How Plan International is aligning itself with the UN’s sustainability development goals
A few years ago, the United Nations outlined its global plan to fix the world’s biggest and most pressing issues. These issues range from hunger and poverty, renewable energy, conservationism, support of infrastructural growth, and more.
The plan has a total of 17 goals — each of which is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant to the overall objective, and time-sensitive. The aim is to achieve these 17 goals by the year 2030, a little under ten years from now.
Plan International is an INGO I discussed in an earlier post. This organization focuses on fighting for equality for girls and the advancement of children’s rights globally.
According to Plan’s “What We Do” page on its website, “We are relentless in driving change to advance children’s rights and equality for girls by working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners” (Plan International). It does so by aiming to end violence, encourage youth activism, promote education, and increase access to sexual health services.
Plan International’s mission aligns with at least five of the UN’s sustainability development goals.
- Goal 2 — Zero Hunger
- Goal 3 — Good Health and Well-Being
- Goal 4 — Quality of Education
- Goal 5 — Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
- Goal 10 — Reducing Inequality (making sure no one gets left behind)
The bullet points above reflect my prior knowledge regarding Plan’s willingness to adhere to the UN’s global goals. However after slightly more research, I found the organizations page dedicated directly to the sustainability development goals.
According to the website, the INGO actually played a role in influencing the design of the UN’s sustainability development goals. It met often with UN member states as well as civil society coalitions, and ultimately influences the framework, goals, targets, and indicators for the goals (Plan International).
A spokesperson for Plan International stated, “We have held numerous meetings with governments in the countries where we work to ensure that the transformative potential of the SDGs is realised at national levels” (Plan International).
It is of great importance that an organization of Plan’s calibre is working towards the objectives set by the UN. The sustainability development goals are a call on all people to play their part in making the world a better place — but by having a separate entity (like an INGO) working towards a few of the goals specifically, more progress can be made.
Plan International is not the only INGO playing its part in working towards the completion of the sustainability development goals, but it is certainly one of the forerunners as far as Goals 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 are concerned.
Summersfield, K. (2021, January 17). POV: Changes in the Social Movement Ecosystem. Retrieved January 20, 2021, from https://ksummersfield.medium.com/pov-changes-in-the-social-movement-ecosystem-6b7dbaabc80a
The Global Goals. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://plan-international.org/sustainable-development-goals
What we do. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2021, from https://plan-international.org/what-we-do
