HIV and AIDS
Sexuality Education
UNESCO has embarked on a two-year programme of work during the current 2008/09 biennium to provide technical leadership on improving HIV prevention for young people in educational institutions.
The programme is in support of implementing the revised UNESCO strategy on HIV and AIDS as well as fulfilling UNESCO’s lead technical role on HIV prevention for young people in educational institutions, in accordance with the UNAIDS division of labour.
UNESCO’s programme is supported by a Global Advisory Group which will guide and orient UNESCO’s programme on sex, relationships and HIV education. The Global Advisory Group is composed of eight members with complementary technical experience (click here to view their biographies). Each member brings specific thematic expertise from such areas as anthropology, sociology, epidemiology, demography, education, psychology, social work and health economics as well as gender and programmatic perspectives. It is also expected that this group will act as a strong leadership platform for sex, relationships and HIV education, thus generating more interest in and prioritisation of the issue.
The inaugural meeting of the Global Advisory Group was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 13-14 December 2007. The meeting was informed by a commissioned review of sex, relationships and HIV education in schools. As specific outcomes of the meeting, UNESCO was called upon to:
1. promote sex, relationships and HIV education as a demonstrably effective programme for young people;
2. contribute to the evidence base regarding sex, relationships and HIV education;
3. promote cooperation and sharing of experiences among key stakeholders in relation to the design and implementation of sex, relationships and HIV education.
Activities responding to the recommendations from the Global Advisory Group are currently under way.
In the framework of the programme, UNESCO is part of the International Scientific Advisor Board for the Fourth Biennial International Sex and Relationships Education Conference that will be held in Birmingham, UK, in September 2009.
Click here to download the Review of Sex, Relationships and HIV Education in Schools.
- Start date: 25-06-2007 End date: 25-12-2009