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EDITORIAL
Exploring research and evaluation pieces from across the organisation, this edition of OPENPlan brings to you a selection of diverse studies that showcase recent works from within the global Plan International family.
Thematic focus in this edition includes combating forced labour and trafficking in persons, gender financing, the promotion of sexual health and women’s empowerment and the engagement of boys and men in family planning rights.
Using a mixed-methods approach in comprising both qualitative and quantitative methods, the first report analyses the Effects of Forced Labour and Trafficking in Persons on Female Relatives of Male Fishers in the Philippines. The study highlights potential ways for women to develop agency in the prevention, and protection against, forced labour and trafficking, helping to challenge deeply rooted gender norms, gender relationships, and the gendered nature of power relations found in fishing communities in the Philippines.
The second research report provides an overview of the Gender Financing Project which maps funding across three country case studies in Nepal, Kenya, and Guatemala. By addressing funding gaps and holding donors and partner governments accountable to their gender equality commitments this report seeks to improve gender equality by improving the publication of gender-related financial and programmatic data to better meet gender advocates needs.
The third article is a final evaluation report of the “A Bloody Serious Matter: Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM)” project in Uganda. Collaboration and funding from the National Postcode Lottery and Plan Uganda’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) team, has resulted in significant impact on the communities and lives of the girls Plan works with. The evaluation examines the importance of Plan’s response to ensuring good access to menstrual hygiene products and information especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and presents an overview of the entire progress of the project since 1st of July 2014 until the 31st of December 2020. The sustainability of the activities, lessons learnt and how Plan seeks to implement even more MHM activities in other districts in Uganda and internationally is further explored.
Using a Male Engagement Policy Framework, the last article explores a report on the policy environment for male engagement in family planning across Bangladesh and Nepal. The Health Policy Plus (HP+) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) highlights the policy implementation barriers and enablers that men and boys experience, and the importance of including adolescent boys in facilitating healthy reproductive knowledge and access to family planning services. Additionally, the role men play as acting as family planning clients, supportive partners, and agents of change is examined.
We hope you find this issue of OPENPlan insightful. Please contact the MERL team at Global Hub if you have any exciting research reports or evaluations that you would like to see featured in future editions!