Adolescents’ health education reached out to Brănești village from Orhei district

"The topic we are discussing today - health education - is very important because it teaches our children about health and makes them more independent. This issue has to be discussed together. Parents, teachers, priests and young people themselves have an important role to play. On behalf of the Embassy of the Netherlands, I would like to thank all partners and the whole community for their hospitality and the organization of this event," Mr. Artur den Hartog said.

Valentin Crudu, Head of General Education Directorate at the Ministry of Education, thanked the partners for supporting this very important topic for the harmonious development of young people. "Health education starts in the family and the school has the role to support parents in filling the informational gaps that arise. The Ministry of Education is working to improve the content of the discipline "Health education" and train the teachers to ensure the best quality educational process."

Ludmila Sîrbu, Youth Program Analyst at UNFPA Moldova, said that holistic and quality education helps teenagers adopt healthy behaviors. "UNFPA will continue to support the Ministry of Education and other national partners to improve the quality of teaching of health education in a youth-friendly, comprehensive and age-appropriate way."

„Health education” is an optional discipline that includes several modules about personal hygiene, healthy nutrition, prevention of violence, reproductive health, mental health, and other issues. In the study year 2017 - 2018, more than 23,000 adolescents requested this discipline, which is only 7% from the total number of adolescents who need this information. Further efforts are required to promote it among parents, students and teachers.

The director of "Mihai Moraru" Gymnasium from Branesti village, Mrs. Elena Zadic, thanked the partners for carrying out the adolescent health promotion activities in this institution and said that "Brăneşti village is lucky because it was selected to participate in this project, as the entire community wishes a healthy future for children and adolescents."

According to official statistics, more than 330,000 adolescents live today in Moldova, which is 12% of the total population. Every third adolescent grows up without one or both parents. Many of them lack communication and quality information and are exposed to health and behavior risks. A quarter of adolescent boys smoke at least once per week and more than 70% have reported being drunk at least once in their lifetime. Every year, more than 2,600 young girls become mothers and the incidence of sexually transmitted infections is one of the largest in Eastern Europe.

Community public discussions on the right of adolescents and youth to health education are conducted in May-June 2018 in 22 communities from Orhei, Rezina, Falesti, Cahul districts and Chisinau municipality as part of ‘Promoting Youth Health Education’ Project carried out by the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency (UNFPA), with the financial support of the Embassy of the Netherlands and in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, the Youth Network of Peer Educators ‘Y-PEER’, ‘Partnerships for Every Child’ NGO and ‘Pro Didactica’ Educational Center.