By Moses Chimfwembe –

EFFECTIVE sexuality education is a vital part of HIV prevention and a critical tool to achieving universal access targets for reproductive health and HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
Currently, Zambia faces a heavy burden of HIV among adolescent girls with 260 new infections per week as indicated in the Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS).
15,000 girls fall pregnant and subsequently drop out of school.
This is amplified by the Eastern Province, which recorded over 12,000 teenage pregnancies in the first half of 2021.
The provincial administration reported that of the 12,000 pregnancies, 400 involved girls below the age of 15 while the rest were of girls between 15 and 19-years-old.
Addressing these issues through education remains a priority for any country.
However, despite the introduction of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in a bid to equip adolescents with cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality, Zambia still lags behind in implementing the CSE framework.
Stakeholders have identified the gaps that need to be bridged in the implementation of the CSE framework.
Deputy Government Chief Whip Princess Kasune says Members of Parliament (MPs), who are among key stakeholders in the implementation of CSE, need capacity building for them to appreciate the importance of safeguarding the lives of girls in their respective constituencies.
“In the current Parliament, we have members who are coming for the first time and have no idea about the importance of CSE. We need to bring these critical stakeholders on board and build capacity in them to champion the cause. Ending child marriage and teenage pregnancy requires the involvement of all stakeholders,” she says.
Ms Kasune, who is also Keembe parliamentarian, says MPs have a comparative advantage of reaching out to all corners of the country hence Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) need to use them as agents of change to the under-served communities.
However, the National Action for Quality Education (NAQEZ) has appealed to the Government to address the existing bottlenecks in the implementation of CSE.
“The Minister of Education Douglas Syakalima and his permanent secretaries should attend to the challenges that are hindering the implementation of CSE and ensure that it receives the highest premium it deserves,” says NAQEZ executive director Aaron Chansa.
CSE is a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning that is aimed at equipping children and young people with age appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that empower them to realise their health, well-being and dignity.
It also helps adolescents to consider how their choices affect their own well-being and that of others, as well as to understand and ensure the protection of their rights.
The Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) honed the CSE framework in a way that ensures that the content is delivered to children according to their grades and ages from grades one to 12.
This is also integrated in various subjects like Religious Education (RE), Home Economics, Integrated Science and Civic Education.
Mr Chansa warns that the purpose of introducing CSE is bound to be defeated if the various pitfalls identified in the implementation of the framework are not rectified.
“First of all, CSE has not received a lot of financial support. When you look at the national Budget from 2014 up to now, insignificant funds have been allocated to CSE activities, sometimes zero amounts of money are allocated towards CSE,” Mr Chansa said.
He said the status quo makes it very difficult for the Ministry of Education to buy books for learning and teaching.
He says it also makes it very difficult for the ministry to build capacity in teachers and school managers and almost impossible for them to mount serious national campaigns in support of initiative.
Mr Chansa has further pointed out that a lack of the implementation strategy and a monitoring and evaluation system by the Ministry of Education has a negative impact on the execution of CSE.
He proposes the need for the Government to set benchmarks and put in place a monitoring and evaluation system to track the progress made in the implementation of the initiative.
The NAQEZ executive director has proposed that there is need to strengthen guidance and counselling services in schools by having teachers strictly dedicated to implement the guidelines contained in the guidance and counselling manual.
On the policy for the out-of-school youths that was formulated by the Ministry of Youth and Sport in 2015, Mr Chansa says, “The ministry did not put in place any mechanism to implement it. Therefore, it needs to be popularised.”
Centre for Reproductive Health and Education (CRHE) Executive Director Amos Mwale says there is urgent need to arrest the rising numbers of new HIV infections among adolescents.
According to UNAIDS, Zambia’s HIV prevalence is seventh highest in the world.
UNAIDS estimates for 2019 indicate that there were 8,700 new HIV infections among adolescents aged 10–19.
Mr Mwale says the new HIV infections among adolescents is concerning.
“If we have to reduce the number of HIV infections and teenage pregnancies, we need to do a lot and a lot, means every stakeholder needs to get involved,” he says.
Mr Mwale says the alarming numbers are a clear indication that young people were engaging in unprotected sex, a trend that should be addressed as soon as possible to ensure the new HIV infections as well as pregnancies amongst adolescents are reduced.
He has called on parents to take a leading role in discussing sexual issues with their children.
Zambia’s first Violence Against Children study, released at the end of 2018, shows that children are affected by high levels of physical, sexual and emotional violence, with adolescent girls aged between 13 and 17 years three times more likely to have experienced sexual abuse than boys.
Therefore, CSE provides young people with age appropriate and phased education on human rights, gender equality, relationships, reproduction, sexual behaviour risks and prevention of ill health.
It also provides an opportunity to look at sexuality with a positive approach, emphasising values such as respect, inclusion, non-discrimination, equality, empathy, and responsibility.