~ The initiative aims at upskilling training with the intention of empowering the youth with financial independence ~

Mumbai, 29^th November 2021: Adecco, a leading global workforce provider, is joining hands with Plan India, through their Saksham initiative which undertakes an intensive upskilling program for underprivileged youth. The initiative aims at upskilling over 200 enrolled women & men between 18-24 years of age from the disadvantaged communities of Bengaluru and help them improve their technical, vocational, and life skill knowledge and support at least 60% of them secure decent employment. In addition, the program will provide skill building and job- oriented career counselling to over 300 youth.

The Adecco Group commits towards ethical social projects to provide education and job training opportunities across the globe. As a part of a successful collaboration with Plan International globally for their flagship engagement Program Win4Youth, the Adecco Group has made an annual contribution of US$500,000 to Plan International to support youth employment and youth economic empowerment programs across various countries.

Plan India’s Saksham initiative supports youth, especially girls, from urban and rural disadvantaged areas with free, market-oriented vocational skills, as well as job and entrepreneurial training. The programme also goes several steps further and includes basic IT skills, presentation, etiquette and basic business conversational skills in the training. Saksham has a strong focus on training that challenges gender stereotypes and widespread discrimination. Saksham engages parents, communities, and employers on the subjects of gender equality, equal opportunities, and economic empowerment of girls and women.

So far the programme has successfully skilled and placed more than 5,500 young people, including 3,400 young women, in new economy jobs across hospitality, retail and IT-enabled services.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India said,” Plan India’s Saksham program seeks to usher market oriented vocational skills among young women and men so that they can contribute to India’s economic development story. As skilled workforce, the youth trainees of the Saksham program are more confident, economically secure and build a sustainable future for themselves and their families. Also the program teaches life skills, financial literacy and inclusion which enables the trainees, especially young women to acquire skills to make decisions for themselves and walk the path of success. The Plan India – Adecco partnership forwards this vision by encouraging young girls and women to build their employability skills and contribute to nation building”.

About the Adecco Group

The Adecco Group is the world’s leading talent advisory and solutions company. We believe in making the future work for everyone, and every day enable more than 3.5 million careers. We skill, develop and hire talent in 57 countries, enabling organisations to embrace the future of work. As a Fortune Global 500 company, we lead by example, creating shared value that fuels economies, and builds better societies. Our culture of inclusivity, fairness and teamwork empowers our employees.

The Adecco Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN).

New Delhi, October 11th, 2021: On International Day of the Girls (IDG) Plan India’s 30 Girl Changemakers from all over India will take over leadership positions of Ambassadors, High Commissioners across Diplomatic Missions, Corporates and Government bodies for the day. Through these symbolic takeovers, these highly determined gender champions will smash gender stereotypes, encourage positive discourses, call out on discriminatory social norms and mobilise supporters for a gender equal society.

Representing Plan India’s eight intervention states including Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Delhi, these Girl Changemakers exhibit strength and leadership for the day as part of a larger effort to reinforce the cause of gender equality.

Mr. Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India, said, “I believe that each and every girl has the potential to succeed in areas that she chooses to. What holds her back are gender barriers that brings forth social and economic challenges towards her participation. Initiatives such as Girls’ Takeover’ facilitates coming together of allies and girls to further the mandate of gender equality and address these issues. Though symbolic in nature, by occupying such positions of power the Girl Changemakers are able to amplify their voice to a larger audience. It also serves as an inspiration for them as they go about planning for their career and a prominent role in the society.

Girl Changemaker, Pushpa from Uttar Pradesh, commented on the Takeover initiative “‘Girls’ Takeovers’ will help change how parents and society view them. Girls from various walks of life have successfully achieved their dreams and the International Day of the Girl is a dedication to them as well. The takeovers will help us to be heard, our opinion understood and will also expose us to opportunities we are not aware of yet. Every girl should be independent and this initiative can change society by giving girls a stepping stone towards independence.”

Plan led the global effort to build a coalition of support behind IDG, securing backing from the Canadian government which took this request to the United Nations. Over the years, Plan has worked with girls and multi-sectoral partners alike to launch global actions on girls’ rights. Thus, every year on IDG, girls from Plan India supported communities take over leadership roles in political, economic, corporate and social spaces, stepping into the shoes of influential leaders and experts, fulfilling their responsibilities, and demonstrating their power and potential to lead the way into the future.

New Delhi, June 28, 2021: Plan India, a not for profit organisation striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, through a virtual event announced the winners of the fourth edition of Plan India Impact Awards who are on the frontlines as COVID Warriors, Community Volunteers, and service providers of ensuring last mile coverage

Among the categories, Kumari GN, from Karnataka was awarded for her contribution as the best Anganwadi Worker; Bharati Menaria from Rajasthan won in the ASHA/ANM worker category; Chid Welfare Committee, Kancheepuram from Tamil Nadu was declared winner in the best Child Welfare Committee category; Paritosh Pant from Maharashtra was felicitated as the best Community Volunteer; and, the Pancham Mahila Swayamsiddha Bachat Gat from Maharashtra was recognized as the best Women Self Help Group. Disha Tandon and Ajinkya Dhariya took the limelight as the best Young Changemakers in the female and male categories respectively. Plan India also had two internal categories for which Th. Dashumati Devi from Imphal won Plan India Ahana Prerak award for his exemplary contributions and Samirul Islam from Bihar was awarded the best Plan India Frontline Worker. For the special award category- Last mile champions for girls’ rights, Yogesh Kumar from Delhi was recognised as the winner.

Addressing the winners, Ms.Upma Chawdhry, IAS, Retired as Secretary, Government of India. Former Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, and a National Jury Member of Plan India Impact Awards, in her keynote address shared. “It’s important to celebrate and recognize the last mile champions as they help to ensure equity in delivery and communication in social settings. They add to the resilience of communities by being the first point of contact in emergencies and pandemic. Today, I am delighted to be part of such initiative and would like to appreciate and thank the work of people who have been tirelessly working as Anganwadi workers, ASHAs, ANM, PHC nurses, village school teachers, community workers and other frontline workers.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohammed Asif, Executive Director at Plan India said “Plan India believes that the Impact Awards are an opportunity to recognize, appreciate and celebrate the good work being done at the grassroots levels by millions of frontline workers across our country. Also, the Awards help to inspire thousands of other frontline development workers and changemakers to do more, to do better and go that extra mile as the catalyst and champion of development in their respective villages and urban slums. This year we included new categories to honour more changemakers, particularly our COVID warriors, who have extended public health support and services during the pandemic to poor families. We appreciate the inspiring work these champions continue to do and it’s our commitment towards them that has let us organise the Awards and recognize their contribution.”

25th May 2021, New Delhi – Lakhs of frontline COVID workers – nurses, ward boys, lab technicians, ambulance drivers, and sanitation workers are at the forefront of the battle against the 2nd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While serving their duties and given the demands of their job their health and well-being is often impacted due to lack of adequate and quality nutrition. To support our frontline COVID warriors, two National-level not for profit organisations – Plan India and Yuva Unstoppable – have joined hands to launch the #BacktheFrontliners initiative. The ambition is to support 5,00,000 frontline COVID warriors and their family members across India.

#BacktheFrontliners initiative is proposed to be implemented nationally, in all the districts of our country. Plan India has committed itself to collaborate with Yuva Unstoppable in 30 districts across 9 States and ensure 1,00,000 frontline COVID workers and their families are supported with the Corona Warrior Kits. Each Corona Warrior Kit comprises of nutritious and immunity booster food items and pack of face masks, which will be provided to all the COVID warriors in collaboration with the respective District Administration.

Shri Amitabh Shah, Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Yuva Unstoppable said, “Our nurses, ambulance drivers, paramedical staff, ward boys and other frontline warriors have been fighting selflessly and relentlessly to save lives. Anytime a pandemic burns India, only this over worked & under- appreciated frontline warriors put out the fire. They are risking their lives day in and out so all of us and our loved ones can heal. This initiative is to simply express gratitude and say “Thank You” to all frontline warriors. We are truly appreciative of Raj Nooyi, CEO Plan International and Plan India’s entire team for partnering with us to empower India’s frontline warriors.”

Shri Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India said, “Plan India is working closely with Government, corporates and NGOs to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 1st wave of COVID-19, we supported more than 5,00,000 poor and vulnerable people with nutrition baskets and hygiene kits, promoted mass awareness on COVID appropriate behaviour and PPE kits, face masks and sanitizers for lakhs of healthcare workers. Our partnership with Yuva Unstoppable will enable us support 1 lakh frontline COVID warriors and their family members. I am thankful to the Yuva Unstoppable leadership for inviting Plan India to join hands on the #BacktheFrontliners initiative; and I believe that this is the beginning to a long lasting partnership between the two organisations for humanitarian and development outcomes.”

(DELHI): As COVID-19 cases continue to surge in India, the country, which is in the grip of a public health emergency, is in desperate need of aid. Plan International has launched a fundraising appeal to help address this humanitarian crisis.

The child rights and humanitarian organisation will be offering assistance in the following areas:

• Food aid. Plan International is fundraising to support 100,000 poor and vulnerable families in rural and urban communities by supplying food baskets.
• Protection for COVID-19 warriors. The organisation aims to support 100,000 doctors, nurses, frontline health workers, police personnel, sanitation and other workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to enable them to continue delivering services to COVID-19 patients.
• Mass awareness campaign. Plan International will support one million adolescent girls, boys and young women in 1,800 villages to raise awareness of how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including tackling stigma and myths surrounding vaccinations.
• Oxygen concentrators for COVID-19 patients. The organisation will supply 500 COVID care and treatment centres in district headquarters and smaller towns with high flow oxygen concentrator machines to enable them to support COVID patients who are in need of supplemental oxygen.
• Supporting 10,000 COVID-19 patients from poor and vulnerable communities in 20 districts by setting up temporary COVID-19 care centres where they can access care, treatment and nutrition.

Mohammed Asif, Plan International India’s Executive Director, said: “The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India has created an unprecedented public health crisis. Our health system is being overwhelmed by an unending stream of COVID-19 patients seeking medical assistance and supplemental oxygen. We must all come together and act now to alleviate the sufferings of large numbers of people affected by COVID”.

“Our Project #HelpIndiaHealwill seeks to offer much needed humanitarian assistance to the poor and vulnerable families. During the pandemic, girls and children are some of the worst affected. They are at risk not only from the health emergency due to the virus, but also from its other impacts on children’s education, risk of early marriages, domestic violence, child labour and loss of livelihoods. We are planning to support at least one million poor and vulnerable families in both urban and rural areas across India to mitigate the impact of COVID on their lives.”

• A group of seven women-motorcyclists will ride 1591 km from Gurugram to Nandurbar and Amravati, Maharashtra to support Reach Each Child initiative

• Reach Each Child initiative aims to save lives of children under five years, support pregnant women and mothers and spread awareness about the importance of good hygiene and nutrition

14 Feb 2021, Gurugram/New Delhi: With continued focus to bridge the gap in nutritional deficiencyDettol Banega Swasth India (BSI) under Reach Each Child initiative today launched a mission-oriented, Love for Kids women’s  Motorcycle Rally.  The ‘Love for Kids women’s Motorcycle Rally’ was flagged off from the camp office of Yash Garg, Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram. Celebrating the success of saving the lives of more than 16,000 children in the last two years, a group of high spirited seven women biking enthusiasts today started their rally from Gurugram, Haryana to the districts of Nandurbar and Amravati (Maharashtra). The flag off event was also attended by Mr. Gaurav Jain, SVP, RB Health South Asia, Mr. Ravi Bhatnagar, Director External Affairs & Partnerships, AMESA, Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India, among other dignitaries.

The Love for Kids women’s Motorcycle Rally aims to engage and empower while saluting the courageous spirit, undying love of the women of Amravati and Nandurbar districts in Maharashtra. These women have been relentlessly fighting against the economic, socio-cultural challenges to defeat malnutrition and raise happy and healthy children. Reach Each Child initiative is being implemented by with Plan International (India Chapter), also known as Plan India. Also, Banega Swasth India with Plan India has extended their support to frontline workers and medical practitioners amid the raging spread of COVID-19 in the districts of Amravati and Nandurbar, Maharashtra.

Commenting on the partnership initiative, Mr. Gaurav Jain, SVP, Reckitt Benckiser Health South Asia said,“Children are our future and malnutrition is an unwanted deadly virus that is weakening their growth. With Reach Each Child initiative we aim to protect, heal and nurture them. The initiative is very close to our hearts and we aim to create awareness for improving their nutritional profile. This rally is celebration of the undying spirit of the women in the districts of Nandurbar and Amravati who have been continuously fighting the battle for their children. We thank the women bikers who have joined hands in our program to spread cheer and create awareness. I am certain than it will bring multifold awareness among the mothers and will empower them and bridge the urban and rural divide.”

Extending his appreciation and gratitude towards the support of Reckitt Benckiser for the cause, Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India, said, “Reach Each Child program has shown the light on the imperative of collaborative actions by governments, corporates and civil society to successfully tackle the challenge of undernourishment in rural communities. The learnings and outcomes from this program should be widely disseminated so that other development actors are able to replicate. We are thankful to RB for the partnership and for ensuring timely access to life-saving and preventive measures to ramp up nutrition and public health outcomes in underserved communities.

With support from Reach Each Child, the mothers of Amravati and Nandurbar (Maharashtra) have been able to save their children’s lives; they are practicing good hygiene, ensuring diet diversity and accessing services from public health services for their children and families.

Reach Each Child (REC), under the umbrella of Dettol Banega Swasth India, intervenes in the first 1000 days of the child’s life and has been able to create a substantial impact in Amravati and Nandurbar districts in Maharashtra. REC has been initiated in 2018 with the aim to improve the nutritional status by reducing stunting by 40% in children under 5 and keeping childhood wasting rates below 5%. Through its innovative voucher scheme, that covers expenses of wage loss-treatment-transportation of Severe Acute Malnourished and High-Risk Pregnant Woman, REC been able to save more than 16,000 lives in the last 2 years. Over the next 5 years, REC aims to reach 2 million mothers of the undernourished children across nine states.

New Delhi: Standing strong on the commitment for strengthening girls’ rights and gender equality, Plan India and twenty-two Girl Changemakers from across 9 States will harness the power of social media for good. On 11^th October, 2020 the International Day of the Girls, the twenty-two Girl Changemakers are ready to collaborate with leading corporates, diplomatic missions and media houses by leveraging their social media presence to highlight the important message of girls having the space and opportunity to share their ambitions and solutions, thus showing the way forward. Through the takeovers of social media handles, the Girl Changemakers will be drawing attention to the significance of girls having the right to decide on things that concern them, showcase their potential as agents of change and engage into meaningful and contributory dialogues on key social media platforms to further the cause of girls’ rights and equality.

Since 2016, the year that heralded the first-ever Girls’ Takeovers, thousands of girls in India and world-over have taken over positions of power to highlight that if girls are given the chance and opportunity they have the potential to do anything. The girls’ takeovers to mark the IDG has  included girls taking over important positions like those of Presidents, Ambassadors, CEOs and Chief Editors as part of a larger efforts to strengthen gender equality at all level in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) commitments.

Given the new normal created by the social distancing as a key prevention to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Girl changemakers this year are going virtual, even while ensuring that their voices and solutions continue to be heard. 

Girl Changemakers who will be leading the Social Media Takeovers are well known in their home states for their determination, strength, leadership, passion and community service. As highly effective influencers and mobilisers, they have not only overcome difficult circumstances in their own lives but also brought about development in their communities. A number of them have been recognised by the government and media for their immense contributions. Starting at an early age in Plan India’s programmes, the girls have progressed through Child Clubs, Adolescent Girls’ Groups, thematic working groups and technical and governance committees, to be part of State and National Youth Advisory Panels and Children’s Assemblies among others. As experienced and long-serving community leaders, they inform our programmatic decision making, implementation, monitoring and advocacy at every level.

Through a comprehensive screening and selection process, the Girl Changemakers were selected from across 9 Plan intervention states – New Delhi, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand.

To further amplify the voices of these changemakers, prominent sports personalities and artists Kamakshi Khanna, Mallik sisters: Tashi & Nungshi, Ria Patiala and Tania Sachdev also joined forces’ with Plan India and held interactive sessions with the Girl Changemakers sharing their inspiring and unique stories. The interactive session will be posted on their Instagram channel to mark IDG.

Mr. Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India, said, “At Plan India, it is our endeavour to further strengthen the rights and well-being for all girls by creating opportunities and interventions that enable girls in India to achieve their full potential. On the occasion of the International Day of the Girls, we appreciate the incredible efforts for girls’ rights and gender equality that are being done by the government, civil society actors and in which girls themselves are the leading actors. The Social Media Takeovers and partnerships with the diplomatic missions, corporates and media houses showcases the immense potential of these Girl Changemakers and shares their stories of determination and passion to improve their own lives and that of all girls in India.”

Girl Changemaker Prajitha from Andhra Pradesh, taking over the social media handle of the High Commissioner of Canada, Nadir Patel, in India said, “I am grateful to Plan India for giving us a platform to showcase our capabilities. I am very excited to lead the social media handle of the High Commissioner of Canada to raise awareness on issues that are extremely close to my heart. Just like I have been able to uplift myself, I want all the girls in the world to dream of a better future and work towards achieving it.”

Mr. Janne Einola, Country Manager, H&M India commented on the initiative saying, “At H&M we believe that diversity is an important contributor to our success. Being inclusive and diverse in our teams, can contribute to our innovations and creativity. I’m happy to be a part of the Social Media Girls Takeover campaign by Plan India as initiatives like these, give the girls a much-needed platform to showcase their strength and leadership qualities. For us as a community, it gives us a chance to come together to celebrate equality. Given the power of social media, this initiative will create a lot of awareness and amplify the voices of young Girl Changemakers”.

Globally, Girls Takeovers will take place across 65 countries with hundreds of girls taking charge and sharing the physical and digital platforms of power holders. This global show of solidarity is aimed at increasing support for girls’ leadership that is changing the perception of what girls everywhere are capable of. The Girl Changemakers, unanimously, sent out a strong message on the urgent need for girls and young women to have equal rights to education, health, socio-economic and political participation. They also called upon their peers and those in power to raise their voice to support girls’ rights.

Plan India

Plan India is a nationally registered not for profit organization striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in the lives of vulnerable and excluded children and their communities. Since 1979, Plan India and its partners have improved the lives of millions of children and young people by enabling them access to protection, quality education and healthcare services, a healthy environment, livelihood opportunities and participation in decisions which affect their lives. Plan India is a member of the Plan International Federation, an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International is active in more than 70 countries.

Girls Get Equal Campaign                                                                                                          

Girls Get Equal is the global campaign supported by Plan International, championing girls’ voice, power, and leadership to achieve gender equality. We are demanding equal power, freedom and representation for girls and young women. Launched in 64 countries and counting, Girls Get Equal is about ensuring every girl and young woman has power over her own life and can shape the world around her.

• BSI NIP saved 6,500 children between 0-5 years across districts of Amravati and Nandurbar in Maharashtra from malnutrition

• An independent evaluation by sustainable Square found every INR 1 invested in the BSI Nutrition India Programme delivers INR 36.90 of social value

• The ongoing programme additionally aims to engage with 1,77,000 mothers and children with the goal to eradicate malnourishment in Amravati & Nandurbar in the next four years

Over the next four years, the programme aims to reach 1,77,000 mothers of undernourished children across 1,000 villages with a target of 40% reduction in the number of children under five who are stunted, and to reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5%.

Plan India’s on-ground expertise is helping reach communities properly through a systematized process. The partner organization is also supporting by providing nutrition workers with simple interactive tools that deliver clear and effective messaging around nutrition and hygiene to create behavioral changes in the society. For more information on Plan India, login to www.planindia.org

Notes to the editor

Social Return on Investment measures the value of the benefits relative to the costs of achieving those benefits. It is a ratio of the net present value of benefits to the net present value of the investment. The total public health impact could be measured for a population of 5 lakhs

About RB:

RB* is driven by its purpose to protect, heal and nurture in a relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We fight to make access to the highest-quality hygiene, wellness and nourishment a right, not a privilege, for everyone.

RB is proud to have a stable of trusted household brands found in households in more than 190 countries. These include Enfamil, Nutramigen, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Clearasil, Lysol, Dettol, Veet, Harpic, Cillit Bang, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Calgon, Woolite, Air Wick and more. 20 million RB products a day are bought by consumers globally.

RB’s passion to put consumers and people first, to seek out new opportunities, to strive for excellence in all that we do, and to build shared success with all our partners, while doing the right thing, always is what guides the work of our 40,000+ diverse and talented colleagues worldwide. For more information visit https://www.rb.com/

*RB is the trading name of Reckitt Benckiser group of companies

• Six city campaign across New Delhi, Patna, Bikaner, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ranchi 
• COVID – 19 fundraising to provide ration and hygiene kits to girls from vulnerable families 

New Delhi, June 15th, 2020:  As COVID-19 continues to impact lives, Plan India, a not for profit organisation for girls and young women announced an exclusive collaboration with Radio City, renowned FM radio station, to raise funds for a humanitarian response across six cities. This initiative with Radio City is an extension of the existing appeal for donations by Plan India under the #HelpIndiaHeal campaign for the most adversely affected population. The 15-day campaign from June 15 – 30, 2020, will see Radio City disseminate public appeal messaging, urging its listeners to make contributions towards the Plan India led campaign. The organisations have come together to fulfil the purpose and mission of providing public health information and humanitarian assistance to communities facing hardships during these unprecedented times. 

The funds raised during the campaign period will be used to provide food and hygiene kits to the most vulnerable families across the six cities of New Delhi, Patna, Bikaner, Lucknow, Kanpur and Ranchi. Plan India’s #HelpIndiaHeal campaign launched on 15th April 2020, is a nation-wide campaign which enlists collaboration and financial support to be able to respond to the needs of girls, young women and their families, including the most adversely affected COVID-19 population. 

Speaking about the Plan India initiative, Mr Mohammed Asif, Plan India Executive Director said, “Plan India’s second phase of humanitarian response starts after the relaxation of lockdown and one of the agendas is to continue to provide access to nutrition to children, girls and young women in daily wage earner and vulnerable families, as livelihoods have been disrupted. We are thankful to Radio City for this association. Given their popularity, mass appeal and nation-wide network, we are optimistic that the #HelpIndiaHeal campaign will be able to resonate and raise funds so that more families can receive support from us.” 

He further added, “We understand and hope to aid families living in poverty with the availability of food. Given the adverse situation, girls and women are deeply affected, we also wish to address their health and hygiene needs. With Radio City, I am confident we will be able to reach the most vulnerable.” 

Speaking on this collaboration, Mr Kartik Kalla, Chief Creative Officer, Radio City said, “We are committed to supporting the Government and various NGOs in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. For the last two months, through various other initiatives, we have been providing relief and support measures across the country. This is a first of its kind collaboration with Plan India where we are not only raising funds but making sure that the issues of girls and young women are also addressed. Through the power of our RJ’s we hope to reach out to as many people as possible and raise maximum funds to support more girls and women from vulnerable families. Radio City continues to be a front runner in terms of lending support to developmental causes. Last year during the International Day of the Girl, Radio City let a young changemaker Ruby from Plan India’s Delhi programme area, take over Radio City’s RJ Ginnie’s breakfast show, Suno Na Dilli, to raise awareness on girls’ rights.” 

Plan India’s COVID-19 response focuses on communicating public health information, distributing hygiene kits, dry ration kits and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), while ensuring that the needs and rights of girls and young women are addressed. 

Through the outreach, Plan India has so far supported 65,000 families, meeting the urgent needs of 260,000 people on the ground. We are committed to reaching 50,000 more families with dry ration and hygiene kits. Plan India is also supporting the initiative of national agencies like Niti Aayog, National Disaster Management Authority and Ministry of Home Affairs to name a few. The organisation also engages with local government agencies, civil society organisations, donors and healthcare experts to ensure that correct messages and immediate relief measures reach the affected so as to keep them healthy and protected during this pandemic. 

Plan India believes that the nature and scale of the ongoing crisis make it of critical importance that governments, civil society organisations and corporates undertake strategic and collaborative actions spanning both, public health and humanitarian domains. Their focus must be on bolstering public health efforts to contain the COVID-19 disease; and minimising disruptions and humanitarian fallout on poor people’s livelihoods, education of children, safety and protection of girls and young women.  

Plan India   

Plan India is a nationally registered NGO striving to advance girl child rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in lives of the vulnerable and excluded along with their communities.  

Plan India is active in 24 states and has been working with its NGO partners to improve the lives of millions of children, their families and communities by enabling access to protection, quality education and healthcare services, a healthy environment, livelihood opportunities, and participation in decisions which affect their lives. Plan India is a member of the Plan International Federation, an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances girls rights and equality for girls. Plan International is active in more than 70 countries. 

Radio City  

Radio City, a part of Music Broadcast Limited (MBL) is a subsidiary of Jagran Prakashan Ltd. Being the first FM radio broadcaster in India and with over 18 years of expertise in the radio industry, Radio City has consistently been the number one radio station in Bengaluru and Mumbai with 24.5% and 15.4% average listenership share respectively. (Source: RAM Data, TG: 12+ Period: Week 1, 2013 to Week 11, 2020). Radio City Delhi ranks #2 with 13.5% average listenership share (Source: RAM Data, TG: 12+ Period: Week 1, 2019 to Week 11, 2020).  

Music Broadcast Limited currently has 39 stations across 12 states, comprising 62% of the country’s FM population. Radio City reaches out to over 69 million listeners in 34 cities covered by AZ Research 2019 (Source: AZ Research Report). The network provides terrestrial programming along with 17 other web-stations, through its digital interface, www.radiocity.in.   

Radio City has spearheaded the evolution of FM radio by offering content that is unique, path-breaking and invokes city passion amongst listeners with its brand philosophy of “Rag Rag Mein Daude City”. The network introduced humour and the concept of agony aunt on the radio with Babber Sher and Love Guru respectively. It also initiated Radio City Freedom Awards, a platform to recognize independent music and provided a launchpad to budding singers with Radio City Super Singer, the first singing talent hunt on the radio.  

Radio City bagged 85 awards across national and international platforms like Golden Mikes, India Radio Forum, New York awards, ACEF awards etc. in FY 2019-2020. Radio City has consistently featured for the 7th time in ‘India’s Best Companies to Work For’ study conducted by Great Place to Work Institute. Radio City has also been recognized in ‘India’s Best Workplaces for Women – 2019’ and has ranked amongst the Top 75 organizations on the list. In 2020, Radio City ranked 4th in ‘Best Large Workplaces in Asia’, according to the GPTW survey.  

Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the extension of lockdown across states in India, the situation remains alarming, a number of cases continue to rise in the country. While the World Health Organisation has reported 4,893,186 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 323,256 deaths (as of 21^st May), globally; the number of confirmed active cases in India are 118,447 and 3,583 deaths has taken place as of May 21^st May. The pandemic, followed by a lockdown has severely impacted the most marginalised households, hampering their livelihoods, by affecting access to food and other daily requirements.

The government response has been in the interest of keeping people safe and providing relief to the most marginalised through stimulus packages. Plan India’s COVID-19 response focuses on reaching out to the most vulnerable communities in need of support and committed to promoting mass awareness, particularly among girls, young women, children, and vulnerable youth, against the spread of COVID in India.

As part of the community outreach, Plan India’s response focuses on communicating public health information, distributing hygiene kits, dry ration kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) while ensuring that the needs and rights of girls and young women are addressed. The humanitarian response started in nine states including – Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, with an aim to reach up to 200,000 people. Until 11^th May, Plan India, with support of local NGO partners and volunteers, has distributed 49,981 + Dry Ration Kits, 59,669+ Hygiene Kits and reached 2,468+ villages and slums with COVID-19 messaging.

While the lockdown has made it difficult for the teams (Plan India and Partner staff) to conduct field visits to sponsored families, Plan India has initiated follow-up through phone calls to stay connected with its community members. Teams are making daily calls to understand wellbeing, medical condition, and other needs of the families. They also counsel them about the safety and preventive measures around COVID-19. Until May 21^st May Plan India team has reached 29,917+ girls and 12,820+ boys over mobile phones.

Continuing the partnership with Niti Aayog, Plan India is working closely in seven ‘Aspirational Districts’ where it is supporting District Collectors in their initiatives and efforts to combat COVID-19. The aspirational districts where Plan India is working include Siddharth Nagar (Uttar Pradesh), Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Hazaribagh, West Singhbhum, and Khunti (Jharkhand), Karauli (Rajasthan), and Muzaffarpur (Bihar). With an active outreach to these districts, Plan India has been appointed as the Nodal NGO for responding to COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharth Nagar district. Plan India will lead the planning and monitoring of a coordinated response in the district under the guidance of the District Magistrate and will work in close coordination with the district administration and other local NGOs.

As part of this community outreach, Plan India’s flagship project ‘Ahana’ is working relentlessly to serve as a bridge between pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS and life-saving Antiretroviral (ARV) medicines to ensure that their treatment is not stopped during the lockdown. Emergency Identity Cards have been issued to 361 ‘Ahana’ Field Officers, who are working in 357 districts of 14 states to ensure availability of ARV medicines and other necessities associated with the pandemic.

Plan India is also receiving support from leading corporates, namely Metso, Eicher Motors, Barclays, Sandvik Asia Pvt Ltd, Give India and Reckitt Benckiser who have come forward to provide much needed humanitarian relief to some of the poorest and most vulnerable families and in particular the girl child.

In all of this, Plan India continues to pay close attention to the voices of girls, children, and young women. It is critical that they are seen and heard as there is strong evidence which indicates an exponential increase in vulnerabilities such as gender-based discrimination and violence during humanitarian crises. During this lockdown period, Plan India mobilised more than 60 young girl changemakers from its programme areas and through the format of video storytelling, these young changemakers relayed their powerful stories while advocating preventive measures such as practising hand hygiene and social distancing.

At Plan India workplace, the work-from-home policy for its staff members continues to remain in effect encouraging social isolation, thereby reducing the risk of social contact, and curbing the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, all interstate and international travel for Plan India personnel stand cancelled until 31^st May 2020. The technical and go-to ‘Quick Response Team’ (QRT) is actively monitoring the situation on a daily basis to take immediate decisions and manage any situation that might emerge.

For further advice and media guidance, please contact:-
Shompa Mahanty, Manager, Media & PR: shompa.mohanty@planindia.org
(Mobile: 9899414178)

Pinky Pradhan, Director, Marketing & Communications: pinky.pradhan@planindia.org
(Mobile: 9810788435)