Plan International Uganda helps Accelerate Action for girls and women
A key way to support women's advancement is to participate in IWD GIVING, supporting the supporters to deliver their impactful work.
"As we celebrate International Women's Day 2025, I stand firm to say all the stakeholders should Accelerate Action for gender equality," explains Acheng Zerah, a Champion of Change facilitator for Plan International in Uganda. "I am an advocate for sexual reproductive health and rights. I had very little knowledge, yet I used to see my girls getting pregnant with nothing to take care of their babies. This has been leading to a lot of increased poverty in their lives. I am so proud of Plan International Uganda because they made me improve my knowledge through different training. As a result, I am able to stand with a lot of confidence and speak in front of my peers, discussing the matters concerning their sexual reproductive health and rights. I am also able to go to different communities, mobilizing girls and boys to go to the health facility to seek appropriate information on their sexual reproductive health and rights. My work as a Champion of Change facilitator has impacted the lives of girls in the community where I live, because they are able to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive rights."
Acheng's work in northern Uganda is accelerating action through helping break cycles of poverty, enabling access to health information, and helping women and girls to make informed decisions.
Tackling the root causes of challenges facing girls
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian not-for-profit organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
"We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And its girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children," says Plan. "We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge."
Plan International works with children and girls in over 80 countries to help create a world where everyone is equal.
In 1992, Plan International started their work in Uganda to respond to the needs of children affected by a war in Luwero district. Since then, Plan International Uganda has worked alongside communities on many different issues to improve millions of children’s lives.
Plan's work is aligned with the Global Goals, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and Uganda’s National Development Plan III. Gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women are at the center of Plan's work.
In Uganda, Plan's priorities include:
- LEARN focuses on quality learning experiences for children, from early childhood to working age, while building their skills for life.
- DECIDE focuses on promoting the protection of girls from child, early and forced marriage, and from unplanned, undesired, or forced pregnancy and sexual violence. This is achieved through designing programmes that enable young people to access adolescent sexual and reproductive health and sexual and gender-based violence services.
To effectively deliver on these priorities, Plan's programs are designed to integrate LEAD as a foundation, empowering young people to participate in governance, take decisions and act on issues that matter to them.
The goal of Plan International Uganda's country strategy is that children and youth, especially girls, reach their full potential in communities that promote their rights and gender equality.
Make a lasting difference to the lives of girls
To drive the positive change that, Plan International Uganda wants to see, deliberate programming and investment in children’s education, as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights, is required.
Donations will support Plan International’s vital work in making a lasting difference to children’s lives.