Govt repackages sexuality education

Government has introduced a framework that seeks to integrate controversial sexuality education into livelihood programmes for young people out of school.

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MOGSLD) revealed the new reform dubbed ‘Life Skills and Health Education’ yesterday in Kampala. This was during a high-level national dialogue on high rates of HIV infections among adolescents and young people. 

Mr Aggrey David Kibenge, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Gender, in his speech read by a director at the Ministry, Mr Martin Wandera, said the framework would be essential in taming HIV infections and curbing the scourge.

Mr Kibenge said the project targets adolescents and young people out of school because they have not been the focus of other government programmes yet the burden of HIV is high among them.

“They are seemingly being left out. The Life Skills and Health Education for out-of-school youth under discussion today, is a great opportunity to reach them. The framework is aware of the unique experiences and challenges they face and seeks to build and strengthen their knowledge and skills to adapt to healthier lifestyles and live HIV-free lives,” he said.

The permanent secretary said they would integrate the information on sexuality in all youth empowerment programmes.

He said this would “minimise risks associated with urbanisation, increased access to social media, perceived change in income levels, education attainment and overall social status.”

“For us to achieve the success we want, we must build partnerships with all ministries, departments and agencies, development partners and private sectors. We must work with all religious and cultural institutions to end social and cultural norms that increase risks of new infections among our young people,” Mr Kibenge added.

Sexuality education has been a controversial issue with the government banning it in 2016, following the discovery of sexual reproductive health books in more than 100 schools that included “sexual orientation” and portrayal of masturbation.

Speaking to the Daily Monitor, Mr Mondo Kyateka, the assistant commissioner for youth and children in the Gender ministry, said the framework would be consistent with the established norms and value systems of the country.

“It will not take on anything which is inconsistent with what we believe in as a country. It will not go against what has been lawed or outlawed by the government,” he said.

Mr Kyateka added that the framework would be implemented through a multi-sectoral approach, including ministries such as Education and Health.

“What we are coming up with is basically to guide what can be done and how it can be done and define who does what and where. That would be embedded within the implementation framework of the document we are finalising,” he said.

The sexuality education, according to information from the government, encompasses principles and values such as fear of God which brings on board religious and cultural leaders to teach morals and virtues such as abstinence and virginity.

Other principles include parental role in child upbringing, age-appropriate information for young people, avoidance of risky sexual behaviours and rehabilitation of learners who are infected or got pregnant.

Mr Henry Magala, the country director at AIDS Healthcare Foundation Uganda Cares, said they noted gaps in the provision of information to young people for them to prevent HIV.

“The issue of sexuality education to some stakeholders like the religious leaders, has been a concern because the moment you talk about sexuality, people start thinking you are teaching young people to play sex but in this meeting, it has come out that we have to change that title,” he said.

What experts say

Dr Joyce Abaliwano Mulebeke, the Minister of Gender, Women and Children Affairs in Busoga Kingdom, emphasised that avoiding discussions about sexuality with children and young people is unwise.

She pointed out that children begin to engage in sexual activities as early as five. She said the risky behaviours expose teenagers to early pregnancies and HIV/Aids.

Ms Sarah Nakku, the head of community mobilisation for Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS) Country Office, said there is need to have programmes that address infections among young people if the country will attain the goal of ending HIV/Aids as a public health threat by 2030.

“Now that the epidemic is concentrating more among the adolescents and young girls and the strategies we are using to reach out to them, the assumption is that we are not using the right strategies,” Ms Nakku said.

“We need to think from the context of what young people want and what works well for them so that we move away from how we have addressed the epidemic in the past. We are in the era of technology, we need to use new avenues to reach them such as on social media,” she added.