Conclusions

Conclusions
Too few young people reach their adult sexual life with anything approaching adequate preparation. As a result, too
many young people experience the consequence in terms of unintended pregnancy and STIs, including HIV.
It is perhaps inevitable that a review as ambitious as this should raise questions and identify gaps rather than
provide defi nitive answers. While the volume of documentation of some programmes in sub-Saharan is to be welcomed,
a clear gap exists in relation to the lack of material from Asia and South America and the Caribbean.
Rather than repeating the content of the Executive Summary, it seems apposite at this point to fl ag some key questions
for future consideration:
• What should be the goals of sex, relationships and HIV education?
• What are the key elements of a core sex, relationships and HIV education curriculum?
• How should the impact of sex, relationships and HIV education be measured?
• What needs to exist (in a school, among teachers, in a local community) for school-based sex, relationships and
HIV education to be feasible?
• What does sex, relationships and HIV education cost?
• What can be learned from experiences in scaling up successful sex education programmes?
• What quality standards should exist in relation to school-based sex, relationships and HIV education?
This review has resulted in encouraging action led by UNESCO. A Global Advisory Group has been established that
will serve to steer UNESCO’s programme on sex, relationships and HIV education, as well as act as a leadership
forum for strategic development and increased prioritisation of the issue. UNESCO’s Global Advisory Group on sex,
relationships and HIV education is composed of eight global experts in interdisciplinary topics relating to the fi eld.
When the advisory group fi rst met in December 2007, they identifi ed the urgent need to develop guidelines for
standards in sex, relationships and HIV education and a study on the costing and cost-effectiveness of school-based
sex, relationships and HIV education.