Download Vitalis Chipfakacha

ESA COMMITMENTS (Education matters)
Empowering young women and girls in Eastern
and Southern Africa to make healthier choices
and SRH and HIV Integration
Dr Vitalis Chipfakacha Mainstreaming Advisor and Ms
Lomthandazo Mavimbela Snr. PO Education and Skills.
SADC Secretariat
Harnessing the demographic dividend
•
Adolescents and young people (aged
10-24) -33% of the total population of
the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA)
region.
•
158 million now and is expected to
grow to 281 million by 2050.
•
Young people will drive development
in the region for the next two decades.
•
Ensuring that they are well educated
and healthy is a priority for the
advancement of the region.
New HIV Infections and People Left Behind
in sub-Saharan Africa: Young Women
.
Source: UNAIDS, 2014: Fast track: Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030
Education – status of THE ESA REGION
87%
Great strides in enrolling girls in school. Net
enrolment for primary education (boys and girls)
BUT…
Higher attrition rates at the secondary level and
poor quality of educational experiences and
learning opportunities for girls remains a concern.
Retention rates for girls
Education as empowerment
•More and better schooling means not only better education
outcomes but also better health ones
The Role of Schools in HIV Prevention
• Schools play an influential role in all societies
• Primary schools especially reach a high percentage of young people
(Social vaccine to many issues; health, HIV etc Chipfakacha )
• Schools protect against HIV through multiple pathways
– School attendance has been shown to reduce sexual risk
behavior as well as HIV incidence
– Schools are a venue for implementing well-designed
comprehensive sex education (CSE) to provide knowledge and
skills essential to practice safer behaviors
– Schools provide a platform for targeted care and support
interventions for especially vulnerable children and adolescents
Benefits of Sexuality Education
Good quality and well implemented
sexuality education programmes promote;
• Increased knowledge levels about sexuality,
relationships and HIV
• Delayed initiation of sexual activity
• Reduced frequency of unprotected sexual
activity
• Reduced number of sexual partners, and
• Increased use of protection against
unintended pregnancy and STIs
• The empowerment of girls and women and
greater gender equality
Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE)
Reduces HIV Risk Behaviors
•
Many CSE programs have significant, durable effects on knowledge, attitudes,
self-efficacy and other antecedents to behavior change. Most programs have
had positive impacts on one or more sexual behaviors including:
Delayed first sex
Reduced
frequency of sex
Decreased # of
partners
Increased
condom/
contraceptive
use
•
Sexuality education programs ultimately aim to empower young people to
adopt and sustain positive and protective sexual practices
•
A recent meta-analysis found impacts on multiple behaviors and concluded:
“school-based sex education is an effective strategy for reducing HIV risk.”
• In many countries, sexuality issues are sometimes only
partially included or not included in existing curricula
– focusing instead on biological information about HIV
• In particular, we know that key aspects of sex and
sexual health are often lacking (i.e. information about
reproduction, STIs, abortion and where to access
condoms or other SRH services)
What is
happening in
schools?
• Educators are not equipped to deal with sexuality
issues therefore they are not comfortable talking to
students about sexuality
• Curricula sometimes do not sufficiently address
gender and rights meaning that important social
drivers of vulnerability are ignored, and impact will
be less.
• Poor linkages and referrals to SRH services,
How do we turn 158 million young
people into 158 million opportunities?
ESA MINISTERIAL COMMITMENT: AFFIRMED, ICASA, DEC 2013
Ministers of Health and Education from 20 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa
made the commitment to better sexuality education and sexual and reproductive
health for young people,
ESA Commitment countries
Commitment Targets
2015
•
•
•
A good quality CSE curriculum framework
is in place and being implemented in each
of the 20 countries;
Pre and in-service SRH and CSE training
for teachers, health and social workers are
in place and being implemented in all 20
countries;
By the end of 2015, decrease by 50% the
number of adolescents and young people
who do not have access to youth-friendly
SRH services including HIV that are
equitable, accessible, acceptable,
appropriate and effective.
2020
•
•
•
•
•
•
Eliminating all new HIV infections
amongst adolescents and young people
aged 10-24;
Increase to 95% the number of
adolescents and young people, aged 1024, who demonstrate comprehensive
HIV prevention knowledge levels;
Reduce early and unintended
pregnancies among young people by
75%;
Eliminate gender-based violence;
Eliminate child marriage;
Increase the number of all schools and
teacher training institutions that provide
CSE to 75%.
Commitment Targets
2015
•
•
•
A good quality CSE curriculum
framework is in place and being
implemented in each of the 20
countries;
Pre and in-service SRH and CSE
training for teachers, health and
social workers are in place and being
implemented in all 20 countries;
By the end of 2015, decrease by 50%
the number of adolescents and
young people who do not have
access to youth-friendly SRH services
including HIV that are equitable,
accessible, acceptable, appropriate
and effective.
2020
•
•
•
•
•
•
Eliminating all new HIV infections
amongst adolescents and young
people aged 10-24;
Increase to 95% the number of
adolescents and young people,
aged 10-24, who demonstrate
comprehensive HIV prevention
knowledge levels;
Reduce early and unintended
pregnancies among young people
by 75%;
Eliminate gender-based violence;
Eliminate child marriage;
Increase the number of all schools
and teacher training institutions
that provide CSE to 75%.
Teacher training- Pre-service
Teacher training- In-service
Online Module on comprehensive sexuality education for teachers
ESA Commitment Progress
• Mobilized partners at regional and country level to support
countries around key results for adolescents and young people; HIV,
pregnancy, child marriage and reducing gender based violence
• Collaboration between Ministries of Education and Health, Youth,
Gender and others to ensure a comprehensive approach to
addressing issues of young people
• Increase funding and mobilize the education, health, youth,
gender and labor sectors to support young people’s SRH
• Mobilized communities by involvement of parents, young people
traditional and religious leaders to support the delivery of CSE and
services for young people
What are we learning?
• While most governments have implemented some type of school-based
HIV prevention education, implementation at scale is yet to be achieved
• Need for mechanisms to reach marginalised adolescents for example,
girls who are living in extreme poverty; married girls; girls who sell sex
for economic survival;
• In particular, programs are doing poorly at reaching those not enrolled in
school. Where a significant proportion of girls do not even completed
primary school, out-of-school programs are crucial.
• Where school-based sexuality education programs are limited to the
secondary level, they miss young people who are no longer in school for
example pregnancy prevention is coming too late in most curricula
What are we learning?
• Strengthening teacher skill remains an urgent priority for scaling up
or improving CSE in the region
• Zero-tolerance policies that protect all members of the learning
community (including adults) and that reject discrimination,
bullying, and sexual harassment/activity between teachers (or
adult staff) and learners, along with resources for enforcing these
policies.
• Integrating content on gender into comprehensive sexuality
education and other subjects remains crucial.
• CSE programs need to ensure that young people know their right
to services, and that they know how to access them.
Our Vision: A young African, a global citizen who is empowered, educated,
healthy, resilient and socially responsible - an autonomous decision-maker and
has the capacity to reach their full potential and contribute to the development
of their community, country and the region.
Integrated Responses to Schools
• Child health interventions
• Life skills
• Quality and comprehensive
information education on
SRH and HIV
• Provision of RH
commodities
(contraceptives, equipment
and sanitary pads)
• Youth friendly health
services
• Where necessary ANC
services
DR Vitalis Chipfakacha SADC
www.youngpeopletoday.net
PREPARING FOR THE 2015 ESA REPORT
• Permanent
Secretary as
Admin Head
• Focal Person ESA
at Moe and MOH
• Follow up at
MOH
• Return Date
• Back to
Secretariat
AIDS mainstreaming
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