Plan International Launches Appeal To Raise 100Mln Euros To Protect Children Amid COVID-19

Plan International Launches Appeal to Raise 100Mln Euros to Protect Children Amid COVID-19

Plan International, an independent humanitarian organization, announced on Tuesday the launching of an appeal to raise 100 million euros ($109.6 million) to protect the world's most vulnerable children and their communities from the influence of the coronavirus disease pandemic

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2020) Plan International, an independent humanitarian organization, announced on Tuesday the launching of an appeal to raise 100 million Euros ($109.6 million) to protect the world's most vulnerable children and their communities from the influence of the coronavirus disease pandemic.

According to Plan International, the pandemic is disrupting children's lives all over the world, as quarantine and self-isolation measures imposed in many countries put them at increased risk of violence at home, cut them off education and social networks.

"Plan International is committed to raising ��100 million to keep children safe. Plan International's response will reach more than 50,000 communities across 50 countries. These emergency funds will contribute to the prevention of the transmission of COVID-19 amongst the world's most vulnerable communities particularly in refugee camps and displaced settings and reduce the disease's negative social impact on families, women and girls who are disproportionately affected by the crisis," the organization said in the appeal published on its website.

Meanwhile, the organization notes that girls and young women have been hit particularly hard by the outbreak including due to increased levels of violence in some communities and need help and support.

"Girls and women are at risk of being the invisible catastrophe of this pandemic. Our experience shows they are particularly hard hit in emergencies. We are already receiving reports of a significant increase in violence and child marriage affecting adolescent girls in communities where we work. Girls are telling us they are terrified," Plan International CEO Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen said, as quoted by the ReliefWeb humanitarian information portal.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world stands at almost 2 million, and the global death toll has exceeded 120,000 people.