Implemented by:

Panel Discussion
at the 3rd International Conference on Family Planning, Addis Ababa

14th November 2013

4.205.40 pm

Small Conference Hall 4

Towards reducing HIV infection and improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes for young people in East and Southern Africa (ESA-initiative) Program
Welcome address Thomas Staiger Desk officer, Division Health, population policy, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Ensuring political support for improving young peoples access to comprehensive sexuality education and services Dr. Harriet Birungi | Country Director of the Population Council, Kenya, Nairobi Establishing better linkages between public health and educational authorities at international, national and local level Beatriz Abero | National Administration of Public Education, Program Coordinator of Public Policy of Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Uruguay Measuring the success of scaling up comprehensive sexuality education programming from a young persons perspective Remmy Shawa | International Sida Project Coordinator at Sonke Gender, Cape Town Scaling up comprehensive sexuality education. Learning from the Latin American experience. Dr. Claudia Herlt | Program Director Multisectoral response to AIDS, GIZ Mozambique, former coordinator of the GIZ-UNAIDS regional project Harmonization of Public Policies on Sexual Education and HIV and AIDS Prevention in Schools in the MERCOSUL Moderated by Dr. Gill Greer former DG of IPPF, CEO volunteer Service Abroad

Panel

Implemented by:

Towards reducing HIV infection and improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes for young people in East and Southern Africa (ESA-initiative)

Background
Today, one in four people on earth are aged 10-25. It is the largest population of youth in history. Young peoples beliefs and decisions about family planning are critical to their sexual and reproductive health and rights and have a large impact on their whole life. As boys and girls move from older childhood into adolescence and then onto early adulthood, they need both: > sexuality education, including on HIV and AIDS, that adapts to their stage of development and evolving circumstances, to improve their understanding and to build life skills and > adolescent friendly sexual and reproductive health services. Moreover, full access, full choice require a close link between SRH service provision and SRH education programs. In the past years new developments on content and standards of evidencebased effective and meaningful Comprehensive Sexuality Education have been developed, which require implementation on a large scale. This can only be achieved when governments, ministries, donors, UN agencies, academia and civil society organizations cooperate in a meaningful way. The side event aims at generating political support for the ESA initiative which will be launched at the ICASA 2013 and at discussing relevant aspects and challenges with respect to implementing Comprehensive Sexuality Education.

Images: GIZ/Florian Kopp