Africa-Press – Lesotho. Members of Parliament (MPs) have pledged to work with different development partners and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to ensure government complies with legal and policy frameworks on issues of young people’s sexual reproductive health and rights.
The commitment was made at a sensitisation workshop for parliamentary committees on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) at the Mohale Lodge this week. Development partners were particularly invited to frequently call on the committees to account on legal and policy frameworks subscribed to.
The workshop was held from June 22 until yesterday and was directed towards committees responsible for gender issues and young people’s sexual reproductive health and rights.
The social cluster, HIV/AIDS and Women’s Parliamentary caucus were some of the committees represented. It was held by SADC Parliamentary Forum in collaboration with UNESCO.
Speaking during the opening, United Nations AIDS country Director Jacqueline Makekha called on the MPs to use everything at their disposal to assist the country honour its commitments on CSE.
She noted that despite numerous commitments, infections among young girls is three percent higher than their male counterparts. “Honourable ministers, you have all the tools at your disposal to ensure that young people are HIV sensitive, unlike many years ago,” she said.
Makekha further called on the MPs to develop an action plan so that the partners can support them. The sensitisation was particularly important so members are able to understand and embrace CSE and to influence them or increase their political commitment to it.
For MPs to enact laws that are friendly to young people’s sexual reproductive health and rights, they need to understand CSE. CSE is a right based and gender focused approach to sexuality education in and out of school.
It goes beyond information by helping young people to explore and nurture positive values regarding their sexual and reproductive health. Different efforts are made in implementing CSE and the country has affirmed to numerous legal and policy frameworks in this regard.
The frameworks are not only regional and international but there are also national frameworks in place. Some of them are: The International Conference on Population and Development, African Chatter on the Rights and Welfare of Children, African Youth Chatter, The Maputo Plan of Action and the ESA Commitment, to mention a few.
At national level, there is the National Youth Policy, Gender and Development Policy and Life Skills Based Sexuality Education. The frameworks all speak on issues of young people’s sexual reproductive health and rights.
Key to these frameworks is Life Skills Based Sexuality Education which is taught in schools. It is used as a tool to capacitate adolescents about life skills and influence their behaviour in a bid to reduce HIV infections, early and unintended pregnancy, child marriage and eliminating gender-based violence.
Despite the policies and interventions, Lesotho is experiencing increased new infections among adolescents and teenage pregnancy. Teenage girls still drop out of school despite government’s policies that schools should allow girls to continue with their schooling.
While dropping out of school is sometimes voluntary, MPs were told that there are schools that do not allow the girls in schools urging them to cause implementation of the laws.
Life Skills Based Sexuality Education is covered entirely under the ESA commitment – ministerial commitment on CSE and Sexual Reproductive Health services for adolescents and young people in an effort to prevent new infections, teenage pregnancy and child marriages.
It contained targets, including the very implementation of CSE curriculum. While the country successfully implemented CSE in and out of schools, there are still new infections among adolescent.
Child marriages are also still reported, particularly in the highlands. To redeem the situation, MPs all committed to holding the executive accountable, particularly in mobilisation of funding of Life Skills Based Sexuality Education.
Social Cluster chairperson, Fako Moshoeshoe, said funding CSE becomes particularly important because when youth are capacitated and have the right skills, they are able to make informed decisions and may not easily be lured into marriages.
He also called on the sensitisation to be directed to all members of parliament. “There is need for sensitisation to be directed at all members because they influence decisions, their authority is higher than that of committees and sensitising them will come quite handy,” he said.
He was backed by Qalo MP, Thabang Kholumo, who said development partners are already making efforts as far as CSE is concerned and that MPs should play their part.
CSE is currently donor-funded and the ministry has no special budgets specifically set aside for the subjects. MPs committed to advocate for its funding as well as the implementation of all CSE policies.
For his part, Minister of Health Semano Sekatle urged the minister of education to ensure that CSE is budgeted for by the ministry and called on the MPs to support the budget request.
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