of COVID-19School Partially OpenAll School Open

-Reached 5, 865 beneficiaries in awareness and child protection sessions in Cox’s Bazar, including 2,603 children.

-Reached 34, 505 beneficiaries in awarenessand prevention messages, including 21, 682 children.

-Distributed 1,827 Hygiene kits to adolescent girls and young women in refugee camps and Plalongkhali Union of Ukhia Sub-District (Upazilla).

-Distributed 1,220 IEC materials with awareness messages on preventing child marriage, generalhealth care during COVID-19, mental stress, violence against women..-Distributed early warning cyclone messages(Amphan) in all five camps in Ukhiya through SMS,WhatsApp,emergency basis skype meetings, and leaflets.

-Provided cash support to 431 households in Cox’s Bazar and 861 sponsored families in Dhaka district.

BANGLADESH

-Leading children’s forum with Ministry of Women and Empowerment and Child Protection to promote children’s rights during the pandemic.

-Working with provincial governments to engagevolunteers to raise awareness about child protection and mother and child health during the pandemic at the village level

-Continuing to support local government’s education office on radio learning program in Soe, East Nusa Tenggara.

-Installed water tanks and delivered water trucks to remote communities.

-Collaborating with UNICEF to conduct radio talk show on “Safe school on COVID-19”.

Indonesia

NEPAL

-Collaborating with Ministry of Women,Children and Senior Citizen to broadcast childprotection messages on 273 radio stations.-Training youth to build their media skills toraise their concerns and voices duringCOVID-19.

-Broadcasted child protection messages through 16 local radio stations, reaching 385,402 people.

-Broadcasted radio messages on Prevention from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Sindhuli, Banke, Bardiya, Kalikot, Makwanpur and Jumla districts.

-7 temporary contactless handwashing stations were set up providing with soaps and water supply at quarantine centers and public places in Sindhuli and Sunsari.

-Supported youth to produce 23,000 masks in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Rakhine.

-Trained youth leaders from virtual education and protection campaign to offer protection support for girls and young women living in 24 IDP camps and 24 host communities, as well as in 220 villages.

-Continuing to distribute food rations to InternallyDisplaced Persons (IDP) living in conlicted areas.

-Training young people to produce youth-friendlycontent on prevention and control, nutrition,substance abuse, coping mechanisms and mentalhealth.

-Launched online “Plan Challenge” campaign toencourage parenting practices for COVID-19 care.

Myanmar

PHILIPPINES

-Broadcasting prevention and awareness messages on five radio stations in programme areas, reaching 641,458 people.

-Supported 1, 035 families with aid in the form of Multipurpose Cash Transfers, Food Vouchers, and Livelihood Assistance.

-Leading an online peer education sessions called #QuaranTALK in partnership with Y-Peer Pilipinas.

-Coordinating with provincial level protection and gender-based violence referral services under the RAISE Above project.

Plan International Myanmar has launched a virutal youth-led education and protection campaign together with UNICEF. The first of its kind, the campaign is superheaded by 125 young leaders, with over 700 of their peers, in Mandalay Regional and Kachin State to raise awareness about COVID-19 and promote reporting pathways for child protection and gender-based violence issues during this time of increased isolation.

As part of the campaign, youth leaders are drawing and painting sun ally symbols near their homes to signify shining a light on incidents of violence and abuse that might otherwise be ignored. It also lets their peers and other community members know that they have an ally during these difficult times.

“I call upon my fellow youth leaders to share our newly acquired knowledge with our peers and communities to

that we can protect one another.”

-Htu Mai, Youth Leader

The recent typhoon affected clean water and supplies for proper hygiene in households in several communities in Northern Samar, Philippines.

Plan International Philippines is actively providing hygiene and water kits to affected populations, including pregnant mothers and people with disabilities.

All the more during the quarantine, we must protect and promote children’s rights at all times. We must be extra careful as online threats are

now heightened. There are online scammers and predators seeking to prey on the most vulnerable

ones in the world of internet - children.

-Mau, Philippines

“”

COVID-19 EMERGENCY RESPONSELATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN REPORT

Based on Internal Situation Report Nº 13Updated as of Jun 19, 2020

The 13 countrieswhere we haveintervention:

- Gender-based violence against girls and women continue to be the common denominator in all countries.- As every week, the three most pressing concerns are: the increase in gender-based violence against girls as a result of confinement, the lack of access to education and the increase in care work that falls on girls.- This week it is interesting to highlight Brazil's concern about the invisibility of girls in government actions as well as in reports of violence. In addition to concern about the possible increase in care work that may fall on girls now that adults will have to return to work. - Paraguay also highlights the risk of increased child labour as a result of the economic crisis.

12 countries have total/partialquarantine and/or lockdows

Nicaragua is the only countrywhere there are not lockdows

*Only includes the countries where Plan Internationalin the region has a presence; excluding USA and Canada

1.472.447Confirmed cases

64.880Confirmed deaths

SITUATION OVERVIEW*

HOW IS COVID-19 IMPACTING GIRLS IN THE REGION?

BENEFICIARIES REACHED SO FAR

3.854.673 PEOPLE

GuatemalaEl Salvador

HondurasNicaragua

EcuadorPeru

BoliviaParagua

Brazil

HaitiDominican Republic

VenezuelaColombia

Panama (Regional Office)

RESPONSE HIGHLIGHTS Jun 19, 2020

CPiE & GBVChild Protection in Emergency& Gender Based Violence

1.798.975WASHWater, sanitation and hygiene

Sexual and Reproductive Rights

Education in Emergency

916.018

Community engagement

88.042 Healt & SRH 869.502

Food Security94.868

EiE11.307

Youth Entrepreneurshipand Employability

YEE * Figures of reached beneficiaries correspond to the totalnumber of reached trough the different activities

These consolided figures do not correspond to the total of direct beneficiaries,since the overlapping analysis has not been carried out yet

80Early recovery / Livelihood

60.996

497.310GIRLS

416.562BOYS

1.660.105WOMEN

1.280.696MEN

BENEFICIARIES REACHED SO FAR3.854.673 PEOPLE

BENEFICIARIES BY SECTOR

Delivery of 9,085 food and hygiene kits to communities - Brasil

Delivery of 9,085 food and hygiene kits to communities - Brasil

"I'm quite concerned about my family getting infected. In my house when we need something or have emergencies at home, our parents have to travel very far and with great fear they travel to Bilwi, about 2 or 3 hours by bus and they must always wear gloves, mask and long sleeve shirts to do the shopping. When they leave, they stay for two or three days to take advantage of the trip and do all their errands, but now they only stay one day, and return the next day. We fear staying alone in the house, but we take care of each other and avoid leaving home..."

PerúReychel shows an “I want to play with my friends” sign to express her wish once the pandemic ends.”

“I try to help women who are experiencing violence and I have learnt about the new laws to protect women. When I see prejudice, I have the courage to speak up. I call out boys, because we girls have the same rights as they do.”

Darlyn, 17 years old

Evellen, 15 years old

Brazil

Reychel, 5 years old

“To obtain food for my daughters, I have to walk for about two hours.”

Neiva, mother of Scarlett (10), Keyla (11) and Sasha's (8). The food kit they received is part of the donation of US $1.7 million to CARE, ChildFund and Plan International by the “Por Todos” Fund, managed by private companies. Neiva

GIRLS´ VOICESON COVID-19

Latin America is the new COVID-19 epicentre and it could be the worst yet.

Ecuador

Nicaragua

Delivery of 9,085 food and hygiene kits to communities - Brasil

Delivery of 9,085 food and hygiene kits to communities - Brasil

MAIN ACTIONS TO DATE Jun 19, 2020Severe/GeneralSignificant/WidespreadLimited/LocalisedPUBLIC

GATHERINGSSCHOOLS BORDERS &

FLIGHTS

GOVERMENTMEASURES TRANSIT

RESTRICTIONS

Delivery of 9,085 food and hygiene kits to communities - Brasil

Delivery of 9.085 food and hygiene kits to communities - Brasil

Delivery of hygiene kits for families in Guatemala.A total of 36.912 will be deliver.

Bolivia

- Launch of 2 virtual talks on SHSR, in coordination with youth organizations from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia and Chile. The main objective is to analyze youth´s reality in LAC and to propose advances for the exercise of their rights.

- Delivery of biosecurity inputs to the Ministry of Health for the operation of a brigade of 55 doctors in La Paz.

Colombia

- Launch of the "No más niñas invisibles" campaign to raise funds for young children and adolescents sponsored in times of Covid-19.

- Delivery of 1.050 hygiene kits for migrant and host populations, 300 cleaning kits, 415 food packages, 2 deliveries with protective equipment for hospitals, 450 multipurpose cash, in Cúcuta-Border with Venezuela.

DominicanRepublic

- Delivery of Biosafety supplies to Civil Defense in San Juan.

- Dissemination of Communication Campaign: Impact of COVID19 on adolescent girls.

- Online launch of violence prevention campaign.

- Delivery of 20.236 food and hygiene kits.

- Delivery of 98.000 guides for children in the area of bilingual intercultural education for 12 indigenous nationalities.

- Dissemination of "Together We Can" campaign through radio and television for children and adolescents.

Ecuador

Brazil

- Delivery of 9.085 food and hygiene kits to communities where Plan International operates.

- Launch of Prevention and Awareness Campaign on Child Labor, and the risks of increasing in times of pandemic, in partnership with important organizations in Brazil.- Signing of MOU with UNDP and UNICEF for violence prevention actions, especially GBV.

Hygiene kits and food kits were delivered to 5.000 low-income families - Bolivia

Venezuelan and Colombian migrants receive hygiene kits during distribution in Bogotá - Soacha

Delivery of 9,085 food and hygiene kits to communities - Brasil

- Scope of the communications campaign #Quedatencasa: more than 322.973 people, now in the fourth of seven planned phases.

- Completion of the first provision of hygiene and health supplies, personal protection equipment and diagnostic equipment to the Guatemalan Ministry of Health, benefiting more than 14.714 employees in the health areas.

- Conclusion of the first rapid gender analysis in response to the COVID-19 Emergency: 498 surveys (79% to women) were conducted in the five regions of the country where Plan International is active. The majority of respondents are concerned that: women are at greater risk of infection, decreased economic income, lack of medical care, increased household chores, limited access to food and loss of employment opportunities.

Guatemala

Haití

- Launch of an influence and awareness campaign on protection, sexual and reproductive rights, GBV in emergencies, with the participation of local authorities and communities.

- Dissemination of document on protection and GBV through media.

Honduras

- Execution and participation in 3 webinars on 1) Gender and child protection approaches in journalistic coverage for journalists. 2) Recognition and how to act against sexual violence, aimed at adolescents and youth. 3) Experiences during assistance delivery and protection actions with the Inter-institutional Commission for the Protection of Displaced Persons due to Violence (CAPPED).

- Production and edition of 10 polymedia videos for the 9th grade social and natural science classes, to be distributed throughout the country by the Ministry of Education for reproduction on national television. In addition, delivery of reading books and activity books for parents.

- The National Council of the System for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents has developed a strategy for psychosocial support in coordination with the country's lead institution for the rights of children.

El Salvador

- Psychological care for girls and adolescents and women affected by or at risk of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Continuous information campaigns on gender issue.

- Support to families in communities on issues such as protection, WASH, health and food security, despite restrictive and quarantine measures.

Delivery of food kits and hygiene supplies to 138,000 people from vulnerable communities - Ecuador.

Families receiving food vouchers in Croix-des-Bouquets - Haiti.

MAIN ACTIONS TO DATE Severe/GeneralSignificant/WidespreadLimited/LocalisedPUBLIC

GATHERINGSSCHOOLS BORDERS &

FLIGHTS

GOVERMENTMEASURES TRANSIT

RESTRICTIONS

Jun 19, 2020

Delivery of 9,085 food and hygiene kits to communities - Brasil

MAIN ACTIONS TO DATE Severe/GeneralSignificant/WidespreadLimited/LocalisedPUBLIC

GATHERINGSSCHOOLS BORDERS &

FLIGHTS

GOVERMENTMEASURES TRANSIT

RESTRICTIONS

Delivery of food and hygiene kits to 16.000 families - Paraguay

Delivery of hygiene kits for families - Guatemala

Jun 19, 2020

Paraguay

- Delivery of food and hygiene kits has reached more than 16.000 families and 5.324 sponsored girls.

- Participation of girls and adolescents in the framework of the Beijing+ 25 consultation were 6 girls participated through the virtual platform, amongst them a visually impaired girl, who explained the reality that girls with disabilities live in health emergency and the lack of measures to ensure accessibility in educational and information resources.

- Scope of campaign against violence to children #TodosSomosResponsables: 413.000 people in social networks.

Perú

- Social-emotional support, orientation, and legal information for 1,885 Venezuelans, since the beginning of quarantine, in Tumbes as part of the Safe Environments project, financed by UNHCR.

- Dissemination of "Voices of the Emergency" campaign reached more than 27.000 people through social networks. In addition, a Rapid Gender Assessment was conducted.

- Delivery of 4.221 CVA to sponsored families and volunteers in Loreto, Cusco, Piura and Lima. This includes 2.404 reached individuals. This represents 20% of our goal to reach all sponsored families in Perú.

- Delivery of 343 personal hygiene kits for children and adolescents and 90 individual protection kits against COVID-19 for mothers in charge of food preparation, maintenance staff and teachers in two schools in the State of Táchira.

- Delivery of 20.0000 litres of water through two water tankers to an outpatient centre in the State of Bolívar, benefiting more than 5.600 people.

Venezuela

Nicaragua No Restrictions

- Delivery of 19.793 family hygiene kits, benefiting 93.221 people from 232 vulnerable communities in intervention territories of all 5 program units. This action received active participation of communities through volunteer collaborators and community leaders.

- Updating of data on the situation and needs of girls, boys, youth, adolescents and their families, through 800 surveys in three moments from April to June 2020.

WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA OVERVIEW

June 25, 2020COVID-19 EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Dear friend,

Several countries across West and Central Africa are gradually lifting movement restrictions and authorising the resumption of classes, yet the COVID-19 pandemic and its detrimental impact on girls and boys is far from over! Plan International continues to be at the forefront of the Covid-19 response alongside governments, young people, girls, women and other stakeholders and is continuing its key role to ensure the well-being and resilience of girls and boys, their families and communities is kept high on everyone’s agendas. We know that women and girls play a key lead role in the fight against Covid-19. Nevertheless, the evidence that the burden of unpaid care work continues to fall disproportionally on girls and women is becoming overwhelming.

We also know that when the far-reaching food and nutrition insecurity situation worsens throughout West and Central Africa, it will again be girls and women being the ones that are hit the hardest. Plan International’s own Rapid Gender Assessments throughout the region have further highlighted that there are reported increases in domestic violence and in stress levels of children, increased risks of child early and forced marriage, and permanent school drop-outs for girls. Moreover, in a lot of contexts key information channels remain dominantly controlled by men: women have more limited direct access to information and when information is available it is not child and adolescent friendly.

Plan International stands for girls and with girls and other vulnerable groups. We aim to demonstrate and advocate for models that ensure girls and young women have access to support and spaces needed to reach their full potential. We invite you to discover the creative solutions we continue to put in place, together with partners and communities, to reach our ambition.

COVID-19: GIRLS VOICES FROM WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

Deaf people left behind in the response to Covid-19!

“Things are changing, and we the deaf people are left behind. We are seeing things on the television. Some people cover their nose, others wash their hands, some sneeze in the ankle... there are many things going on, but we do not understand anything. We are just there, following others. We notice that people are wearing facemasks, so we wear them too to be like them.”

Fatouma, 18 and Koumba, 16 (two deaf sisters in Togo).

Bearing the brunt of house chores

"Before this pandemic, I could go out, go wherever I wanted and do what I wanted to do. Now we are in semi-confinement. Despite the lifting of the curfew by the authorities, I no longer feel safe outside, I am afraid and I am no longer free. My main occupation is limited to cooking and housework".

Sangare, 23, Mali.

“No Pad Tax” to fight “period” poverty.

“It is really strange that something as normal and regular as menstruation could be a major contributing factor to messing up the future of young girls in Ghana. Schoolgirls, especially in rural Ghana, cannot afford sanitary pads because they are expensive and almost inaccessible to them. It is even worse now with the Covid-19. The goal is to get the government to distribute these pads free at least for Basic and Secondary school girls. However we need to start from somewhere and now we are starting with a petition to the government to scrap the 20% tax on sanitary pads and enable local production.”

Lilipearl, Ghana.

Stepping up the fight against GBV amidst Covid-19.

“Because of COVID-19, things are difficult for everyone. We have moved from group meetings to action: door-to-door awareness raising about gender-based violence. Because of our action, child marriage is not happening like before, but we still have many cases of violence and teenage pregnancy to deal with, and trust us, we shall deal with it.”

Mawatta, Liberia.

28,754,167

1,195,520

21%

79%

TARGETEDBENEFICIARIES

96%

4%

€ 54,867,348

€ 11,410,796PEOPLE REACHED

FUNDING TARGET

CONFIRMED

€ 43,456,552FUNDING GAP

FUNDING TARGET€ 53,622,913CONFIRMED€ 16,065,425

TARGETEDBENEFICIARIES31,834,695PEOPLE REACHED20,433,180

30%

70%

64%

36%

GIRLS VOICES FROM WEST & CENTRAL AFRICA

New grants income doubled from € 1.9M to € 3.8M and included a € 1.3M grant for Plan International Senegal from the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (through CNO).

CHILD PROTECTION (INCLUDING SGBV)OUR RESPONSE

4 Benin organised a series of capacity building sessions on child protection and PSEA for 109 community volunteers and leaders, 23 NGO Facilitators and Executive Directors from local partner NGOs, and 472 community members.

4 Burkina Faso supported the renewal and revamp of the Bazega Child Protection Provincial Network (15 women, 18 men) and they are now effective in their mission to protect the rights of the child and the girl child, particularly in the Covid-19 context.

4 Cameroon succeeded in drafting a joint action plan on child protection with the Ministry of Social Affairs for improved awareness.

4 CAR trained 587 people (309 women) including CFS monitors, community child protection structures, and community leaders on how to use image boxes to work with and sensitise children.

4 Guinea Bissau reached 365,409 people with a public awareness video on preventing Covid-19 and child protection produced in partnership with five youth organization and with participation of two (2) sponsored girls from Bafata.

4 Mali strengthened accountability of protection committee members and IDP leaders for the monitoring of children at IDP reception sites in Bandiagara and Mopti.

COVID19 and gender-based violence: the story of Pauline

Supported by Plan International, Pauline (borrowed name), 15, was attending the 4th grade class in the commune of Andentenga before the school closure. During a door-to-door awareness activity, the Plan International Burkina Faso Centre-East office team learned of her disappearance from her parents who were very worried. The Plan team reported in turn to the social services. A research was launched and after a while Pauline was found in the home of a young man. Unknown to the girl's parents, he had approached her one day in the street and convinced her to go with him, promising her a bright future.

4 Liberia facilitated dialogue with Boys' Club on SGBV and Teenage pregnancy prevention in Foya District. The ongoing “Zero Tolerance” dialogue is meant to foster skills, knowledge and confidence of boys to speak out on these issues in vulnerable communities, especially with high rate of SGBV.

4 Niger followed up/monitored 7cases of sexual abuse and provided the victims with counselling and Psychological support in Diffa region. 99 child protection committees were also provided with materials to implement their protection action plans.

4 In Adamawa, Borno & Yobe States in Nigeria, 725 caregivers (532 women) participated in sessions on positive parenting during the pandemic ; 733 children (440 girls) participated in recreation and learning activities organised in the CFS while 384 adolescents (244 girls, 140 boys) benefited from the live skills & mentoring sessions.

4 In collaboration with the Departmental Child Protection Committee, Senegal has been able to place 50 children victims of trafficking in vocational training and return more than 400 street children amongst which 351, returned to their original places of residence throughout the national territory.

4 In Sokodè, Central Region, 40 volunteers (5 women, 35 men, 01 disabled) from the Togolese Red Cross were oriented on the Children and Youth Safeguarding Policy as well as harassment policy: 5,523 people reached through cascading.

Excited to be re-united with her daughter, Pauline's mother confesses:

“Without Plan's intervention, I would have had no way to save my daughter from an early and forced marriage. My daughter's schooling is a priority”.

After about two weeks of legal procedure, the man implicated in Pauline's disappearance returned the girl to her family.

Plan International will continue to support Pauline's education next financial year.

OUR RESPONSE

4 Benin, Burkina Faso and CAR supported the provision of over 3,500 handwashing devices to schools and communities, health and child care centers, local administration and supported manufacturing of handwashing Tippy taps for 3,591 sponsorship families in Burkina Faso as well as training of 167 hygiene committees on how to use the handwashing equipment in Benin.

4 With the technical support from the Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Water and Energy in the region, Cameroon is engaged in the diagnosis and repair of malfunctioning boreholes in 4 regions ( North, Center, East and North-West), in order to provide water to vulnerable populations in partner communities.

4 Guinea did a cumulative distribution of 2,343 handwashing devices, 263 thermoflashs, 2,623 facial masks, 500 posters, 711 boxes of hydro-alcoholic gels and more than 1000 boxes of soap to reach some 3,286,567 community actors to ensure proper hand washing and preventive measures.

4 Guinea Bissau distributed preventive kits in 71 communities across Bafata and Gabu regions (soap, bleach, etc.) benefiting in total 6,517 sponsored children including 3,989 girls.

WASH (INCLUDING HYGIENE PROMOTION/ SUPPLIES, WASH FACILITIES AND MHM)

4 Liberia procured and distributed 1041 hand hygiene kits for 70 Sponsorship communities in Lofa and provided several commercial motorcyclists with one-gallon faucet containers and disinfectants to promote handwashing by passengers boarding commercial bikes in Lofa.

4 Mali got 12,500 masks made by 40 young seamstresses as a support to their income generating activity and distributed in several partner communities.

4 Niger carried out awareness on the prevention measures of the Covid-19 pandemic followed by the setting up of 2638 tippy tap hands washing facilities reaching 1,663 sponsored children including 1,292 girls in Maradi and 13,224 people in Dosso and Tillabéri.

4 In Louga Region Senegal, 320 under 18 girls received hygiene kits and were sensitized on barrier measures of Covid-19 (including handwashing demonstration) and preventing GBV.

4 Togo delivered handwashing devices, soap and awareness posters to 21 health facilities in Tchamba Prefecture and supported 159 people from 42 households with hand washing equipment.

Mobile washing facilities protect Liberia's motorcycle taxi drivers and passengers

In Liberia, motorcycle taxis are one of the most popular ways of getting around. There are few buses or rail networks in the country, so people have little option but to climb on board one of the many motorbikes that zip around the cities and towns, potentially exposing themselves and their driver to COVID-19.

To protect passengers and drivers from catching and spreading the disease, Plan International has introduced an innovative initiative to encourage people to follow the preventative measures in place and wash their hands before and after riding one of the taxis.

“When a passenger stops me for a ride, I first make sure they have on a face mask. Next, I ensure they wash their hands. After washing their hands, I allow them to get on the bike and carry them to where they want to go. Also, because of the social distancing imposed by the government, I don't carry more than one person on my bike.”

Supported by the Motorcyclist Union and the Liberia Transport Union, Plan International is providing one-gallon water containers and disinfectant to riders in Lofa county.

John (beneficiary motorcycle rider) explains.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY (INCLUDING YOUTH PARTICIPATION)

OUR RESPONSE

4 The Youth Challenge Fund (YCF), a competitive and inclusive flexible fund initiative to strengthen girl- and youth-led organisations in West and Central Africa during COVID-19, has been launched. 1350 applications received. A youth led project governance body is being set-up for the selection of projects to be funded and coordination of next steps.

4 In Benin, 510 young people, including 193 girls between 14 and 24 years of age, and 155 parents were made aware of the barriers and the pandemic (YEWA Project).

4 In Benin and Burkina Faso, round tables, radio spots, door to door visits with posters, and town crying in local languages enabled to reach more than 20,000 households as well as about 3,500 members of VSL group in Burkina Faso.

4 In collaboration with the Regional Delegation of Youth and Civic Education, Cameroon trained 350 youths on mobilising peers against the Covid-19 pandemic, including tips for improved SRHR for girls and young women. A total of participated in this program (211 women, 139 men).

4 In CAR, 1,200 posters, 2,000 pamphlets and 60 banners were distributed and enabled to reach some 48,000 with Covid-19 prevention messages through community child protection structures in Ouham, Haute-Kotto, Mambere Kadei, Nana Grebizi and other prefectures.

4 Guinea equipped 1,590 Community Relays and 954 CBO leaders with protection kits to prevent Covid-19 during home visits and educational talks in the community, and distributed 1,572 posters for awareness raising purpose.

4 Guinea Bissau reached 455,964 people on Covid-19 prevention through radio programmes, educative talks with community leaders, digital media and some 2000 posters displayed in strategic places in 382 communities of Bafata and Gabu regions.

4 In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Liberia launched a joint Covid-19 prevention awareness outreach in 8 Sponsorship communities in Nimba and provided 15 megaphones and batteries to National Risk Communication Pillar to harness community mobilization in hot Covid-19 communities.

4 Thanks to interactive radio programs, synchronized radio broadcasts, radio spots, round tables and door-to-door sensitization on Covid-19, SSR and GBV, Mali reached more than 61,597 people including 10,000 children in Yanfolila and Bougouni communities.

4 Niger reached 3,309 people with awareness raising sessions on the consequences of lockdowns, the risks of unwanted pregnancy due to the Covid-19, preventive measures, and the importance of girl education.

4 Nigeria reached out to about 1000 people including 643 women in Adamawa, Borno & Yobe state on child stress, community transmission and prevention of Covid-19.

4 Senegal reached out to 200,000 people including some 45,300 under 18 girls, with radio programs and has been able to support the creation of youth WhatsApp groups in several communities to disseminate Covid-19 prevention and child protection messages.

4 Togo reached out to about 191,000 people in several communities across the country with community awareness-raising sessions on Covid-19, radio shows, debates, and audiovisual spots.

Community Engagement and Accountability (including youth participation)

People living with disabilities face unique challenges which have been heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, including equal access to health care, support and information, as well as coping with social isolation, loss of employment and income support and the effect of the situation on their mental health.

To safeguard the rights of people with disabilities during this period, Plan International is working with the disability relief organisation OSH-Guinea to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the most vulnerable communities in Conakry. The association, made up of girls with disabilities between the ages of 19 and 35, is ensuring that people with disabilities have the hygiene materials and the information needed to shield themselves against the disease.

“When a passenger stops me for a ride, I first make sure they have on a face mask. Next, I ensure they wash their hands. After washing their hands, I allow them to get on the bike and carry them to where they want to go. Also, because of the social distancing imposed by the government, I don't carry more than one person on my bike.”

John (beneficiary motorcycle rider) explains.

“People with disabilities are very exposed to this disease. For us, this is a struggle for the right to life as this disease will hit the most vulnerable people hardest. To this end, we are teaching people with disabilities and their families to follow the simple but important barrier measures while preventing the emergence of any form of stigmatisation towards them."

Oumou H., the founding member of the association, explains more about the initiative.

Community sensitisation session in Gwoza, Nigeria

Peers training on liquid soap manufacturing in Togo.

OUR RESPONSE

4 Benin trained 192 people (45 women, 147 men) living with HIV, mediators, LGBQT, Therapeutic Educators, Legal Assistants, Injecting drug users on SRHR, MNCH, Food and Nutrition, and Covid-19.

4 Burkina Faso supported awareness raising and provision of SRH services, including family planning to 64 women associations in 3 health centers in the South-West region and donation of hand washing kits to 44 health centers in Bazega province.

4 Cameroon and Mali organized training sessions respectively for 93 health personnel on Covid-19 cases management in the North and North West regions, and for 43 health workers in Dioila (Mali).

4 Guinea ensures continuum of services at the community level with the 184 peer educators (HIV prevention component) and 955 community tuberculosis workers in cooperation with all NGOs/SR partners who coordinate activities with community workers.

4 Liberia conducted orientation with 64 (50 women, 14 men) Healthcare workers in 4 districts in Nimba on Covid-19 preparedness/response flowchart and is working with the Ministry of Health and other partners to train Covid-19 case management team members and contact tracers in Lofa.

4 In Nigeria, some 24,069 people (15,146 women, 8923 men) received SBCC on Covid-19 prevention in Pulka community of Gwoza.

4 Senegal ensures Covid-19 prevention by organising training sessions on the Covid-19 pandemic and gender-based violence for some 1,280 community actors in Thiès, Kaolack and Louga. They in turn have been able to reach out to more than 10,000 households via home visits and door to door sensitisation.

4 Togo continued the provision of hygiene kits to 12 health facilities in Kara and Atakpamè Regions, and engaged youth clubs, pregnant women and other community groups on the risk of pregnancy, the importance of prenatal consultation and vaccination for the new-born, sexual & menstrual hygiene, early pregnancy prevention, etc.

To mark the commemoration of the World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2020, Plan International Nigeria had as target to educate 10 million girls to take charge of their menstrual hygiene, even in the period of covid-19 pandemic.

Amongst other activities carried out were round table discussions with adolescent school girls in Maiduguri, interactive online engagement and campaign on myths and concerns about menstruation, community sensitisation, and dignity kits distribution.

In a safe space, adolescent girls living in GDSSS IDP Camp, Bama Local Government Area of Borno State were also thought how to make reusable sanitary pads, as most of them are dependent on their parents and caregivers, who cannot afford to buy them sanitary pads during their monthly cycles.

“With the training we just received, we are ready to produce reusable sanitary pads in larger quantities, and sell it at a more affordable price to other girls and women in the community. This will serve as a way of sustaining the dignity kits support we receive from donors,” says one of the beneficiaries of the training.

HEALTH (INCLUDING COVID INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL, SRHR)

Better menstrual hygiene management forgirls in Nigeria.

OUR RESPONSE

EDUCATION (INCLUDING EARLY LEARNING AND PARENTING)

4 In Benin, 1078 additional handwashing equipment were distributed in Primary and Secondary Schools in six (06) municipalities and the Departmental Directors of Health and Primary Education of Zou and Couffo carried out a joint mission to ensure the proper use of those hand washing kits and respect of barrier gestures by teachers and schoolchildren in schools.

4 Burkina Faso organized a series of training for 274 primary school teachers and 20 pedagogical supervisors on Covid-19 prevention, supported the manufacturing of hand washing Tippy taps for 244 primary schools, did donations of trash cans and hand washing kits to 11 primary schools and organized Radio broadcast of educational programs for 5th grade pupils in the Kourintenga Province.

4 Cameroon procured 1,643 radio sets and flash keys to enable refugee children to continue to have access to learning, and distributed integrative exercises to 1,058 pupils (530 girls) and 448 (180 girls) secondary school students in Minawao refugee camp for continuous learning at home with parents.

Back to School in the Minawao Refugee Camp.

In March 2020, closure of schools and lockdown was ordered by the Cameroon Government due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. This caused millions of pupils and students, including refugee and IDP children to abruptly stop learning, with a lot of anxiety going on about end of year exams. It is with a lot of excitement that more than 500 Class 6 pupils from the Minawao refugee camp who will be writing the First School Leaving Certificate examination went back to school on 1st of June, in respect of the Government's decision to reopen school for examination classes. Plan International Cameroon put in place hand washing devices and distributed hand sanitisers, school kits, radios & USB keys to facilitate learning during this period of COVID-19.

“I thought I will never go back to school again after this long stay at home, some of my classmates have gone for marriage and my parents were also planning to give me out for marriage since there was no school but thanks to the timely resumption of schools I am now free from the marriage arrangement” says Jaja, a class 6 pupil from Minawao refugee camp.

4 CAR reached out to some 249 teachers, school directors and school authorities through briefing sessions on Covid-19 pandemic and preventive measures.

4 In collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service, Ghana continues to offer e-learning using Plan International Ghana's T4T and MG-Cubed project studios to Basic school children, with a reach out which is far higher than the original target beneficiaries.

4 Guinea ensures education continuity at home with distribution of radios, books, pens, mathematic boxes, and other materials provided to 36,306 students, including 16,802 girls from Guéckédou prefecture, and provides special education support to 735 children living with a disability (284 girls).

4 Liberia is working with the Ministry of Education (MoE) and key players to develop age and gender appropriate guided Health Kits contents on Covid-19 for schools across the country, and responded to MoE's request for EiE related documentation and resources, by sharing education resources from GH, NOs, and WACA.

4 To ensure implementation of continuous learning for children at home, Mali is supporting recording of courses with the participation of 10 students (4 girls, 6 boys) and in partnership with the Mahamane Fondogoumo PC school.

4 In a consortium with Street Child and UNICEF, Nigeria has completed the development of learning materials, worksheets and weekly evaluation templates, for learners for the kick off of the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) remote learning pilot teaching by radio. In total, 22,321 sets of materials--flash cards of letters, syllables and numbers have been produced using locally available materials.

4 Senegal supports school reopening in sponsorship communities with masks for students, hygiene kits, handwashing facilities for schools and radio awareness on preventive measures: 135 schools and 6,895 children already reached in Saint Louis Region with hand-washing devices, 1291 gallons (500ml) of hand sanitizer, 8000 masks and 272 boxes of soap.

4 Togo reached out to 245 Sponsored Children (139 girls) in exam classes by providing rehearsal classes.

OUR RESPONSE

FOOD AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (INCLUDING CVA, SOYEE, SOCIAL PROTECTION AND NUTRITION)

4 In Benin, Adjohoun precisely, the YEWA project supported peer to peer and apprenticeship training for 20 associations - 714 youths (276 girls) in mask fabrication and liquid soap manufacturing, and 136 people (57 girls, 79 men) on handwashing equipment manufacturing.

4 Burkina Faso supported training on entrepreneurship for 120 youths (89 girls) in the Sanmatenga, Bam and Namentenga provinces, for 12 sponsorship children in the commune of Garango, and did Cash transfers (25,000 FCFA) and Food kits donations to 150 households in the Bam province.

4 CAR distributed food coupons to 500 people (372 women and girls) in various streets of Bangui, in order to support people living with HIV/AIDS and others affected by Covid-19 and raise awareness on Covid-19's barrier measures.

Plan International Sierra Leone begins the distribution of livestock to 200 beneficiaries in 10 communities in Port Loko and 12 communities in Moyamba districts to improve food security and boost household income for parents of sponsored children in the districts.

Making a statement while handing over the livestock to the beneficiaries in the Tinkatopa, Makama Safrokoh Chiefdom, the Country Director of Plan International Sierra Leone, Evariste Sindayigaya, advised beneficiaries to look after the livestock so that they multiply and generate income for their families and the community.

Prior to the distribution, Plan International Sierra Leone trained members of the 200 targeted beneficiary households in domestic livestock rearing, and so far, beneficiaries from 7 communities have received livestock.

The distribution to the remaining 15 communities is expected to be completed by June 30th.

Plan International Sierra Leone will continue to engage with the beneficiary communities to monitor and evaluate the impact of the livestock in their households.

“Nutrition remains a serious concern in Sierra Leone, with high incidence of chronic, and particularly seasonal hunger in the rural areas. Therefore, improving food security and access to financial services for parents and caregivers of children and young people remain key to advancing the rights of children”. Evariste Sindayigaya (CD - Sierra Leone).

4 Cameroon submitted a report for rapid survey on successful economic activities for refugees during the COVID crisis in Douala and Yaoundé and now proceeding with the registration of refugee households in preparation of the CBI payment within the framework of Covid-19 in Douala, Yaoundé, Langui and Banyo.

4 Niger supported the production of 2,621 masks by young apprentice girls from the tailoring learning centres (members of the youth savings and loans association): 1,115 were sold and contributes to boost the economic power of the girls.

4 In Nigeria, some 10,200 internally displaced people (5,814 women, 4,386 men) received food assistance.

4 Nigeria is also supporting 2,700 youths (1,620 girls) with skills through the Vocational training Centres and apprenticeship scheme in Borno and Adamawa states in Nigeria.

4 In Senegal, Cash transfer activities in the Region of Thiès reached 36,474 persons (18,340 women).

4 Togo supported the training of about 190 young girls and boys on sewing of masks according to WHO norms and liquid soap manufacturing in Maritime Region.

Livestock to improve livelihood for childrenand families in Sierra Leone.

Manufacturing of crimps as income generating activity for a youth group supported by YEWA Project in Togo.

4 CAR distributed food coupons to 500 people (372 women and girls) in various streets of Bangui, in order to support people living with HIV/AIDS and others affected by Covid-19 and raise awareness on Covid-19's barrier measures.

OUR RESPONSE

4 At West and Central Africa Regional level, a joint Member States briefing was organized with OCHA, FAO, WFP, UNICEF, ACF, and NRC. The Sahel Humanitarian Needs and Requirements Overview was published and shared, as well as a joint with the voices of eight press releasedirectors from UN and NGO partners. A press briefing was also held with both UN directors and NGO representatives including Plan International.

4 Plan International Benin as member of the social and child protection thematic group participated in the first meeting of the cash transfer sub-group to support the government in cash transfers for the affected population.

4 Plan International Cameroon chaired the 4th coordination meeting of partners of the task force of Covid-19 response working in the Minawao refugee camp. Discussions were centred on activity coordination, community engagement, communication improvement, case management, and wash item distribution in the camp.

4 CAR joins UNICEF and other child protection stakeholders to advocate to the government for the authorisation of Child Friendly Spaces activities, to be carried out in due respect of restrictions and Covid-19 prevention measures including social distancing and hygiene measures.

4 Plan International Ghana is continuing its participation and contributions to the Inter-Agency Working Group on Emergency Response, pushing for more structured approach to emergency response in Ghana. This group consist of 35 UN, INGOs and some LNGOs.

4 Advocacy carried out by non-state actors, including Plan International Guinea, led to the release of 42 children in conflict with the law in order to decongest prisons in the context of Covid-19 pandemic. They are being cared for by foster families or their respective centers.

4 Within the framework of Guinea Bissau's Ministry of Education contingency plan to ensure that children continue to have an education in times of crisis, Guinea Bissau is working with other GPE members, including UNICEF, to introduce learning from distance through radio.

HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION, INFLUENCING, PARTNERSHIP AND GENDER EQUALITY

4 Liberia successfully advocated for the Ministry of Education to adopt young people's voices in the Covid-19 Education Emergency Response Plan that originally did not consider that. It was revised to include media-based activities on young peoples' contribution to national response in line with child protection guidance and continuity of learning.

4 In Mali, Advocacy towards the Ministry of Women, Children and Family Promotion to support the development and implementation of a COVID-19 contingency plan specific to the protection of the child, extended to the establishment of a hotline for information, counselling and referral of children to specialized services.

4 Niger engages with UNFPA and the Covid-19 task team to take part in the revision of the HRP at both national and sub-regional level (Diffa) by providing required data and technical support.

4 Nigeria actively participated in the seminar on “The future of Almajiri children in a post-COVID world” with the Governor of Kaduna State and other government officials from Northern States, INGOs, National NGOs, CBOs, other stakeholders (teachers' unions, national PTAs, etc.).

4 Senegal engaged with State actors to ensure that they consider specific needs of girls and young women with disabilities and school girls regarding Menstrual Hygiene Management.

4 Sierra Leone continues to coordinate with the Government the Emergency Operation Centre for the national Covid-19 response, including resource mobilization and planning for a potential second national lockdown.

4 In collaboration with its partner CREUSET-Togo, Togo has initiated an advocacy to get a “presidential pardon” to release children and young people in conflict with the law, in order to enable them to be better protected and regain socio-professional reintegration.

Handing over of “No Pad Tax” advocacy document to the Minister of Gender by Plan Alumni in Ghana