Africa

The Cause:

Poverty

The Facts:

• Burkina Faso ranks 181st out of 187 countries on the United Nations human development index. (Source: http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/indicators/103106.html)
• Less than half of young men and women age 15 to 24 in Burkina Faso are able to read and write. (Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/burkinafaso_statistics.html)
• Only 15% of girls and 17% of boys who should be in high school regularly attend classes - that means that nearly 80% of youth aren't in school! (Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/burkinafaso_statistics.html)
• Without an education, people in Burkina Faso struggle to overcome poverty. More than half the population - 57% - live below the international poverty line of $1.25US per day. (Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/burkinafaso_statistics.html)

The Project:

Low education and few job opportunities leave youth in the West African country of Burkina Faso facing the same cycle of poverty as their parents.

The Cause:

Food security and education

The Cause:

Education

The Facts:

• More than half (51%) of the population of South Sudan is below the age of eighteen.
• Just over 1/4 of people living in South Sudan can read and write. Forty percent of men, compared to just 16 percent of women, can read and write.
• More than 25% of primary school aged children in South Sudan are not enrolled in school.
• Only 37% of the population above the age of 6 has ever attended school.
• In 2009, there were 129 students per classroom in South Sudan.

The Project:

After becoming the world's newest country, South Sudan faces the enormous task of rebuilding its education system. Plan Canada is building two schools in two of the most conflict-affected areas, and training child-friendly teachers to take charge of student's learning.

The Details:

South Sudan became the world’s newest country on July 9, 2011. Plan is helping to build the country’s education system nearly from scratch.

The Cause:

Education

The Facts:

• Guinea ranks 178th out of 187 countries on the UN Human Development Index. (Source: http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/GIN.html)
• On average, adults in Guinea have completed 1.6 years of school. (Source: http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/GIN.html)
• Less than 40% of adults in Guinea can read and write. (Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guinea_statistics.html)
• Approximately 50% of school-aged children in Guinea are attending primary school regularly. (Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guinea_statistics.html)

The Project:

Plan will build six primary schools in Télimélé, Guinea this year. The first graduating class will include approximately 300 students.

The Details:

In Western Guinea, only 1 out of 10 children finish primary school. The situation is even worse for girls. Plan realized that providing new schools and teacher training in the area could make a big difference.

The Cause:

Health and girls' rights

The Facts:

• In Ethiopia, 67 out of every 1,000 babies under one year old die. This is what's known as the infant mortality rate. (In Canada the infant mortality rate is five per 1,000 babies).
• 104 out of every 1,000 children under five years old die, compared to six out of every 1,000 in Canada. This is the “child mortality rate.” (Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_statistics.html)
• 90% of child deaths in Ethiopia are due to pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, neonatal-related illness, malnutrition and HIV/AIDS.
• 26,000 women die each year in Ethiopia because of complications during pregnancy.
• We know how to prevent and treat each of these issues but we haven't put a stop to these deaths.

The Project:

Plan works with the Ethiopian government to help prevent death during childbirth for almost 250,000 women of child-bearing age. Plan strengthens local health systems, trains health workers and educates families about how to have safe pregnancies.

The Cause:

Poverty and Education

The Facts:

• Young people in Burkina Faso are struggling to read and write: the literacy rate among 15-24 year olds is 47% for boys and 33% for girls. That means that less than half the country's youth know how to read and write!
• Most Burkinabe children are in school, but not all of them: 83% of boys and 74% of girls at primary school age in Burkina Faso attend school.
• But that number drops when it comes time to go to high school: only 23% of boys and 17% of girls go to secondary school in Burkina Faso.
• More than half of Burkina Faso's population (57%) lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day. (Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/burkinafaso_statistics.html)

The Project:

More than 6,000 youth in Burkina Faso are enrolled in job training that prepares them to work in the mining industry. Once their training is over, they work with Plan to put their skills to the test in new jobs and businesses.

The Cause:

War & Conflict and Girls’ rights

The Facts:

• An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who has fled their home, similar to a refugee. The difference between an IDP and a refugee is that refugees have crossed into a new country, while IDPs are displaced within their home country. (Source: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c146.html)
• Violence and conflict during more than 20 years has caused as many as five million people in Sudan to be displaced from their homes and communities. Many of these internally displaced people end up in IDP camps. (Source: http://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/sudan)
• More than 50% of internally displaced people in Sudan are children. (Source: http://www.unicef.org/sudan/IDP_fact_sheet_November_2006.pdf)

The Project:

To help keep women in a Sudanese camp for internally displaced people safe and healthy, Plan supports more than 4,000 women by providing fuel-efficient stoves and training in stove building, maintenance and leadership.

Project Gift of Hope item(s): 

The Cause:

Health and girls' rights

The Facts:

• In Tanzania, giving birth to a child is a risky adventure. 454 mothers die during childbirth for every 100,000 live babies that are born.
• Death related to childbirth accounts for almost 20% of all deaths among women aged 15 to 49.
• But it's not just moms that are dying - it's also their children. 51 babies less than one year old die for every 1,000 that are born and 81 children under five die for every 1,000 that are born.
• Being a young mom puts both the mom and her baby at risk. Babies born to girls in their teens are 50% more likely to die before their first birthday than babies born to moms in their twenties.

The Project:

Plan works with the whole community to prevent deaths among moms, newborns and children. The organization brings together community members and clinic and government health workers to make sure that moms get the health care they need before, during and after giving birth.

The Cause:

Health, HIV/AIDS and girls' rights

The Facts:

• Most childhood deaths in Zimbabwe happen because of complications during childbirth. At least 75% of these deaths happen in the first week of a baby's life and most of these deaths could be prevented at a low cost.
• One of the major causes of deaths among babies under one year in Zimbabwe is HIV/AIDS transmitted from mother to child. HIV/AIDS accounts for more than 20% of babies who die in their first year of life in Zimbabwe.
• HIV contributes to 25% of moms who die during or shortly after childbirth.
• Poor and rural women, especially,do not get the services they need to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV and ensure their babies are born healthy. (Source: http://www.unicef.org/aids/files/Zimbabwe_PMTCTFactsheet_2010.pdf)

The Project:

Plan helps bring health care to women before, during and after giving birth, with special attention to preventing HIV transmission from mother to child.

The Cause:

Health and girls' rights

The Facts:

• More than half of Ghana's population lives in rural areas.
• 451 mothers die in childbirth for every 100,000 babies who are born alive.
• Almost two-thirds of these deaths happen in rural areas.

The Project:

Plan tackles the obstacles to emergency care for pregnant moms in rural areas in Ghana by helping community members recognize and respond to emergencies and improving local health services' ability to respond.

The Details:

When emergencies happen, the time it takes to get help is crucial. In cities, hospitals and clinics are often just a short car ride away. But in rural areas in Ghana, it's not as easy as a quick trip to the emergency room. As a result, pregnant women from rural areas in Ghana are dying of preventable and treatable emergencies.