Ghana and UNESCO Launches CSE Program

By Michelle Fafa Agbenorto

Ghana and the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have launched a programme to empower adolescents and young people to deepen their scope of existing activities to attain a Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

Known as the "Our right, Our lives, Our Future (O³), it started last year with support from the Governments of Sweden and Ireland.

It is being implemented in Ghana, Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe for effective delivery of quality comprehensive sexuality programmes.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Mrs. Audrey Azoulay in a statement noted that the programme would empower the youth with skills, knowledge, attitudes, and competencies to make informed choices in the prevention of HIV as well as unintended pregnancies.

She explained that the institutionalization of the CSE programmes would enable the government to provide domestic funding and also contribute fully towards the scaling up of interventions to improve Sexual and Reproductive Health of young people and adolescents for a consistent reduction in new HIV infections and early child marriages.

Launching it, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister for Education said Ghana recognizes sexual and reproductive health education as a conduit for addressing issues affecting her youth.

The subject of sexuality education has become a very important matter, particularly for the youth in our societies, explaining that "the Changing societal context characterized by the free flow of information, media pluralism, and social media has necessitated the need for our education systems to provide accurate information on sexuality education.

"It is in this light that Ghana welcomes the 'O3' initiative and the Regional Acceleration program which seeks to accelerate and deepen the scope of existing CSE in six beneficiary countries", he stated.

Health Minister Dr. Kwaku Agyemang on his part stated that CSE called for a commitment to expand and strengthen efforts to develop the programme to empower the youth in protecting themselves for a better society.

The six countries, also known as Program Acceleration Countries (PAC) participating in the implementation of CSE are Ghana, Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

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