From DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.orgTue Sep 12 08:12:10 1995
Date: Sat, 09 Sep 1995 08:23:00 +0100
From: Debra Guzman <DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.org>
Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org
To: beijing95-l@netcom.com, beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org
Subject: WCW: HEALTH EDUCATION FOR GIRLS

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## Original in: /HRNET/WOMEN
## author     : unescony@nywork2.undp.org
## date       : 06.09.95

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HEALTH EDUCATION FOR WOMEN MUST BE INCLUDED IN ALL CURRICULA
: UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL

     Beijing - Health education for women should stress
     disease prevention, UNESCO Director-General Federico
     Mayor said today during Women's Health Day at the
     Fourth World Conference on Women.

     "Prevention is the best policy we can have in all
     diseases," Mr Mayor said. "Health education must be
     particularly focused on women. It should be the core of
     all curricula in all educational systems, formal and
     non-formal."

     Mr Mayor made these remarks at the opening of a panel
     discussion on women, health and education organized by
     the World Health Organization in collaboration with
     UNESCO.  Panellists included former President Julius
     Nyerere of Tanzania, First Lady Suzanne Mubarak of
     Egypt and American actress Jane Fonda.

     Health education must combine the "knowledge of
     industrialised countries with the wisdom" of developing
     nations, Mr Mayor added. "I hope we can contribute to a
     culture of health so that we can say at the end of the
     millennium that we have contributed to the empowerment
     of women so important to the health of the world."

     In her speech, Mrs Mubarak stressed that investment in
     education is not enough to close gender gaps. Instead,
     relevant educational programmes built on "the needs and
     realities of women's lives" must be implemented. In
     addition, education and health should be linked at an
     early age. "Introducing health into primary school
     curricula during a child's formative years will promote
     the adoption of health-promoting behaviour for the rest
     of its life," she said.

     Jane Fonda said that the mass media should be used more
     widely to promote health education. "We need the media
     if we are to deal successfully with the growing health
     crisis, to inform people about AIDS and other
     sexually-transmitted diseases to address the gender
     bias," she said. Ms Fonda cited soap operas in Mexico
     and India, radio programmes in Kenya and television
     spots in Colombia that have informed women effectively
     on contraception, reproduction and other health issues.