Indonesian Youths Want Proper Sex Education

The Fourth National Meeting on HIV/AIDS in Indonesia wound up last week with teenagers calling for proper sex education to help prevent the spread of the killer disease.

Their call came in a statement read out by two representatives of the Teen Forum group at the end of the Oct. 3-6 meeting, jointly organized by the National AIDS Eradication Commission and several international organizations including UNICEF and the UN Program on HIV/AIDS.

“[We] urge the government and relevant groups to offer comprehensive or integrated sex education and a friendly health care program to Indonesian teenagers,” they said before more than 2,000 participants.

A curriculum must be drafted so that it is sensitive to the country’s different cultures, they added. For the health care program, the statement said it should stress issues regarding reproductive health.

The Teen Forum is a group comprising junior and senior high school students who have been educated about HIV/AIDS.

In her closing speech, KPA Secretary Nafsiah Mboy voiced support for the teenagers’ demands, adding that healthcare programs should be open to all.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

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