Sexual Health Education in Egypt: Challenges and Opportunities

This report provides an overview of sexual health education in Egypt, focusing on the policies, programs, and their impact on women's health and family planning. It examines the historical context, including the role of international agreements like the ICPD, and the challenges posed by cultural and religious sensitivities. The report highlights the importance of contraception, the role of NGOs, and the evolution of educational programs within and outside the formal school system. It also discusses the effects of sexual health education on family planning services and overall health outcomes, including fertility rates and maternal mortality. The analysis includes a review of relevant literature and data from surveys conducted in Egypt, such as the EDHS, to support the findings.

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Importance of sexual health education
Women's health issues are catching attention day-by-day. Many countries are conducting the
survey on women health status and nourishment. In Egypt, demographic and health survey
(EDHS) was conducted in 2005, which represent the household survey of 18134 women aged
15-49 years. It also provides information about health, fertility, family planning child and
maternal health and nutrition (Francis, W. 2016)
Women's access to contraception has adverse effects on women health and fertility. Declining
total fertility as a negative impact of contraception become an important factor in the mid-1980s.
Total fertility rate remains above three live birth per women in Egypt. But short birth intervals
has an adverse impact on women's health as well as infant health. Optimal birth spacing can be
achieved through the use of contraceptives and family planning. Individual directly involved in
unintended pregnancy affected by health problems and indirectly affects the society as well
which is a major problem of public health, usage of contraceptive is a usual method most couples
are using who avoiding pregnancy. Every woman can find contraceptive method suited to their
age in this ideal world with numbers of contraceptive available in the market. Consequently,
women adopted some contraceptive method until she is no longer exposed to changing life
circumstances and risks of unintended pregnancy lead to change a different method.
International consensus
Sexuality and reproductive health (SRH) are among the most fundamental aspects of life. But
government give the least attention to it and doesn't include it on public policy because of
cultural and political sensitivities. SRH education restricts for youth, in Egypt traditional
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religious and family values, designed to protect young people and they do not need to know
about SRH issue until they are married.
Role of international conference on population and development (ICPD)
International consensus affirms that adolescents need and have a right to sexual and reproductive
health information and services. There was a conference in 1994, named international conference
on population and development (ICPD), 179 countries' government were the member of ICPD,
Egypt was one of them.
Egypt agreed that the information and services should be available for youth as well to help and
understand their sexuality and protect their health.
Egyptian policymakers consented to these agreements with reservations, but they indicate that
policies will be implementing the recommendations with the framework of Islamic laws. The
ICPD Program of action and other agreements clearly states that individual countries convert the
policies and programs in their ways that don't affect their laws, values, and culture. Individual
rights and respond should not affect the policies and programs, who is in the midst of the process
of physical, cognitive, emotional, social and moral maturation.
ICPD has the number of NGOs in Egypt those are taking steps in developing youth SRH
programs, but few of these have the program. Modern contraceptive leads to a reduction in
unwanted pregnancy, high fertility, and maternal mortality rates. Here is an indication that
replacement level of fertility in Egypt pivots further declines in martial fertility. This is resulting
from a reduction in wanted fertility and expansion in family planning program coverage. In
Egypt, Total fertility rate falls from 3.9 to 3.1 from 1992 to 2005 respectively. But there are
another factor as well which stimulates high population in Egypt, child gender discriminatory
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like son preferences, side-effects of contraceptive keep people away from the policy of adopting
two child norm.
Women’s access to contraception & Policies and program for sexual health education
The idea of public funds for all Planned Parenthood was to adopt all over the world. Egypt
government sponsored programs that provide free contraception to citizens which include
condoms, birth control pills, and intra-uterine devices. Egypt starts publicly supported
educational programs in sexual health for adults and youth. In 1985, Egypt signed the treaty of
the committee on the elimination of discrimination against women. The policies and practices for
most basic reproductive health services in Egypt have become a social norm (Metwally, A. M.,
Saleh, R. M., Abdelhamed, A. M., Salama, S. I., Mores, C. W., Shaaban, F. A., & Azmy, O. M.
2015).
In Egypt, health education is weak overall in the public school curriculum and activities related
to reproductive health and particularly inadequate. School curriculum added few short lessons on
reproductive health after 1994.
NGO's play major role in demonstrated the feasibility of SRH education through their pioneering
efforts outside of the formal public school system. This organization has responded to youngsters
need for SRH knowledge and avail them for youth. NGO's offers school-based programs and
extracurricular activities in addition to school curriculum (WAHBA, 2012).
A center for development and population activities in early 1994, launched "towards new
horizons" and "New visions" programs in Egypt. A nonformal education programs for girls
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include in “towards new horizons” and women who had limited access to education and little
knowledge of reproductive health.
Since 2004, the Egyptian family planning association has run education project in schools in 10
government since 2004 as an outreach component of EFPA's youth-friendly clinics. Near clinics,
the health education sessions are conducted in schools. The main topics are early marriage,
personal hygiene, nutrition, female genital cutting, sexually transmitted infections and smoking.
Between 2004 and 2011, the program conducted 271 seminars for almost 8200 male and female
students and occasionally, trained peer educators discuss the topics with students under the
supervision of clinic's female physician (WAHBA, 2012).
Effects of sexual health education
Sexual health educations and program leads to family planning services as well, and these
services are available and affordable in Egypt. Premarital counseling helps to use effective tools
of family planning used (Tawab, 2015).
To save women's life and health improvement, Egypt government support by providing funds for
family planning program. Egypt has one of the highest rates of contraceptive use on the continent
at 59% of the population. Over the years, Egypt's fertility rate has decreased rapidly, now at
about three children per children per childbearing woman. Modern contraceptive leads to a
reduction in unwanted pregnancy, high fertility, and maternal mortality rates. In Egypt, Total
fertility rate falls from 3.9 to 3.1 from 1992 to 2005 respectively. But there are another factor as
well which stimulates high population in Egypt, child gender discriminatory like son preferences,
side-effects of contraceptive keep people away from the policy of adopting two child norm.
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Reference
Francis, W. (2016). A Reputation to Maintain: Myths and Truths About Women’s Rights in
Egypt and Morocco. Global Majority E-Journal, 17.
Metwally, A. M., Saleh, R. M., Abdelhamed, A. M., Salama, S. I., Mores, C. W., Shaaban, F. A.,
& Azmy, O. M. (2015). Determinants of unintended pregnancy and its impact on the health of
women in some governorates of Upper Egypt. Journal of The Arab Society for Medical
Research, 10(1), 1
Shaikh, B. T., Azmat, S. K., & Mazhar, A. (2013). Family planning and contraception in Islamic
countries: a critical review of the literature. JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical
Association, 63(4 Suppl 3), S67-72.
tawab, n. (2015). International journal of gynecology & obstetrics.
WAHBA, M. (2012). THE NEED FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH EDUCATION IN
SCHOOLS IN EGYPT.
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