Experts Call For More Sexual Health Education among Youth

The China Youth AIDS Prevention and Control Education Forum was held on February 8, 2015 in Beijing. It was agreed at the forum that a keen awareness must be fostered so as to address the alarming situation — of scarce, inadequate sexual health education for youth and increasingly younger patients infected with AIDS — by which China is plagued.

The forum’s participants suggested that measures for AIDS prevention and control should be carried out among the youth along with proper sexual health education, both of which require joint efforts from government sectors, social organizations, charities and people from all walks of life.

Among the 300 million students in China, 20 million hit puberty every year, and many tend to be sexually precocious. Nevertheless, sexual health education in China has failed to move forward, leaving some young people infected with sexually transmitted diseases or even AIDS due to a lack of relevant knowledge. In this context, famous educator Gu Mingyuan co-initiated the China Youth AIDS Prevention and Control Education Project in 2006 with other educators and philanthropists, calling for social attention to this area.

Wang Zuoshu, vice chairperson of the Central Executive Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), pointed out that the participating parties shall not be content with merely identifying the problems alone without the solutions. The party would continue to provide support for the project and to try to provide young people with a proper sexual health education, added Wang.

Wang Guoqiang, vice minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), revealed that NHFPC would strengthen cooperation with other relevant institutions and improve the mechanism of epidemic information communication.

Zhou Tienong, vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), and 160 representatives from institutions and provinces also attended the forum.

(Source: people.com.cn / Translated and edited by Women of China)