EDUCATION ON PROBLEMS AND ISSUES RELATED TO POPULATION AND FAMILY LIFE

On this page • Angola • Central Africa • Gabon • Guinea Bissau • Guinea • Côte d'Ivoire • Mali

News Training of Peer Health Educators - Freetown (Sierra Leone) 26 August to 6 September 2002 (03.09.02) Study of the project: "Reduce poverty by educational methods of entrepreneurship at secondary school" (16.07.02) Sub-regional technical consultation, whose aim is to re-examine the position of EFL/EPI in a changing context. (09.05.2001)

With the financial support of the UNFPA, UNESCO-BREDA is executing projects aimed at introducing the Issues of Population and Family Life (EFL/EIP) into both the formal and the non formal education system. The objective of the EFL/EIP programmes is to introduce the issues of population and health at all levels of formal and non formal education, including the health plan in terms of sexuality and reproduction. These programmes aim at improving teenage welfare and promoting equality and fairness between the sexes, encouraging a mature sexual behaviour and protecting this group against premature or unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, sexual abuse and sexual violence, and incest. In order for these programmes to have long-term effects, to be beneficial to more people and to be more efficient, it is important that parents, young people, local chiefs and organisations all take part.

ANGOLA: Institutionalization of EFL/EIP in formal education (ANG/97/P04)

Background

In 1990, the government of Angola decided to create a National Education Programme on matters and issues of population and family life. With the financial help of the UNFPA and the support of UNESCO in the execution phase, the project was implemented in the various provinces targeted. The last two phases of the project were devoted to the training of trainers, inspectors, experimental teachers and second-level teachers. Manuals for Portuguese, Moral and Civic Education, Geography for level 5 and Natural Sciences for level 6 class were also designed, produced, tested and evaluated. Programmes aimed at promoting EFL/EIP during the the initial teacher training stage were also devised. Syllabuses and teaching materials were produced in vast numbers for the promotion of EFL/EIF. The current phase of the project is in keeping with the Fourth UNFPA Assistance Programme for Angola (1997-2000). It is based on the new strategy devised by the UNFPA aimed at decentralizing population-based actions in the provinces and on an integrated approach amongst the various sectors of development in the country. The project gives a high priority to the development and the distribution of teaching materials.

Strategy

• The production and re-production of teaching materials destined for experimentation by the integrated teams in charge of the EFL/EIF projects in the provinces;
• The introduction of EFL/EIF into general education through the development of teaching materials for levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 of primary school;
• The strengthening of training through regional programmes;
• The creation of the conditions for institutionalizing EFL/EIF through training activities in the Normal Middle-school Institutes of 6 pilot provinces, along with the experimentation of EFL/EIF programmes in the Normal Middle-school Institutes of Luanda.

Expected outcome

By the end of the complementary phase, the activities carried out by the project made it possible to:

• create the necessary skills among the provincial teams to allow them to organize activities in their own provinces;
• create the necessary conditions for the teaching of EFL/EIF into general education (levels 1, 2, 3 and 4)
• create the necessary conditions for the institutionalization of EFL/EIF in Normal Middle-school Institutes

CENTRAL AFRICA: The introduction of education on Family Life and Issues of Population in the formal education system(CAF/98/P08)

Background

The first phase of the project was in keeping with the "Plan of Economic and Social Development 1986-1990" aimed at reforming the education system by a renovation of the syllabuses involving a better adaptation to the everyday context. During this first phase, the teaching of EFL/EIF was tested in 8 primary and 8 secondary schools and the experimental programme was assessed and reviewed. The current phase will involve the building of the programme into the education system.

Strategy

• The strengthening of national capacity in the implementation of the programme through teaching and reinforcing the project team;
• The production and reproduction of pedagogical materials;
• Raising awareness in schools and among the public at large.

Expected outcome

by the end of the complementary phase, the activities carried out by the project made it possible to:

• Improve the capabilities of the National Education Ministry in terms of planning and management for the development of the national EFL/EIP;
• Enhance the capabilities of the National Education Ministry in terms of supervising, monitoring and assessing the EFL/EIP programme on the ground;
• Promote the teaching of EFL/EIP in 106 schools and 20 secondary schools;
• Increase the number of IEC activities both within schools and in society at large;
• Strengthen the project's logistical means.

GABON: Integrated IEC Programme on population (GAB/98/PO1)

Background

During the second phase of the project, which was started in 1995, IEC activities were developed outside of schools at the same time as teaching family life and population issues (EFL/EIP) was carried out inside schools. The current phase was started in 1998. It is part of the Third UNFPA Assistance Programme for Gabon which covers the period 1998-2000 and is in keeping with the sub-programme on reproductive health.

Strategies

• Capitalise on the gains of the IEC programme and extend the multi-disciplinary nature of the programme to the areas of reproductive health;
• Draw from the national strategy in terms of population IEC for the development or the promotion of the programme;
• Generalize EIP step by step;
• Integrate the conceptual evolutions made on IEC in the last few years, including education for life, in order to adapt the execution of the programme to the major international orientations adopted by the government;
• Build information networks based on modern interactive technologies, such as the Internet, in the areas of education and health in such a way as to meet adequately the ever-changing needs of the population;
• Use all the communication channels available, including the creation of an educational radio station allowing the introduction of education through the media, a rapid spread of EIP and a greater synergy with the civil society;
• To always be present in the field
• To mobilize all the financial, organizational, material and logistical resources available in order to meet our short-, middle- and long-term objectives
• To assess the impact of the programme on its beneficiaries.

Expected outcome

By the end of the complementary phase, the activities carried out by the project made it possible to:

• Adopt the national IEC strategy and generalize EMP.
• Generalize EIP in primary and secondary school syllabuses in biology, geography and civic education through the introduction of a distance learning strategy and the setting-up of an educational radio station;
• Introduce EIP into other disciplines and at other levels (primary, level 1, 2, 3, 4, and Upper Secondary Level)
• Support other programmes in the field of education (fight against school failure, life-long education) and NGOs;
• Develop awareness-raising campaigns and attempt a partial generalization by extending the teaching of EFL/EIP to all level 1 and 2 classes of college in 17 schools across the regions of experimentation, and to all level 3 and 4 classes in the 12 pilot schools of basic education.
• Strengthen the skills of the 45 subject co-ordinators, 24 area inspectors, 17 head teachers of level 1 and 2 of college and of 15 trainers from the teacher training college in Bissau and Boloama in ELF/EIP (training, monitoring and assessment);
• Train 687 teachers of levels 1 and 2 of college in the four experimental areas, and 434 teachers of levels 3 and 4 in the 12 pilot schools;
• Reinforce the IEC activities in the four experimental areas through staging a new play, organising a drawing competition, producing three radio programmes and organising one IEC day on family life and reproductive and sexual health amongst young people;
• Strengthen the conditions of institutionalization through teaching EFL/EIP in the third year of the initial teacher training;

GUINEA-BISSAU: Education on population issues and family life at school in the formal sector (GBS/93/PO2)

Background

Initiated to contribute through education to bringing a proper solution to the numerous population problems identified in the Guinea Bissau, the project of Education on Family Life and Population Issues is integrated in a series of efforts made by the government to improve population welfare and to promote the economic and socio-cultural development of the country. Approved and implemented in keeping with the Second UNFPA Programme of Assistance for Guinea Bissau for the period 1993-1997, the project of Education on Family Life and Population Issues at school (GBS/93/P02) coincided with the second phase of the EFL/EIP Programme. It consisted in testing the ELF/EIP on 1,690 pupils spread across 12 basic education experimental pilot schools. In 1997, at the end of the Second UNFPA Programme of Assistance, a new phase was initiated during the interim UNFPA programme of assistance (GBS/98/P02) in order to proceed to a partial generalization of EFL/EIP. But the situation of crisis caused by the military and political conflict that broke out on June 7 1998 caused the sudden interruption of all the activities funded by the UNFPA for a year. After the situation went back to normal in May 1999, the UNFPA decided that while waiting for the proposition and approval of the Strategy and Development Sub-Program" and of its project components, it would proceed with a 14-month extension (2 months in 1999 and 12 months in 2000) of the complementary activities of project GBS/93/PO2 which had not been closed as planned. These additional activities are in keeping with the strategy for the development of education in Guinea Bissau whose main aim is to raise the standard of teaching and to change the behaviour of young people.

Strategies

• reinforcing the national capacities and skills in the field of EFL/EIP through the training of subject co-ordinators and teachers, and through the integration of EFL/EIP in the initial training of teachers;
• Organising awareness-raising activities in order to sensitize the youth on issues of family life and reproductive and sexual health, and to make parents and the general public more aware so as to foster more favourable conditions for the generalization of EFL/EIP through schools.

Expected outcome

By the end of the complementary phase, the activities carried out by the project made it possible to:

• Attempt a partial generalization by extending the teaching of EFL/EIP to all level 1 and 2 college classes in 17 schools across the regions of experimentation, and to all level 3 and 4 classes in the 12 pilot schools of basic education.
• Strengthen the skills of the 45 subject co-ordinators, 24 area inspectors, 17 head teachers of level 1 and 2 of college and of 15 trainers from the teacher training college in Bissau and Boloama in ELF/EIP (training, monitoring and assessment);
• Train 687 teachers of levels 1 and 2 of college in the four experimental areas, and 434 teachers of levels 3 and 4 in the 12 pilot schools;
• Reinforce the IEC activities in the four experimental areas through staging a new play, organising a drawing competition, producing three radio programmes and organising one IEC day on family life and reproductive and sexual health amongst young people;
• Strengthen the conditions of institutionalization through teaching EFL/EIP in the third year of the initial training of students;

GUINEA: Generalization of Education on Population Issues at Primary level(GUI/99/P01)

Background

The first phase of the ‘Generalization of Education on Population Issues in Elementary School’ project was launched in 1984 as a pedagogical response to problems of population, environment and development. During a first preliminary phase, the project focused on clarifying the concepts and implementing the project. The second phase (1990-1994) focused on choosing and determining the contents of Education on Population Issues for teachers of primary and secondary school, and testing of EIP in the 50 pilot schools. The third phase (1994-1998) focused on the integration of EIP into the official syllabus and the extension of the network of schools that taught EIP. The last phase (1990-1994) was devoted to the extension of activities in the secondary and in new primary schools. In keeping with a strategy of gradual development linked to the capacity of the system to train and retrain teachers, the first phase of the process involved 1,000 primary schools (30% of the total), 25 colleges (10% of the total) and all the 8 Primary School Teacher Training Centres in the country. The implementation of the current phase of the project (GUI/99/PO1), which is in keeping with the carrying out of the UNFPA sub-programme on "Strategies on Population and Development Issues", will lead to the full generalization of Education on Population Issues in primary schools. One of the obectives is to proceed with the multiplication of teaching materials and media, the training of teachers and the introduction of EIP in all schools.

Strategies

• Integrating Education on Population Issues into formal and non formal sectors of education with the view to promoting family welfare
• Developing mature attitudes and behaviour amongst young people, mainly on issues of sexuality and family life, and aiming to improve the status of women;
• Contribution to the implementation of a process of decentralisation of social and educational policies through the reduction of basic structures, the creation of intervention equipment and of liaison agents.

Expected outcome

• Information and awareness-raising on EIP through the production and broadcast of educational and animated films, the construction of a forum-theatre and the finalization and publication of a collection of proverbs on the family, education and sexuality;
• The training of 76 rural and district pedagogical directors, 343 pedagogical delegates, sub-prefects and primary schoolmasters in the use of integrated EIP programmes and teaching materials;
• The production and distribution of syllabuses and teaching materials designed for primary schools;

COTE D’IVOIRE: The promotion of reproductive and sexual health amongst adolescents and young people between 10 and 24 years of age (IVC/98/P03)

Background

The project is in keeping with the gobal framework of action of the sectorial programmes initiated by the government and aimed at improving the quality of education and at fostering in schools and amongst the public at large a greater awareness of the importance of the population dimension in development and the emergence of an informed and responsible behaviour towards issues of population, life and the environment. In this respect, the project is linked to the new orientations of the educational system defined during the seminar organized for that purpose in Yamoussoukro in 1994. It mentions namely the need to reinforce national capacities in order to produce a national education programme that adequately meets the basic needs of children and teenagers both within and outside the school system, and which allows girls access to school and to a better level of education. The government's commitment was clearly shown with the support given to the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (1994) aimed at promoting the right of young people to education, information and reproductive health care. It is in this context that the UNFPA and UNESCO will support the government of Côte d'Ivoire in improving the support available in reproductive and sexual healthcare amongst teenage girls in Côte d’Ivoire by the year 2000 through the involvement of this specific group.

Strategy

• The implication at all levels of movements and youth associations in the elaboration, the management and the evaluation of activities aimed at improving reproductive and sexual health amongst teenage girls and young adult girls.
• Raising awareness in order to attract greater support from all components of society to the policies of the sub-programme on health amongst the young with a view to raising understanding amongst parents, educators and bearers of tradition on teenage sexual and reproductive health.
• To change behaviour amongst both service providers and teenagers for an improvement of reproductive and sexual health;
• Education and training aimed at developing knowledge in promoting relevant skills in teenager guidance on matters of sexual and reproductive health, achieving a better prevention of MSTs, unwanted pregnancies and abortion, and better support in reproductive and sexual health;
• Health and advice services aimed at the largest possible number of teenagers and at increasing accessibility to and availability of such services.

Expected outcome

By the end of the complementary phase, the activities carried out by the project made it possible to:

• Increase the supply and quality of sexual and reproductive health services through the opening of 10 health centres, 20 guidance and counselling centres and through the acquisition of a mobile unit for the specific benefit of teenagers;
• Modify sexual practices and behaviour of teenagers through education and sensitization in order to promote safe sex and to reduce the rate of MSTs and AIDS from 38% to 30% amongst teenagers and young adults (10-24) and of teenage pregnancies from 37% to 32 % amongst teenage girls under 18 by the year 2000;
• Give teenagers a chance to access or obtain contraception, especially the condom and the femidom, and increase the usage rate of contraceptive methods amongst the young section of the population (10-24) from 5.7% to 12% by the year 2000;
• Helping teenagers through IEC to avoid risky abortions, to attend health and advice centres and to bring parents to give up negative practices such as MGF. All this in order to reduce by 10% the morbidity and mortality rates linked to sexuality or to reproduction amongst teenagers by the year 2000.
• Create the necessary skills among the provincial teams to allow them to organize activities in their own provinces.

MALI: Support to the generalization of EFL/EIP in school structures and its introduction in the non formal sector (MLI/00/P08)

Background

The Education in Family Life and Education on Issues of Population (EFL/EIP) in Mali is in keeping with the framework of the population policy, which includes the demographic aspects in finding a solution to issues of development. After its launch in 1989, the project went through three major phases (1986-1991, 1992-1995, 1996-1999), which saw the training of experimental teachers and their supervisors, the development of teaching materials and the experimentation of EFL/EIP in 31 schools across four administrative districts of the country (out of nine): Gao, Mopti, Sikasso and Koulikoro. The current phase of the project is in keeping with the framework of generalization of the EFL/EIP in formal and non formal education. It is in keeping with the UNFPA Strategy on Population and Development (SPD) sub-programme. It is based on a new UNFPA strategy aimed at improving the status of women and integrating the approach to gender and to the needs of teenagers and underprivileged youth in all the programmes and projects.

Strategies

The generalization of EFL/EIP at the Higher, Secondary and Collegial levels (representing more than 50,000 pupils and students) and its introduction into the programmes of the Centres of Functional Literacy for Development (representing around 16,000 auditors), constitute an important step towards better taking into account the needs of teenagers in the population programme. The teaching of EFL/EIP, which is perceived as a policy of implementation of the national policy on population should allow the public groups targeted to better grasp issues of population which hinder the economic and social development of their country and therefore to adopt a responsible behaviour in order to improve the quality of their lives, that of their family and of their community.

Expected outcome

By the end of the complementary phase: