Comprehensive Sexuality Education
1. Context and background
Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest and least populated countries on the African continent. It has a relatively large and growing youth population. More than half of the population is under the age of 25. The fertility rate and the maternal mortality rate in the country are also quite high. Statistics indicate high levels of early pregnancy. About one-third of women are married before the age of 18; similarly, more than one-third of girls are already mothers by the time they turn 18. The availability and use of male and female condoms and other modern contraceptive methods is limited among adolescents. Girls are more likely to have contracted HIV than boys. Services to combat HIV & AIDS and other STIs are free of charge, financed by the Government. According to the 2021 National Health Development Plan a major limitation is the lack of promotion of sexual and reproductive rights among youth due to the poor integration of sexuality education in the school curriculum and the lack of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) centres in the community.
2. Terminology
The country refers to 'sexuality education' (educación sexual) or 'comprehensive sexuality education' (educación sexual integral) in policy documents such as the National Health Development Plan (2021-2025) and the Law no. 3/2005. No definition is provided.
3. Laws and policies
3.1. Relevant international/regional agreements to which the Equatorial Guinea 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: 1984 |
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: 1992 |
Commits to the right to access appropriate health-related information. |
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Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Not ratified |
Commits to the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities. |
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International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Accession date: 1987 |
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 Not ratified
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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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UN General Assembly 2016 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS |
Includes commitments and calls to scale up and/or attention to scientifically accurate age- and culturally-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education. |
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Commission on the Status of Women 2016 Resolution on Women, the Girl Child and HIV and AIDS |
Includes commitments to make universally accessible and available quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health-care services, commodities, information and education. |
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3.2. Relevant national laws and policies mandating comprehensive sexuality education
The National Health Development Plan (2021-2025) undertakes the review, updating and introduction of SRH modules as a subject in teaching curricula, as well as the promotion of education on family life. The Plan also fosters the availability and utilization of quality family planning services and the expansion of information- and awareness-raising campaigns on the advantages of family planning services through markets, educational centres, and churches and other places of worship. The Plan aims to also strengthen school and university health services at the national level, through the creation of the National School and University Health Policy and Programme.
Law no. 3/2005, on the Prevention and Fight against Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), HIV & AIDS, and the defence of the human rights of people affected, tasks the Ministry of Education and Science, in coordination with the National Multisectoral Program to Fight AIDS, with the creation and implementation of sexuality education units in the curriculum for different levels of education. Special emphasis is placed on the education of girls. The Law also seeks to build a national programme that will develop and implement workshops and continuous training programmes on sexuality education and the prevention of STIs and HIV & AIDS for educators. The programme will be supervised, monitored, and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
In 2022, the Law on Sexual and Reproductive Rights in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea was approved. The Law provides guidance for aspects of reproductive health such as contraception, and promotes equitable and sustainable access to SRH services for different groups of the population.
3.3. Curricula
Mandatory or optional
Although laws and policies such as the National Health Development Plan (2021-2025) and Law no. 3/2005 do discuss the creation and implementation of sexuality education, it is not clear from the language whether all schools are mandated to teach the curriculum or not. Further information was not found.
Model of delivery
Currently, sexuality education is not a stand-alone subject in schools. However the National Health Development Plan (2021-2025) is in the process of reviewing, updating and introducing SRH modules into the curriculum. The Plan also makes provision for it to be integrated as a teaching subject in schools. Very few further details are provided and the information is not yet clear on whether sexuality education content will be integrated into other subjects or if it will be a stand-alone subject.
Comprehensiveness of content
For students aged 5-8, the concepts of gender, human rights and interpersonal relations are consistently developed. Topics like the human body, human development, and sexual behaviour are partially covered. The content is not always adapted to the developmental level of the student or age-appropriate. The information is sometimes too complex and relates to situations to which children aged 5-8 are not exposed, for example adolescent pregnancy, safe sex, and precautions in sexual relations to avoid diseases.
The content for secondary school students (12-15 years old) related to psycho-social skills seems to be most in line with UNESCO recommendations, including appropriate content on self-management skills and issues related to finding help and support. However, as with the content for primary school students, the curriculum is not always adapted to the developmental level of the student or age-appropriate.
Learning resources
Teaching methods and tools do not appear in the curriculum.
3.4. Teachers
The following topics are developed in teaching materials for all classes: interpersonal relationships, body and human development, sexual behaviour, SRH, gender issues, human rights, discrimination, stigmatization and equality, and psycho-social skills. The theme of values, which is a new theme in HIV &A IDS education, is also developed explicitly in the content of the materials. The presence of psycho-social skills, risk and protective factors, and risky behaviour in the materials is not clear. Common concerns about the delivery of sexuality education are not presented during the training. Personal values and beliefs and their implication in teaching activities are absent from the trainings.
Law no. 3/2005 on the Prevention and Fight against STIs and HIV & AIDS and the defence of the human rights of people affected provides educators with workshops and continuous training programmes on sexuality education and the prevention of STIs and HIV & AIDS.
No information was found on whether teachers are mandated to be trained on the provision/delivery of sexuality education either as part of their in-service or pre-service training.
3.5. Schools
Services to address HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections are completely free of charge, though more difficult to access in rural areas. Awareness raising, prevention and multisectoral control activities in relation to HIV & AIDS and STIs are the key services provided to the population, and are mainly based on educational messages through the media, educational talks in schools and communities, and the distribution of leaflets, posters and banners. The National Health Development Plan (2021-2025) encourages the promotion of school health to improve child health indicators and children's intellectual performance through the elaboration, adoption and implementation of a school health programme. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science, organizes regular health consultations in schools, promotes essential family practices as a pedagogical activity in primary education; and promotes family education, responsible parenthood, and gender education at the familial and school levels.
The Plan seeks to improve the supply of SRH services for adolescents and young people through the construction and implementation of five multi-service centres that enable the provision of specific SRH services; the improvement of the response capacity of health structures to the needs of adolescents with the training of health personnel and adolescents themselves on SRH; and the implementation of a social marketing programme for condoms to be accessible to all adolescents. The Plan also seeks to increase the number of schools providing services for the prevention of STIs, pregnancies and other kinds of risky behaviour. More educational centres should also be equipped with operational health posts.
4. Governance
4.1 Responsible ministries
The Ministry of Education and Science is responsible for the promotion of SRH of young people and adolescents in the school environment and the integration of sexuality education as a teaching subject in schools. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Gender Equality is responsible for the integration of gender aspects in the operational plans of the National Health Development Plan (2021-2025). The Ministry is also responsible for ensuring the promotion and protection of women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive rights, as well as their active participation in improving maternal, newborn and child health. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is responsible for the implementation of adolescent reproductive health systems as well as the monitoring and evaluation of reproductive health in the country. The Ministry of Information, Media and Radio-Television is involved in scaling up initiatives to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality; promote the use of contraceptive methods; promote adolescent and youth SRH; and combat communicable and non-communicable diseases such as STIs and HIV & AIDS.
The role of non-governmental organizations in these areas is also significant, as they contribute to efforts to mobilize technical, material and financial resources within the framework of public development assistance.
4.2. Level of responsibility/decentralization and autonomy
No information was found.
4.3. Government budget allocation
No information was found.
5. Monitoring and reporting
Law no. 3/2005, mandated the creation of a sexuality education programme as well as its supervision, monitoring, and continuous evaluation. However, no further details or information were found.
