Comprehensive Sexuality Education
1. Context and background
Over the past decade, Guinea has made progress with recovering and strengthening its educational system. In Guinea, the overall general fertility rate is high, with significant variation in rural and urban regions. More than 50% of the Guinean population is under the age of 20 years.
In 2017, the Government, in collaboration with civil society and with the technical and financial support of UNFPA and UNESCO, established the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) Programme and the provision of user-friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services for adolescents and young people in Guinea. The aim was to contribute to the quality of education and the development of young people by enhancing CSE in schools. The National Family Planning Action Plan (2019-2023) aims to incorporate CSE into school curricula.
2. Terminology
The 2000 Reproductive Health Law defines reproductive health as the general physical, mental and social well-being of the human person for all that concerns the genital apparatus, its functions and its functioning, and not only the absence of diseases or infirmities.
The National Family Planning Action Plan (2019-2023) states that CSE “enables young people to make informed decisions about their sexuality”. It is delivered over several years and provides young people with age-appropriate information and that corresponds to the development of their abilities: made up of scientific and academic information on human development, anatomy and pregnancy, as well as information on contraception and STIs, including HIV.
3. Laws and policies
3.1. Relevant international/regional agreements to which the country is a signatory
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INTERNATIONAL |
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Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Ratification date: 1982 |
Acknowledges the need to guarantee sexuality education free from discrimination and stereotypes, conveying gender equality values. |
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Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Ratification date: 1990 |
Commits to the right to access appropriate health-related information. |
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Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Ratification date: 2008 |
Commits to the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities. |
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International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Ratification date: 1978 |
Acknowledges that the right to sexual and reproductive health is an integral part of the right to health. |
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UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education Ratification date: 1964 |
Reaffirms that education is a human right. It highlights states' obligations to ensure free and compulsory education, bans any form of discrimination and promotes equality of educational opportunity. |
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The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action Attended |
Calls for sexuality education, counselling and support mechanisms for adolescents, and identifies essential topics. |
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At the regional level, Guinea has joined international initiatives working towards the improvement of maternal and child health, such as the Accelerated Campaign for the Reduction of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in Africa, the Ouagadougou Partnership and the FP2020 Initiative, with the goal of ensuring improved rights-based access to quality family planning services.
3.2. Relevant national laws and policies mandating comprehensive sexuality education
At the national level, various policies on reproductive health have been drafted, and measures to integrate CSE into school settings have been implemented; however, CSE has not yet been formally included in the national curricula.
The 1997 Public Health Code addresses the instruction of sexual education and family life. The National Strategic Plan for Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (2016-2020) aims to eliminate preventable maternal, neonatal, infant, and child deaths. It also aims to promote the well-being of women, newborns, children, adolescents, and young people, through a multisectoral approach based on rights and universal access to the reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services provided within their communities.
The National Family Planning Action Plan (2019-2023) provides for the implementation of a CSE approach to improving young people's knowledge of SRH: Section A1 of the Plan refers to the implementation of a CSE approach for young people in school and out of school or in vulnerable situations. The Plan states that the intensification of SRH and family planning teaching in basic schools must be done through the updating of teacher training modules and the revision of student curricula.
The Guinea National Health Development Plan (2015-2024) aims to strengthen health education and the prevention of a range of health problems for young people and adolescents, including in schools and universities. The Strategic Plan for the Health and Development of Adolescents and Youth in Guinea (2015-2019) outlines plans for young people, both in school and out of school, to teach them sexuality education in addition to broader awareness campaigns to disseminate information on SRH.
In 2017, the National Commission for Reflection on Education recommended introducing sexual education in the school curriculum to reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancies and to enforce the law prohibiting early marriage.
The Ten-Year Education Programme in Guinea (2020–2029) aims to guarantee access to general education for all children, without distinction on the grounds of sex, place of residence, geographical locality and socio-economic origin. Moreover, it states that partnerships will be developed with other sectoral programmes, particularly health and social affairs, to develop and implement joint strategies to reduce incidences of child marriage and early pregnancy.
3.3. Curricula
Mandatory or optional
There was no evidence of school-based formal sexual education, family education, or CSE curricula or programmes. Article 195 of the Public Health Code addresses the instruction of sexual education and family life.
Model of delivery
Certain CSE components are included in the curricula and textbooks of certain elementary and secondary disciplines, such as science, biology, and civic and moral education.
Comprehensiveness of content
The following subjects, among others, are covered in different courses: STIs, including HIV; puberty; and irresponsible sexual behaviour. (Sexuality Education Review and Assessment Tool, 2018)
Learning resources
In 2022, Belgian Development Agency Enabel launched a mobile application for young Guineans to promote SRH, improve access to SRH rights for women and young people, and combat gender-based violence. Funded by the European Union and Belgium, the application is used in partnership with the Guinean Ministry of Health, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Guinea Youth Foundation.
3.4. Teachers
In terms of teacher training, there is not yet a specific training curriculum on CSE in teacher training institutes, as CSE is not yet officially integrated into curricula.
At the policy level, according to the National Family Planning Action Plan (2019-2023) experienced instructors are to receive training to become family planning and SRH educators. These groups of trainers are to provide many teacher training sessions throughout the year. Using the redesigned modules, teachers will work with students on SRH and family planning issues.
3.5. Schools
The Comprehensive Sexuality Education Program and user-friendly sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and young people in Guinea (2017-2020), as well as the GIZ-developed manuals and educational sheets on life lessons aim to create a learning environment based on equality, respect, and human rights.
At the policy level, the National Family Planning Action Plan (2019-2023) aims to increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate and ensure that all couples, individuals, adolescents and young people have access to a full range of affordable and quality family planning services. The plan also intends to increase the demand for family planning information and services among women, adolescents and young people.
The Ministry of Pre-University Education and Literacy runs a national school and university health service.
4. Governance
4.1 Responsible ministries
The education system is highly decentralized, with the overall coordination of elementary education falling under the Ministry of National Education and Literacy .There are three intermediate levels between the central level and the schools, which reflect the politico-administrative structure of the country. These are the region, the prefecture/commune and the sub-prefecture. School programmes are implemented by schools and the School Delegation for Elementary Education, which depends on the Prefectural Directorate of Education or the Municipal Directorate of Education, which in turn depends on the Regional Inspectorate of Education, and which ultimately reports to the Central Directorates managed by Ministry of National Education and Literacy.
Regarding SRH and education, different ministries take on complementary roles, including the Ministry of Health through its National Directorate of Family Health and Nutrition Adolescent and Youth Health Section, the private sector, and civil society organizations. In this regard, the Ministry of Health has implemented the PAJES project, to improve young people's access to SRH information, in particular by facilitating collaborative advocacy in favour of these rights and how they are applied. This project has been a collaboration with Solthis in partnership with the Association des bloggeurs de Guinée (Ablogui) and the Coalition nationale des organisations de la société civile engagées dans le repositionnement de la planification familiale, as well as young members of these two networks. The project aims to inform and mobilize young people, to strengthen advocacy, and to reinforce civil society.
4.2. Level of responsibility/decentralization and autonomy
No information was found.
4.3. Government budget allocation
No specific information was found on the financing of sexual education in the school context. However, the budgeted National Family Planning Action Plan (2019-2023) stipulates that the total cost of implementing the Plan amounts to GNF 161,121,049,389 ($US17,972,386) of which: 57.16% (GNF 92,093,666,867) is for the supply of services, including contraceptives and consumables; 21.37% (GNF 34,427,943,712; 7.34% (GNF 11,824,467,478) is for securing commodities, 7.69% (GNF 12,382,430,545) is for policy, an enabling environment and finance; and 6.45% ( GNF 10,392,540,787) is for coordination, and monitoring and evaluation.
5. Monitoring and reporting
In its annual performance reports for the education and training sector, Guinea tracks the number of civic and citizenship club instructors/facilitators trained in sexual education in its civic education programme activities.
