Puberty is not a problem to be solved

UNESCO in partnership with Procter and Gamble have partnered in developing and releasing the 9^th volume in the UNESCO series of Good Policy and Practice in Health Education. 

These series seeks to address Puberty Education and Menstrual Hygiene Management providing a comprehensive curriculum that can be adopted by schools to address and improve puberty education. 

There are 650 million primary school age young people in the world today, 57 million of these population does not attend school leaving 593 million who can be reached through school based programmes thus qualifying schools as the ideal location to reach a large proportion of learners before puberty. 

The report recommends that puberty education be delivered in sequenced lessons from pre-adolescence to young adulthood employing learner centered methods to develop knowledge, attitude, values and skills needed to adopt healthy, safe practices during the transition to adulthood. 

Further insights reveal that many learners enter puberty unprepared, the information they receive is often selective and surrounded by taboos. The education sector avoids the issue considering it a private matter or a problem to be addressed within the family. The booklet encourages a holistic approaches to health promotion, starting with education, creating of healthy environments and providing linkages to health services. 

Through the Always keeping girls in school program which was initiated in 2006 Procter and Gamble has managed to provide vulnerable, adolescent girls with the education and product (sanitary towels and under panties) needed to successfully manage their periods. The program which initially reached 15,000 girls in 2006 had reached 85,000 girls in May of 2013 with an aim of reaching a further 10,000 girls by December of 2014. 

Earlier this year, Procter & Gamble (P&G) in partnership with Health Education Africa Resource (HEART) released a baseline survey that revealed a staggering eighty one percent (81) of girls in some Kenyan areas still cannot afford to buy sanitary pads bringing forth a dire need to scale up all activities to address accessibility and availability of sanitary towels for financially challenged households. The survey was conducted in six regions in Kenya covering a total of 235 schools. 

“Keeping young people in school especially girls may be the greatest contribution in quality puberty education, no one needs persuasion that girls need to be in school anymore, that battle was won. Now we need to make sure that they are in school, and in a safe secure environment” Christopher Castle, UNESCO’s chief of HIV and Health Education. 

The volume was created after extensive literature review, key informant interviews, international technical consultations and peer reviews. The consultation convened by UNESCO brought together stakeholders from the government, UN agencies, academia, civil society and the private sector. 

“Puberty should not be taught in isolation, rather it should be delivered through and developmentally appropriate skill-based health education curriculum framework that starts as early as age five and continues into young adulthood” Qian Tang, Assistant Director – General for Education – UNESCO.

The complete report can be accessed here.