Media Centre

A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction.

A new report launched today at COP29 on children and youth day, by humanitarian and girls’ rights organisation Plan International Australia and the Kiribati Climate Action Network (KiriCAN) paints a stark picture of the immense hardship adolescent girls in the Pacific are facing due to more frequent and devastating climate disasters.

Children in Lebanon who have been forced to flee their homes as a result of escalating conflict with Israel are facing health risks as shelters become more crowded by the day. Over 1.2 million people inside Lebanon – more than one fifth of the country’s population – have become displaced due to the escalation of conflict three weeks ago, fleeing their homes in fear for their lives as airstrikes intensify.  

From child and forced marriage to being denied an education, all around the world, girls are still subjected to exclusion, inequality and human rights abuses every single day. And while remarkable progress has been made on gender equality, too many barriers remain that hold girls back from reaching their full potential. To mark International Day of the Girl today on October 11th, humanitarian and girls’ rights charity Plan International Australia – together with its 2024 youth advocates and celebrity ambassador, Hollywood actor Phoebe Tonkin – has joined forces with streaming service Stan to provide an inspiring selection of movies and television that smash gender stereotypes and champion girls in all their diversity.

New global research involving over 10,000 children and young people from 10 countries has found that gender profoundly influences how conflict is experienced. The study, by child rights and humanitarian INGO Plan International, offers in-depth insight into growing up in conflict, based on a survey and first-person accounts of 15- to 24-year-olds from countries including Sudan, Palestine, Ethiopia, Lebanon and Ukraine.

More than 300 people in northern Vietnam have been reported dead or missing in the wake of Typhoon Yagi – the most severe storm to have hit Southeast Asia this year and the worst to have struck Vietnam in 30 years. Child’s rights and humanitarian organisation Plan International has deployed teams to assess the extent of damage and immediate needs of families in areas hardest hit by the disaster.

Severe flooding triggered by monsoon rains in Bangladesh has left millions of children in need of humanitarian assistance. Plan International Bangladesh’s Emergency Response Team, volunteers and local partner organisations have been deployed to impacted communities.

The UN-backed IPC’s latest famine review on Sudan, has found that conflict has pushed parts of North Darfur – notably the Zamzam camp near El Fasher town into famine conditions.