South Africa School-Based Sexuality and HIV Prevention Education Activity

(EDC) in consortium with partner Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD). The program aims to increase the number of teachers qualified to teach sexuality education, strengthen the Department of Education's (DBE) capacity to provide education and training for teachers, and improve the quality of school-based sexuality and HIV education programs. The program focuses on seven of the nine provinces in South Africa, with a particular emphasis on 14 priority districts with high HIV infection rates and disease burden. The objectives of the program include increasing the number of teachers qualified to teach sexuality education, strengthening DBE's capacity to provide education and training for teachers, improving the quality of school-based sexuality and HIV education programs, and reducing teenage pregnancy levels. During the reporting period of April to June 2021, the program achieved several milestones. A total of 1,547 Life Skills and Life Orientation (LS/LO) educators were trained in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) Scripted Lesson Plans (SLPs) in 13 of 14 implementing districts. The districts with the highest numbers of educators trained were City of Johannesburg, Mopani, and City of Cape Town. The program also facilitated senior management teams training with 362 principals, orientation sessions for school governing bodies with 101 members, and orientation sessions for parents with 1,143 participants. The program also made progress in improving the skills of school management teams and other support structures on sexuality education. EDC facilitated senior management teams orientation sessions in Limpopo, Free State, and Western Cape, and parents' engagement sessions in Gauteng. The program also facilitated an SGB orientation session in Limpopo, reaching 75 members. The program's implementation approach is outlined in Figure 2, which shows the graphic presentation of the Activity. The program focuses on reaching learners in implementation site schools through LS/LO educators, who receive the curriculum and refer learners to social asset building and economic strengthening interventions. The program also refers learners to secondary services that offer adolescent and youth-friendly health interventions. The program's technical activity progress to date is summarized in the following key points: * 1,547 LS and LO educators were trained in CSE SLPs in 13 of 14 implementing districts. * The districts with the highest numbers of educators trained were City of Johannesburg, Mopani, and City of Cape Town. * EDC facilitated senior management teams training with 362 principals. * EDC facilitated orientation sessions for school governing bodies with 101 members. * EDC facilitated parents' engagement sessions in Gauteng, reaching 1,143 participants. * The program also facilitated an SGB orientation session in Limpopo, reaching 75 members. The program's progress towards performance indicators is summarized in the following key points: * Objective 1: Increase the number of teachers qualified to teach sexuality education. * Objective 2: Strengthen DBE's capacity to provide education and training for teachers. * Objective 3: Improve the quality of school-based sexuality and HIV education programs. * Objective 4: Improve learner knowledge and achievement in targeted areas of the life skills program. * Objective 5: Increase DBE capacity to work in partnership with the Department of Health to implement the Integrated School Health Program (ISHP). * Objective 6: Reduce teenage pregnancy levels, and increase retention of girls in school and increased potential to complete high school. * Objective 7: Improve systems to evaluate the effectiveness of the sexuality and HIV education program. The program's implementation challenges and lessons learned are summarized in the following key points: * The 2021 academic year started five weeks late due to the second wave of COVID-19, which affected the timing of educator trainings. * Two planned trainings in Western Cape were cancelled due to the pandemic. * The possibility of virtual training in Free State was explored, but was not successful due to poor network connection and daily electricity challenges. * The program's implementation approach is outlined in Figure 2, which shows the graphic presentation of the Activity. The program's financial reporting and procurement expenditures are summarized in the following key points: * The program's budget for the reporting period was $X, which was allocated to various activities, including educator training, senior management teams training, and parents' engagement sessions. * The program's procurement expenditures for the reporting period were $Y, which were allocated to various goods and services, including training materials, equipment, and travel expenses. The program's operations and management are summarized in the following key points: * The program's implementation is led by EDC, in consortium with partner HEARD. * The program's technical assistance is provided by EDC and HEARD. * The program's financial management is provided by EDC. * The program's procurement management is provided by EDC. The program's list of upcoming activities and next steps is summarized in the following key points: * The program will continue to implement educator training, senior management teams training, and