Reviewing laws and policies to address early pregnancy, HIV and gender-based violence in the school curriculum

Launch of a series of studies in West and Central Africa

National laws and education policies play a key role in establishing an enabling context for the development and implementation of quality programs in response to early and unwanted pregnancies, HIV or gender-based violence. This is why UNESCO recently launched a regional series of analyses of the national legal and policy frameworks of countries in West and Central Africa. These analyses help to understand whether this framework is conducive to promoting sexual and reproductive health and gender equality through school curricula. They provide useful insights for countries that want to equip learners with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to lead healthy and fulfilling lives, in self-respect and respect of others.

11 countries in West and Central Africa are covered in this series of studies: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. More than 100 relevant national laws and policies were identified and analyzed using a purely factual and comparative approach and 35 indicators such as sexual and reproductive health rights, minimum legal age of marriage, and criminalization of sexual violence, to name a few. To date, 11 fact sheets have been developed and 5 countries in the region have already published the results of the analyses, which can be consulted via the following links:

These studies make a clear case for renewed efforts by ministries of health and education to work together to address the challenges that young people face. Indeed, it shows that, while the situation varies considerably from one country to another and while there are important gains to be made, strengthening national legal and policy frameworks would help ensure a more supportive environment for student development and health through education.