Minister of General Education, Dennis Wanchinga says comprehensive sexual reproductive health education is key in the fight against early marriages and pregnancies.
Dr. Wanchinga said comprehensive sexual health education is an important intervention in supplementing government’s efforts in the area of health.
He said having adequate number of girls finishing school will be a good start to developing the nation.
The Minister said this during a courtesy call on President Edgar Lungu by a Swedish delegation led by its Minister of Education Gustav Fridolin where the President was updated on the state of reproductive health in the country.
Dr. Wanchinga added that awareness on reproductive health would lead to a reduction of health costs such as treatment to HIV and pregnancy related complications.
He further said government’s comprehensive sexual health talks focuses on packaging of relevant information that is age appropriate, culturally sensitive and legally binding.
He said the revised school curriculum focusses on those respective values and that 65,000 teachers have since been trained in reproductive health.
Dr. Wanchinga stated that the Ministry is now beginning to see the positive results of the approach as it has reached its intended purpose.
He said the messages are well tailored for the programme and has since thanked the Swedish government for the support it has rendered to the country.
Meanwhile, Minister of Higher Education, Nkandu Luo said the sky is the limit for her Ministry because the Swedish government has provided enough funds for such projects.
Prof. Luo pointed out that her Ministry will do everything possible to scale up the programme and ensure that the girl child is protected.
She observed that Zambia was chosen to host the launch of the comprehensive reproductive health program because of her commitment to the fight.
And Minister of Health, Chitalu Chilufya said quality health for all is a policy that government has adopted which is being championed by President Edgar Lungu.
Dr. Chilufya said maternal mortality is one of the challenges affecting the health sector and a lot of women that die due to pregnancy related cases are adolescents.
He said the Ministry of Health has established adolescent friendly corners in health facilities across the country to ensure messages are spread.
Dr. Chilufya said the youth friendly corners are set up in various health facilities to provide timely education to young people
Is condom distribution in schools meant for practicals after the comprehensive theory is delivered?
I would rather we start teaching our children hygiene, how to use a Muzungu toilet as a great starting point. The root cause for child marriage is culture, and the custodians of culture are traditional establishments (Chiefdoms). We need to be careful how much sex information we give at what age or we risk putting the cart before the horse! A great way to address these issues is to identify our “national culture and values.” What defines us as Zambians?