The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Libya, the General People’s Committee for Education, Wattassemu Charity and the National Committee for Upbringing, Culture and Science have collaborated in the organization of a workshop to promote sexual education in schools. The two-day event took place in Tripoli on the 3rd-4th of November, and involved 60 representatives from a number of different schools chosen from across Libya’s Sha’abiyat (local municipalities).

School librarians and nurses were offered short training sessions on issues such as sexual health and protection against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. It is hoped that as school nurses and librarians occupy a central position within schools and tend to be well known and trusted by students, they will be well-placed to educate pupils on these important, yet hard to broach, issues.

This workshop forms part of a larger initiative by UNDP Libya and the GPC for Education, aimed at raising young people’s awareness on issues such as sexually transmitted diseases.
Under the same initiative, educational books, entitled ‘Girl’s Talk’ have been distributed to teenage girls throughout the country, to provide them with basic information on personal health and adolescence.