Need for family life education

THE EDITOR: ASPIRE commends UNICEF for its recent initiative regarding Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) in schools. From May 24 - 28, 2004, UNICEF hosted a regional training programme for curriculum developers on the broad framework for curriculum development on HFLE. ASPIRE applauds this initiative and appeals to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to implement a structured HFLE programme in every primary and secondary school in the near future. ASPIRE aims to reduce the number of unsafe abortions, and abortions altogether, in Trinidad and Tobago.

As such, ASPIRE strongly believes that a comprehensive and unbiased HFLE curriculum which must include a sex education component is critical to alleviating some of the problems affecting our young people ie teenage pregnancy, HIVAIDS, unwanted pregnancies which result in young people dying or being maimed from unsafe abortions, low self-esteem and self-worth, drug abuse, violence and crime. Come on Trinidad and Tobago, we are behind our Caricom neighbours in this area, too. Let us really work towards the much talked about 2020 status.

ASPIRE
Port-of-Spain