Plan International
International development and humanitarian organization focused on children’s rights and gender equality.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Plan International is an international development and humanitarian organization whose work centers on children’s rights, gender equality, and the participation and protection of girls. It operates through country and national organizations across Africa, the Americas, and Asia, combining long-term community development with emergency response, disaster-preparedness training, and recovery assistance. Its program areas include education, protection from violence, sexual and reproductive health, economic empowerment, climate resilience, humanitarian relief, and support for children and young people affected by conflict or disaster. The organization began in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. British journalist John Langdon-Davies and aid worker Eric Muggeridge established it as Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain to assist children affected by the conflict. During the Second World War, it operated in England under the name Foster Parents Plan for War Children. After 1945, its relief work expanded into several European countries, including France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and Greece, with shorter periods of activity in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and China. As European recovery progressed, the organization gradually moved away from those settings and developed a broader international model. The organization later operated as Foster Parents Plan Inc. and expanded beyond postwar Europe. Its internationalization accelerated during the 1960s and 1970s, as programs spread through Latin America, Asia, and Africa. In 1962, Jacqueline Kennedy served as honorary chairwoman during the organization’s Silver Jubilee. In 1974, the global name became Plan International, reflecting the geographic scope of its work. During the 1980s, Belgium, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom became donor countries, while the organization received recognition from the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Plan International is funded through individual giving, corporate donations, institutional grants, and support from multilateral and governmental agencies. Referenced public materials identify funding relationships with agencies including the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the United States Agency for International Development. The organization reports that approximately 80 percent of its funds are directed to international programs, with the balance used for fundraising and administration; this proportion can vary by reporting period and accounting basis. Strategically, Plan International has increasingly emphasized girls’ rights and gender equality. It introduced the International Global Strategy 2017–2022 in 2017 and updated its visual identity with a revised version of its blue logo. In 2023, it launched an organizational strategy running to 2027, with an explicit focus on improving girls’ lives. Its public profile also includes advocacy campaigns, research, child-sponsorship and community-development fundraising, partnerships with public agencies, and emergency programs. According to the organization’s reported 2025 figures, its programming reached 49.2 million children, including 26.1 million girls, and it responded to 73 emergencies. It has also taken part in relief and recovery efforts in countries including Haiti, Colombia, and Japan. Plan International is not a listed commercial company. It is better understood as a global nonprofit network and development-services organization than as a consumer brand. Its identity is associated with child-focused international development, rights-based programming, humanitarian action, and campaigns intended to increase public attention to gender inequality and the rights of girls.
History
Plan International originated in the humanitarian conditions of the Spanish Civil War. In 1937, British journalist John Langdon-Davies and aid worker Eric Muggeridge founded Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain to support children displaced or otherwise affected by the conflict. The model connected contributors with assistance for children, while also providing practical relief in a period when conventional international-development institutions had not yet taken their modern form. During the Second World War, the organization continued its work in England and became known as Foster Parents Plan for War Children. After the war, its activities expanded across a number of European countries affected by conflict and deprivation. These included France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and Greece, as well as shorter periods of activity in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and China. As reconstruction progressed and local systems recovered, Plan gradually withdrew from most of these European programs. The organization subsequently operated under the name Foster Parents Plan Inc. A major transition followed as the organization extended beyond emergency relief in Europe. Its work developed across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, creating the geographic foundation for its current international network. During the organization’s Silver Jubilee in 1962, Jacqueline Kennedy served as honorary chairwoman, bringing additional public visibility. By 1974, the organization had adopted the global name Plan International, a change that reflected the fact that its programs were no longer concentrated in a single region or defined primarily by the original foster-plan model. During the 1980s, donor participation broadened, with Belgium, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom becoming donor countries. Plan International also received recognition from the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Over time, its program portfolio evolved from a primarily child-relief orientation toward a broader rights-based development approach. This included education, child protection, health, livelihoods, participation, gender equality, disaster risk reduction, and humanitarian response. The organization continued to combine individual and corporate fundraising with institutional grants and government-supported development programs. In the twenty-first century, Plan International’s public identity became increasingly associated with girls’ rights. Campaigning and research were used alongside field programs to draw attention to barriers affecting girls, including unequal access to education, violence, child marriage, limited participation in decision-making, and restricted economic opportunity. The Because I Am a Girl campaign became one of the organization’s prominent public initiatives. Plan-related activities also received support and visibility from public figures, artists, and charitable partners in different national settings. Plan International adopted the International Global Strategy 2017–2022 in 2017 and updated its blue logo as part of its broader identity refresh. In 2023, it introduced a strategy extending to 2027, placing improvement in girls’ lives at the center of its organizational direction. Alongside long-term development, the organization has continued disaster preparedness, emergency relief, and recovery work, including responses in Haiti, Colombia, Japan, and other affected countries. The organization’s funding and accountability framework relies on individuals, corporate donors, grants, and public or multilateral institutions. Cited funding partners include the former United Kingdom Department for International Development, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the United States Agency for International Development. Plan International states that an average of about 80 percent of funds is spent directly on international programs, with the remainder supporting fundraising and administration. It also identifies adherence to accountability and disaster-relief standards, including the INGO Accountability Charter and the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief. Plan International currently describes its reach in global terms, working in more than 80 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Its reported 2025 results state that 49.2 million children, including 26.1 million girls, were reached through programming and that 73 emergencies received a response. The organization therefore represents a historical transition from a Spanish Civil War relief initiative into a large international nonprofit network focused on children’s rights, humanitarian action, and gender equality.
- 2025
Reported global program reach
[1]Plan International reported reaching 49.2 million children, including 26.1 million girls, and responding to 73 emergencies.
- 2023
Strategy to 2027 launched
[1]A new organizational strategy placed improving the lives of girls at the center of Plan International’s direction.
- 2017
International Global Strategy 2017–2022 launched
[1]Plan International introduced a new global strategy and updated its traditional blue logo.
- 1980
Broader donor-country network develops
[1]During the 1980s, Belgium, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom became donor countries, and Plan International gained recognition from the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
- 1974
Global name becomes Plan International
[1]The organization adopted Plan International as its global name as its programs expanded across South America, Asia, and Africa.
- 1962
Jacqueline Kennedy serves as honorary chairwoman
[1]Jacqueline Kennedy served as honorary chairwoman during the organization’s Silver Jubilee.
- 1945
Postwar European expansion
[1]After the war, relief activities expanded into several European countries and briefly into Poland, Czechoslovakia, and China.
- 1940
Name changes to Foster Parents Plan for War Children
[1]During the Second World War, the organization operated in England under a war-children-focused name.
- 1937
Organization founded during the Spanish Civil War
[1]John Langdon-Davies and Eric Muggeridge founded Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain to assist children affected by the conflict.
Products and positioning
A global child-rights and development organization combining community-based development, humanitarian response, advocacy, and gender-equality work, with a particular strategic emphasis on girls.
International development
Child-focused development programs
Plan International’s long-term programs support children, families, and communities through work in education, health, child protection, livelihoods, participation, and resilience. The programs are delivered through country operations and partnerships rather than sold as commercial products. Their rights-based approach links immediate services with efforts to change institutions, social norms, and public policy.
Advocacy and fundraising campaign
Because I Am a Girl
Because I Am a Girl is a Plan campaign focused on the rights, opportunities, safety, and participation of girls. It has been used to connect public advocacy, research, fundraising, and development programming. The campaign reflects Plan International’s broader strategic emphasis on gender equality and on addressing the structural barriers that limit girls’ education, health, protection, and economic prospects.
Humanitarian services
Humanitarian emergency response
Plan International responds to emergencies affecting children and communities through relief, protection, education, recovery, and preparedness activities. Its work has included responses in countries such as Haiti, Colombia, and Japan. The organization also provides disaster-preparedness and recovery training, seeking to connect emergency assistance with longer-term resilience.
Research and advocacy
Advocacy, research, and public engagement
In addition to field programs, Plan International produces advocacy initiatives and research intended to influence public discussion and policy on children’s rights and gender equality. Its gender-equality survey work has received communications recognition. This activity supports the organization’s role as both an implementing agency and an international campaigner for children and girls.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019Gender-equality survey media-relations campaign
International
Plan International used findings from a gender-equality survey in a public media-relations campaign.
Outcome. Received the PR Daily Grand Prize for Media Relations Campaign of the Year.
- 2015Mo’ne Davis and M4D3 footwear collaboration
United States · International
Baseball player Mo’ne Davis worked with footwear brand M4D3 to design sneakers, with part of the proceeds donated to Plan International’s Because I Am a Girl campaign.
Outcome. Generated fundraising and public visibility for the girls’ rights campaign.
- Because I Am a Girl
International
A global advocacy and fundraising platform focused on girls’ rights, gender equality, safety, education, participation, and opportunity.
Outcome. Established as a prominent public expression of Plan International’s girls’ rights agenda.
- Universal Birth Registration campaign
India
Plan India advocated for universal birth registration, linking legal identity with children’s access to rights and public services. Actor Anil Kapoor was identified as an ambassador and donated his fee from Slumdog Millionaire to the NGO’s campaign.
Brand decisions
2023
Adopt the organizational strategy to 2027StrategyBackground
Plan International continued to sharpen its focus on gender equality and the rights of girls.
Action taken
The organization launched a strategy extending to 2027, centered on improving girls’ lives.
Aftermath
Girls’ rights became an explicit central priority in the organization’s stated strategic direction.
2017
Launch the International Global Strategy 2017–2022StrategyBackground
Plan International sought to define a common direction for its international network.
Action taken
The organization launched a global strategy for 2017–2022 and refreshed its blue logo.
Aftermath
The strategy and identity update reinforced a unified international brand.
1974
Adopt the Plan International global nameStrategyBackground
The organization’s work had expanded beyond its original European and war-relief setting into South America, Asia, and Africa.
Action taken
The global organization changed its name to Plan International.
Aftermath
The name reflected its international geographic scope and broader development role.
Recent events
- 2025
Plan International reports reaching 49.2 million children in 2025[1]
Other
According to figures cited from the organization’s reporting, Plan International reached 49.2 million children, including 26.1 million girls, and responded to 73 emergencies.
- 2023
Plan International launches an organizational strategy to 2027[1]
Other
Plan International announced a strategy extending to 2027, with improving the lives of girls as a central focus.
- 2022
Plan International Hong Kong receives CORPHUB awards[1]
Other
Plan International Hong Kong received several CORPHUB recognitions connected with its children’s-rights and child-care work.
- 2019
Plan International gender-equality survey campaign wins PR Daily award[1]
Campaign
A Plan International gender-equality survey initiative received the PR Daily Grand Prize for Media Relations Campaign of the Year.
- 2017
Plan International launches the International Global Strategy 2017–2022[1]
Other
The organization introduced a global strategy for the 2017–2022 period and refreshed its traditional blue visual identity.
- 2017
Plan International project receives a Third Sector Award[1]
Other
A Plan International project was recognized in the Third Sector Awards for substantial impact on national or international life.
- 2016
Plan International Sierra Leone receives a Global Award[1]
Other
Plan International Sierra Leone was recognized in the Global Awards.
Sources2 sources
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