Our Advocacy

The active involvement of PLAN Foundation and its partners in supporting vulnerable groups including children, youths, and women (especially women living with HIV and women living with disabilities) clearly shows that there is a correlation between socio-economic status and vulnerability of its target groups to discriminatory practices and gender-based violence. The self-esteem of vulnerable persons is gravely affected by their ability to control resources and to define and make choices. We recognize the fact that having power and agency to benefit from economic activities requires that vulnerable groups can make and act on decisions, as well as to control resources and profits. Microcredit enables women and youths to access financial capital, a critical factor in economic empowerment. However, it is just one of the resources they need for economic success. Other factors include human capital (e.g., education, skills, training), physical capital (e.g., land, machinery), and social capital (e.g., networks).

In recognition of the above, PLAN Foundation is collaborating with Disability Empowerment Solutions Initiative (DESI) in supporting women living with HIV and women living with disabilities in livelihood and economic strengthening through engagement in agricultural activities including arable and cash crop production. The women are clustered in farming communities and supported to grow crops including cassava, plantain, pineapple, maize, melon, and watermelon.

Agro-allied processing factories are being established for value addition and wastage reduction through the production of garri, cassava flour, fufu, and starch. Cassava peels are being dried for feeding goats and sheep in the farming communities and for sale to other animal farms while a packaging factory is being planned for packaging the products for sales outlets and possible export.