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preserving a girl’s virginity by diminishing sexual desire creation of the appearance of virginity cleanliness initiation rite for pre-pubescent girls an act of love to daughters pre-requisite for marriage (FGM will attract a favorable dowry) giving pleasure to the husband achieving good social status
Consequences FGM is often performed with unsterilized and crude instruments, and without anesthesia. Short-term consequences: Pain, injury to adjacent tissue of the urethra, hemorrhage, shock, tetanus, septicemia, acute urine retention, infection and failure to heal. Long-term consequences: recurrent urinary tract infections, pelvic infections, infertility, keloid scars, dyspareunia, fistulae, problems during child birth. Current trends- good and bad Medicalization of FGM • response by the medical community to avoid adverse consequences of unsafe conditions including increased HIV transmission • WHO has strongly advised that FGM in any of its forms should not be practiced by any health professional in any setting Approaches to abandon FGM WHO and PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) framework includes 6 elements • Strong and capable institutions implementing abandonment programs at the national, regional and local levels • A committed government that supports FGC abandonment with strong policies, laws and resources • Institutionalization of FGC issues into national reproductive health and development programs • Trained health providers who can recognize and treat the complications of FGC • Coordination among governmental and nongovernmental organizations • Advocacy efforts that foster a positive policy and legal environment, increased support for programs, and public education Internet links: • http://www.who.int/frh-whd/FGM/ • http://web.amnesty.org/802568F7005C4453/0/ACDB13F7 F1479259802569A5007186EC?Open&Highlight=2,FGM • http://www.fgmnetwork.org/
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http://www.path.org/programs/p-chi/female_genital_mutilation.htm
Peer education
Peer education describes education programmes that make use of trainers and educators who share similar background characteristics with those being taught. In the case of SCORA programmes the trainers are of a similar age to those being trained, and will often have come from a similar background, helping the young people relate to them. This has been shown to be especially effective when teaching sensitive topics such as sexual health education, which is why it is used so extensively throughout SCORA projects. The use of peers also means that the language and messages used are more relevant to the young people, and therefore more useful to them. Another advantage of peer education is that it is cheap, as the trainers are non-professional, and so are not paid for their work. They are, though, specially trained by others to be able to teach effectively. Peer education projects usually work in small groups and make use of interactive techniques and games, producing a comfortable and non-judgmental environment. The educators also gain from being involved in peer education – they learn new skills, personal development and leadership skills. SCORA projects also provide the educators the chance to work with young people, to learn about sexual health issues and hopefully have fun! Peer education has been implemented and studied all over the world, and has been shown to be very effective. Studies have shown that: • Many young people prefer to receive reproductive health information from peers rather than from adults. • The involvement of peer promoters significantly increases referrals for contraceptive services at a fixed site. • Interactive training improves project outcomes. • Turnover is a common problem in peer programs but it can be partially addressed by careful selection, the use of contractual agreements, and by good support, reinforcement, compensation, or other rewards. Overall, peer education is a valuable tool and has proved to be an effective and interesting way of teaching and learning. The emphasis is largely on making the teaching fun for the young people ensuring the lessons learnt are not forgotten. SCORA already has many successful projects running all over the world, showing that peer education can work in any environment. On this March Meeting 2011, we are proud to have 10th International Peer Education training, as a pre-GA workshop. One of the projects that aims to teach and learn young people reproductive and sexual health issues is Sexpression.
Cooperating Organizations IFMSA co-operates with several United Nations agencies and other health organizations. IFMSA has appointed Liaison Officers to several of these organizations or to standing committees. A liaison officer takes care of the contacts between the organization and IFMSA members. Any contacts made with these agencies should always go via the Liaison Officer. UNAIDS - Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) www.unaids.org UNFPA - United Nations Populations Fund www.unfpa.org Contacts: lra@ifmsa.org (Liaison Officer for SCORA)
Y-PEER – Youth Peer Education Network www.youthpeer.org UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization www.unesco.org UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund www.unicef.org WHO – World Health Organization www.who.int Global Health Council