By the end of May, the students of primary and secondary schools and lyceums and of vocational schools have to choose the optional subject they will study during the 2021-2022 school year out of over 60 subjects. Among these is the “Education for Health” that addresses issues related to the harmonious growth and development of young people. This aspect turned out to be even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic, IPN reports, quoting UNFPA Moldova.

During the last few years, UNFPA supported the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research to improve the content of this course in accordance with the international standards and the current development needs of teenagers, to train the teachers teaching this course and outfit them with teaching and innovative digital aids.

According to Ludmila Sîrbu, UNFPA Moldova youth program analyst, the necessity of this course is proven by statistics that continue to point to risky behaviors among teenagers and young people, which affect their health and potential to distinguish themselves.

A study carried out in Moldova in 2018 shows that 13.3% of the teens aged 15 and 34.7% of the teens aged  17 are sexually active and only 62% of them use condoms. Not knowing how the risks related to unprotected sex can be prevented, over 1,900 teenage girls became mothers in 2019, while the rate of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, among young people remains very high. Also, the violent behaviors among young people are more often. The students reported that they are more frequently than in the countries of the region involved in bullying (16%), while their psycho-emotional state worsened during the pandemic.

“The experience of other countries shows that only by having access to systemic (mandatory) education and appropriately taught information about their body and the relations they have, the girls and boys can identify the health risks and can take correct decisions so as to prevent them,” stated Ludmila Sîrbu.

“Education for Health” is one of the most popular optional subjects among students, being at the top of preferences alongside such subjects as Robotica, Media Education and others. Even in such conditions, the number of teens who study “Education for Health” in the Republic of Moldova remains of only 10% of all the students, additional efforts to inform the young people through formal and informal education being thus needed, says UNFPA’s press release.