Peer-Led Sex Education Program for Teens in China

A peer education body to educate young people about reproductive health has been set up by the China Family Planning Association (CFPA). "It is not an easy job to hold educational programs on reproductive health among the country's 300 million adolescents, though the relevant knowledge and skills are not very difficult," Xinhua quoted Yang Yuchang, deputy director of the CFPA, as saying.

Yang said the new body, known as the Adolescent Reproductive Health Peer Education Society, has proved to be an efficient way to inform the underage about sex by people with similar backgrounds, life experiences and interests.

According to the official, the CFPA began studies on the issue in the 1980s, and has trained a large number of volunteers who can help teach adolescents about reproductive health.

Currently, adolescent reproductive health programs are being extended from the big cities and developed areas to small towns, and rural and remote areas.

Reproduction education has also been carried out among youths who have left school, so the programs reach beyond the school campus, said Yang.

The CFPA has decided to adopt an educational structure that appeals to youths, such as music, song, dance and drama, in a nationwide performance tour with the theme "Youth, Health and Responsibility," he added.

Source-ANI