Blog

Aug 13, 2020
13 min

Apply Now: Evaluation of the Ministerial Commitment on comprehensive sexuality education and sexual

Re-advertised: Terms of Reference Evaluation of the Ministerial Commitment on comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and young people in Eastern and Southern African (ESA) 1. Background and Context: A commitment for positive health outcomes for all young people in East and Southern Africa was endorsed and affirmed in 2013 by Ministers of Education and Health from 20 ESA countries. Together they agreed to work collabor

Jun 8, 2020
1 min

APPLY NOW: CALL FOR APPLICATION: UPDATING THE CSE ONLINE COURSE FOR TEACHERS AND PRACTITIONERS

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST Introduction Over the last decade, countries in the East and Southern African (ESA) region have taken major strides towards the development and incorporation of life skills education (LSE) and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in their school curricula. These strides have been made to counter the threat of HIV and other STIs; help protect girls against early and unintended pregnancy; provide young people with the necessary skills to

May 5, 2020
8 min

APPLY NOW :UNESCO-UNFPA : UPDATING THE CSE ONLINE COURSE FOR TEACHERS AND OTHER PRACTITIONERS

1. INTRODUCTION Over the last decade, countries in the East and Southern African (ESA) region have taken major strides towards the development and incorporation of life skills education (LSE) and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in their school curricula. These strides have been made to counter the threat of HIV and other STIs; help protect girls against early and unintended pregnancy; provide young people with the necessary skills to develop effective decision-making

Feb 26, 2020
7 min

Apply Now: DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE FOR LOCAL HOSTING OF THE CSE ONLINE COURSE FOR TEACHERS

UNESCO : Terms of Reference INTRODUCTION As part of the ESA Ministerial Commitment for scaling up Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in the region, UNESCO, UNFPA, Johns Hopkins University/HC3 and the Foundation for Professional Development have collaborated to design an in-service teacher training course. Ministries of education from across 21 ESA countries and the SADC and EAC Secretariats are key partners in the course. The online course is currently hosted and impleme

Nov 20, 2019
2 min

Launch of the “Let’s Talk” National Campaign on Early and Unintended Pregnancy in

by Oratilwe Moerane I am 19 years of age, a mother to a 2 year old little cute man. “Being a teen mum means we met a little early but it also means that I get to love you a little longer.” Broken dreams due to teenage pregnancy: I always saw myself in what I call my 5 miraculous dresses 1. Matriculation dress 2 and 3. Graduation dresses 4. Wedding dress 5. Maternity dress Sadly because back in those years I never taught myself not to take anything my peers say personal. I fo

Oct 14, 2019
2 min

Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O3) Malawi Launch

UNESCO officially launched the Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O3) Programme in Malawi in partnership with the Ministry of Science, Education and Technology and the Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe on 10 October 2019. The launch culminated in the agreement signing ceremony between UNESCO and the Government of Norway to accelerate the O3 programme. The O3 launch was attended by UNESCO’s Regional Director for Southern Africa, Prof. Hubert Gijzen, the Minister of Education, Scie

Dec 13, 2018
2 min

UNESCO Signs Grant Agreement with the David and Lucille Packard Foundation for Regional Campaign to

Harare, Zimbabwe – The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has granted a sum of $100,000 towards UNESCO’s efforts to reduce Early and Unintended Pregnancy (EUP) in the East and Southern Africa region. The grant will allow for the EUP campaign to contribute to this goal, highlighting the causes and, raising awareness on the consequences of EUP and reducing stigma towards pregnant girls as well as advocating for improved delivery of comprehensive sexuality education and access

Jun 21, 2018
2 min

UNESCO launches the Early and Unintended Pregnancy Campaign

UNESCO launched a campaign to reduce Early and Unintended Pregnancy (EUP) in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) on 20th June 2018 during the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Ministers of Education Meeting in Durban, South Africa. The launch of the campaign is part of the ESA Ministerial commitment, which was endorsed in December 2013 by Ministers of Education and Health in the ESA region. The commitment has prompted significant progress by Member States to address

Jun 20, 2018
2 min

20 ESA countries meet to review progress on the landmark ESA Commitment on Comprehensive Sexuality E

Government officials from ministries of education and health from 20 countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa met from 18 and 19 June 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa to review the East and Southern Africa (ESA) Commitment progress. The meeting brought together core members of the technical coordinating group, select civil society organisations (CSO) at country and regional levels, United Nations, SADC PF, and development partners. The Technical Coordinating Group (TCG), un

Jun 12, 2018
2 min

Zimbabwe launches the much anticipated School Health Policy

Zimbabwe launched its School Health Policy on 11th June 2018 in Harare as a strategic means to promote positive health determinants while preventing and mitigating health risks among learners. Jointly developed by the Ministries of Health and Child Care and Primary and Secondary Education, the policy has the vision of “A primary and secondary education system with an enabling environment for the provision of equitable, sustainable and quality health services for all learners.

Jun 5, 2018
1 min

Young People Speaking Out on Discrimination

Article from our Technical Coordination Group Member, SAfAIDS Many of the young people who take part in youth groups like the Youth for Gender Norms Transformation (Y4GT) are eloquent in speaking about to HIV and gender-based violence, but for 16 year-old Somvubu High School student Nomdumo Moyo, the this topic is very broad and she chooses to look at it from a different perspective. Speaking to SAfAIDS on the sidelines of a meeting at the school, the teen said discrimination

May 29, 2018
3 min

Memorandum of Understanding on The Right to Health for the Education Sector Campaign signed by South

Juba, South Sudan – The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MOGEI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for The Right to Health for the Education Sector Campaign with South Sudan HIV/AIDS Commission (SSAC) and UNAIDS. The signatories were Dr. Riak Gai, the Minister of Health; Dr. Nadia Dudi, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports and who signed on behalf of the education Minister Mr. Deng Deng; Dr. Esterina Novello, Cha

Mar 10, 2018
2 min

UNESCO to support efforts on ending GBV in schools

HARARE. UNESCO and the Ministry of Education & Training of the Kingdom of Swaziland organized a 4-day workshop from 6 to 9 March 2018, where about 45 education sector officials from Government, UN and civil society from 8 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa (Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya and Swaziland) met to discuss classroom interventions aimed at ending school related gender based violence. Focusing on the Connect with R

Feb 19, 2018
2 min

Comprehensive sexuality education and the global vision for the education agenda

By: Sanet L. Steenkamp, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, Namibia The core responsibility of education systems is imparting the fundamental building blocks of learning, namely the ‘3 R’s: reading, writing and arithmetic. Yet national education authorities are increasingly recognizing that while their core responsibility remains crucial, they must also reach beyond it. Education systems are being called upon to not only help our children learn essen

Jan 16, 2018
3 min

UNESCO Launches Our Rights Our Lives Our Future (O3) Programme in Zambia

On January 15, 2018, the Honourable Minister for Education of Sweden, Gustav Fridolin, joined representatives from UNESCO, the Zambian Departments of General Education and Higher Education, government representatives from Ghana and Zambia, young people and UN partners in Lusaka to launch the “Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future” (O3) programme. The O3 Programme will support the delivery of good quality comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) that empowers adolescents and young

Jan 14, 2018
2 min

South Africa to benefit from the UNESCO O3 Programme

South Africa is among the focus countries for this programme together with Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. Networking countries include Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Funded by Sweden and Ireland to the tune of about US$10 mil

Dec 8, 2017
1 min

ICASA 2017- Revised International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education

UNESCO, UNAIDS, UNFPA and the government of Cote d’Ivoire hosted a session on the Revised International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (ITGSE). This session took place on the side lines of the 2017 International Conference on AIDS and Sexuality Transmitted Infection’s in Africa (ICASA). The session was moderated by Dr Catherine Sozi, UNAIDS Director of the Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa (RTESA) and graced by Honourable Kandia Camara – Cote d

Nov 23, 2017
1 min

UNESCO 2017 ICASA Side Event: Revised Technical Guidelines on Sexuality Education

#CSE #ICASA #sexualityeducation #SRH

Nov 7, 2017
2 min

Introducing Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future #O3Campaign

The UNESCO/Swedish funded project, “Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future” was officially launched in Paris, France on 3rd November 2017 at an event that also commemorated UNESCO and Sweden’s partnership in supporting positive health, gender and education outcomes for adolescents and young people in sub-Saharan Africa. The launch, which took place during the 39th session of UNESCO’s General Conference featured interventions by UNESCO Director-General, Ms Irina Bokova, the Ministe

Nov 4, 2017
1 min

#YouthSRHNOW Campaign to Mobilise Youth Engagement on the ESA Commitment to Launch on 7 November 201

#YouthSRHNOW is a social media campaign to mobilise youth engagement in promoting action on commitments made by 20 East and Southern Africa countries in the ESA Commitment (2013), which calls for access to Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Youth Friendly Health Services for young people in the region. The campaign will run throughout November and much of December 2017. The main hashtag used across all social media platforms will be #YouthSRHNOW. In addition, dialogue on C