HISTORY BEHIND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH EDUCATION
There are many countries and regions around the world that have provided themselves different family planning and reproductive health and sexuality methods and preferences depending on their socio-cultural influences that is believed to be the basis of their education, basically the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been one of the most successful reproductive health education development promoter around the world. Officially they have launched the Family Planning Program from different countries including various states of Africa and certain countries in Asia. As early as of 1965 they have been promoting family planning methods so that family and population from various regions will be controlled they believed that families can have a better life through family planning.
They have envisioned such countries for growth opportunity if they can maintain their family they may be able to provide food, shelter and clothing to their children. USAID has become very successful in their promotion that they are able to reach mostly targeted success in other countries that they have visited. During their first few years of operation they focused on couples to have limited children according to their economic capability for safe parenthood and happy family living and controlled communities. They also believed that they can also protect women through controlled pregnancy, they have also advice couples to have an in between or time frame delayed before having another baby or they may use various contraceptive methods of their choice while doing so.
This method can also control population explosion that has become the problem of the government and by doing so the family can have good opportunities for education, employment and other social participation. The people themselves will be the primary contributors to economic growth by becoming socially responsible in building their own family. Within the next few years of their operations they have already introduced the use of modern contraceptive methods including pills and condoms although there have been criticism, negligence and resistance from different countries especially among the Asian regions who still exercise conservatism in fact there are religious sectors who still do not believe in this modern contraceptives and most likely they believe that this is an insult to their religious belief. In this instance and in the late 90’s USAID Family Planning has also became popular known as reproductive health.
In a formal institution history and timeline may show that as early as 1912 the National Education Association (NEA) has designed a training program to prepare teachers to include in their class sexuality in education During the 1940 the US Public Health Service has also participated in the development process and promotion that sexual education is urgently needed in the society and through these activities. In 1953 they have also attracted some schools including the American School Health Association to launch a nationwide campaign about sex education and its importance. Later in 1955 the American Medical Association follows NEA for their campaign. But only in 1960’s they have been noticed, this created a debate and controversies upon such inclusion in a formal institution like schools.
Such campaigns has not been easy from the start there were different points of view and hindrances that usually arise every now and then and it has become severe during the start of 1960’s to the early 80’s when various opponents have religiously attacked such programs especially among public and elementary schools. Conservative groups and religious sectors have battled it out over the reproductive health leaders who initiated such acts. Some organizations like The John Birch Society, Far right eagle forum organization and other opposition worldwide has joined together to argue over different topics, some even argued that sexual education may even promote increase in crimes and sexual participation among teen- agers that they may be taught to demonstrate their skills in a sexual acts in schools that suppose to teach them morality.
Most of them even condemn the use of contraceptives as another form of abortion and it is therefore illegal. But reproductive health advocates believed that such issues are irrelevant and they also believed that sex education may have even lessens sexual participation among young adults if they are properly guided. They believed that this will be the answer to the problem of the world about economic and social constraints that is now limiting our world about progress. From then on many issues about reproductive health or sex education has go beyond culture and influences that schools who believed in sex education may have included such topics in their subjects while some schools have diligently avoid this topics. Around the world this issues does not have any international standard and claims that is should be introduced in schools and government themselves will be the one to decide. The rage of religion and reproductive health educators has become a recurring trend in many countries until today.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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