On May 15-19, 2017, experts from the agencies and institutions of the education and healthcare system of the Republic of Belarus, representatives of NGOs and the media visited Finland to learn about the best practices of educational work in the field of reproductive health and healthy lifestyle of students. The visit took place as part of the Mobility Scheme for Targeted People-to-People-Contacts (MOST) –  an EU funded project for enhancing professional contacts between Belarus and the EU.

During the visit, the Family Federation of Finland Väestöliitto organized a number of meetings and events. Väestöliitto is the key organization working to provide education in the field of sexual and reproductive health for adolescents and youth, as well as for adults and people with disabilities. The Federation works closely with the state, especially with educational institutions, to develop new training approaches in this area, to conduct research and surveys on the access of adolescents and youth to services, sexual health awareness and safe behaviour.

During the visit, the participants met with the representatives of Väestöliitto, experts and researchers in the field of sexual and reproductive health education, representatives of the National Institute for Health and Welfare, and the Finnish National Board of Education. In addition, the delegation visited a school and met with the administration and teachers of the Healthy Lifestyle course, which incorporates sexual education. The participants discussed practical aspects of organizational management, cooperation with health professionals, and took part in one of the lessons.

In Finland, Sex education was made compulsory in schools in 1970, but became optional two decades later, when each school was able to decide independently whether to teach it at all and, if so, how to teach it. This led to a clear deterioration in quality and a reduction in the scope of this subject in schools. At the same time, an economic recession led to losses in the quality and volume of the healthcare services provided. These two factors had an effect on the decline in the level of knowledge, reduction in the use of contraceptives and a 50% rise in teenage abortions.

To change the situation, a new subject “Healthy Lifestyle” was introduced into the school curriculum in 2004 (it became mandatory in 2006). A national program, mandatory for all schools, was developed to determine the methods of sexual education in the country. Finland chose to introduce a new subject covering health aspects, which incorporates sexual education. Teachers can easily receive special training in this subject. Each school has a specially trained teacher, who is responsible for planning and delivering sexual education lessons.

Studies have shown that, due to these fundamental changes in the school curriculum, there has been an improvement in the quantitative and qualitative components of sexual education, as well as in the use of contraceptives, and the number of abortions has significantly decreased. The average age of the first sexual intercourse has increased and now stands at 17 years old.