News

As the world recognizes Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28 May, MIET AFRICA, in partnership with the Basic Education Department (South Africa), UNESCO, and Days for Girls International, is developing guidelines to address menstrual health challenges in South African schools. The objective is to establish a sustainable framework that encompasses menstrual hygiene education, facilities, and services, all of which are crucial for supporting the health and well-being of all learners.

The key aims of this menstrual health intervention are to:

• Build awareness and engage stakeholders to raise awareness and actively involve learners, teachers, caregivers, and policy makers, in order to foster a comprehensive understanding of menstrual health.
• Strengthen management and coordinating structures at the school level by enhancing the planning and implementation of structured menstrual hygiene management (MHM) education and support programmes within schools.
• Create a safe and enabling school environment,

During the second last week of February, delegates from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region assembled in Durban to learn, to share best practices and to network at the annual Care and Support for Teaching (CSTL) and FutureLife-Now! Sharing Meeting. Read about this and more from in the latest edition of FutureLife-Now!

The FutureLife-Now! programme requires the services of a qualified and suitable consultant/s (firm) to conduct a legislative and policy assessment of the existing health, HIV/AIDS, sexual reproductive health and rights policies in the four FutureLife-Now! Phase 1 countries. The purpose of the assignment is to undertake an in-depth review of the legislative and policy frameworks at national level on overall health, HIV/AIDS, and SRHR in both the health and education sectors in Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Please  view the ToR for further details. Closing date for submissions is 20 March 2023. The timeframe for the research study is April– June 2023.

Today is National Youth Day in Zimbabwe. The day was proclaimed and instituted by the government in 2017 to recognise and celebrate the contributions made by youth during the history of the country as well as serve as a catalyst for the younger generation to emulate leadership values.

Since its inception in 2019, the regional, school-based programme, FutureLife-Now! has supported young people to make meaningful contributions in their schools, families and local communities. Various youth clubs established in schools have provided learners with the agency to develop initiatives which are worth celebrating. Here are just a few highlights from Zimbabwe in 2022:

Through the Boys Mentorship clubs, boys’ confidence to seek advice, knowledge and access to services has grown significantly. This was evident last year during a competition for “stories of change” where in 2021, entries were only submitted by girls. With encouragement for boys to share their stories of change and positive behaviours,

The President of South Africa has officially cited the Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) framework during his keynote address at the 2023 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla last week. He said: “Care and support for teaching and learning must be institutionalised as a tool to improve learner outcomes and retention rates.” In partnership with SADC and its Member States, and with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, MIET AFRICA developed and tested the CSTL model in response to the many vulnerabilities hindering the learning and development of children and youth in the SADC region, and in 2016,  the CSTL Policy Framework was adopted by the 16 SADC Ministers of Education. The Framework mandates Ministries of Education to mainstream care and support and provides guidelines for the provision of integrated services through their schools. The various care and support needs of learners are addressed through a policy framework of 10 pillars,

Competition time! Are you a high/secondary school learner with an interest in writing? Enter the 2023 SADC Secondary School Essay Competition and stand a chance to win your share of $1000.

Further details: click here.

Further details: click here.

Hear about a newly-developed HIV manual tailored for use by school health and nutrition teachers has changed perceptions, and how a biology lesson inspired Zimbabwe learners to use rabbit urine as an organic fertiliser, thereby introducing an affordable option for farmers in the country. Also in this edition, read about how 150 learners attended a health expo which gave them access to vital health information and services, and lots more in the last edition of the year of FutureLife-Now! News, out now! To subscribe to this quarterly newsletter, send an email to bashni@miet.co.za

MIET AFRICA’s partner UN CC:Learn has just launched  a 10-minute global survey on Youth and Climate Change. The survey is open to anyone up to the age of 35 and is available in seven languages. Through this survey, UN CC:Learn hope to collect input from as many young people as possible around the world to inform the development of future learning products and initiatives. See below for more information.

Survey form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JPYRNHX

Main survey page: https://www.uncclearn.org/survey-youth-and-climate-change/

In Lesotho, the coming together of two important ministries – education and health – has had a major impact on learners’ access to health services. In Malawi’s Lilongwe district a climate change jamboree was held which brought together school-going youth and provided the opportunity to share knowledge and hold exhibitions. Read about this and more in the latest edition of FutureLife-Now! newsletter out now. To receive these quarterly newsletters directly to your inbox, email bashni@miet.co.za