Reaching Youth via Reproductive Health Courses in the schools

A survey of 600 adolescents showed that knowledge of all types of health issues, especially reproductive health, is extremely low, and there is no place most young people can get accurate information. There is considerable resistance among some parents, teachers and Orthodox Church officials to reproductive health education.

To address the information gaps in health of youth the program developed a Healthy Lifestyle Course (HLC) .The course include topics such as smoking, drug and alcohol use and, once the confidence of school authorities and communities had been gained, progressed to more sensitive topics, such as puberty, HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health (RH). At the same time, a free HOTLINE was made available to youth, radio spots were aired to coincide with course topics. The HLC was extremely popular with youth; it used a variety of interactive teaching techniques, such as theatre, sports, etc. The enthusiasm generated led to many new events, such as concerts, exhibitions and peer education program that has recruited 750 young people to reach their peers one-on-one.

RESULTS

The survey demonstrated that adolescents' awareness on health issues is very low, but interest in obtaining health information is high.

Average score of pre- test of HL Courses was 33percent. Post-test score has increased to 79 percent. Adolescents became more proactive, motivated and open discussing health problems.