Students from secondary schools and lyceums will learn about health from last-generation teaching aids. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the Republic of Moldova donated teaching aids to the value of over 1 million lei for students of 85 schools in Cahul, Rezina, Fălești, Ungheni, Orhei, the municipality of Chisinau and for specialists and volunteers of the 41 youth-friendly health centers of the Youth Klinic (YK) network, IPN reports.
The study to assess the health behavior of children of school age that was carried out in Moldova in 2018 shows that 13% of the teens aged 15 and 35% of the teens aged 17 are sexually active and only 62% of them use condoms. Not knowing how to prevent risks related to unprotected sexual relations, over 1,800 teenage girls became mothers in 2020. The rate of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, among young people remains very high. Also, the violent behaviors among young people are more frequent, while the psycho-emotional state worsened during the pandemic, says a press release.
The teaching aids were provided free to general education schools with the aim of supporting the teaching of such subjects as biology, personal development and education for health.
“The theoretical support offered by textbooks is now supplemented with interactive materials that enable to organize lessons in an active and accessible way that arouses interest among students. In the form of games, the students can interact between them, discuss and improve their knowledge about anatomy, physiology and hygiene of the bodily,” said Mariana Revenco, teacher of biology at the Theoretical Lyceum “Toader Bubuiog” of Bubueci commune of Chisinau municipality.
The donation forms part of UNFPA’s long-term efforts to support education for health in schools in Moldova. ‘The experience of other countries shows that having access to (mandatory) systemic education that is taught in a high-quality way in school about their body and the relations they have, the girls and boys can identify the health risk and can take correct decisions to prevent them. The role of the school in the education of healthy and safe behaviors among teens is even more important as many children are raised by grandparents and relatives because their parents are abroad,” said Ludmila Sîrbu, UNFPA Moldova Program Analyst on Youth.
